Dripping wet and panting

Now I’ve got your attention.

One thing that has struck me about this year’s Olympics is the quickness with which the NBC correspondents interview athletes after races/performances/matches. Good results and bad, the large majority of Olympic athletes agree to be interviewed. What good…sports they all are. (Poor Lolo Jones was even interviewed last night after not medaling in the hurdle. Props to her for having a great domain name, by way.) It’s almost uncomfortable to watch an interview so soon after an event: must the runners still be panting? The swimmers dripping wet?  The answer is yes, I suppose. The Olympics are exciting, and NBC wants to capture that excitement in an interview the minute people get out of the pool. Wait until they dry off and decompress, and you’ve missed the moment.

Assuming TV is not an option (sigh), how can the media capture the moment of a performance just after it happens? Maybe a radio station can set up backstage, live-broadcast the concert, and then interview the artist live as soon as he or she walks off the stage. Perhaps the station ask the artist a quick question or two before he/she goes back out on stage for the second bow or encore: a breathless soundbyte with the audience applauding in the background. Similarly, why do all print interviews have to happen in the weeks/days leading up to a concert? To sell tickets, presumably, but does that necessarily make for the best journalism? Why not arrange an interview directly following the concert – backstage, even. How did the artist feel about the performance? What was the orchestra like? Did the woman in the front row play with her hair the whole concert?

Since video material is generally considered to be the most powerful, allow bloggers and their Flip cameras backstage. They can conduct an interview just before the artist goes on, post it on their blog, wait through the performance, and then post another interview when the artist comes off stage. Have computers in the lobby so audience members can watch the pre- and post concert interviews online, juxtaposed with the live concert they are about to/just experience(d). Additionally, use the same Flip camera and go out in the lobby to interview audience members; what does an audience member feel right before a concert is about to start vs. what the performing artist feels? After the concert?

None of these interviews need to be conducted by the media, by the way. An orchestra or presenter marketing department can record pre- and post concert interviews with artists for their websites as well; a great way to encourage concert-goers to visit their websites and, hopefully, see what other concerts they have to offer!