ASK HN: How to deal with journalists? | Hacker News Reader

ASK HN: How to deal with journalists?

10 pointsfroo15 comments

Last week I mentioned in a comment on here that I was going to change the world by getting Rick Astley an award from MTV for Best Act Ever.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=323248

Well, in the last week the site has gone viral. I've had over 120k unique visitors (up until yesterday) all supporting a unifying idea (which to me is the most amazing thing about the whole thing, that so many people have come together to collaborate on the project).

So far, Rick has gotten the lions share of the votes (according to an insider at MTV), we (the Internet) managed to get him invited to the event within 5 hours even though he wasn't invited in the first place. It's been truly amazing.

I've also done a couple interviews with the likes of Wired, the LA Times, The Age here in Aus and now Channel 7 here in Australia want me on TV. There are a couple more inteviews in the works right now.

Basically, it's moving at a blistering pace (from concept at 6am to article on Wired in less than a week) and I'm looking for any tips anyone has on how to deal with all the media attention from a hackers pov?

Cheers

As a reporter, myself, most of these people are looking for two to three sentences from you, max. Some might print more, but basically, they're looking for sound bites.

The shorter and sweeter you can condense your message, the more you can control it when you recite it.

Also: make sure you get to meet Rick Astley and go to the MTV awards, yourself! It won't last, so get something out of it now!

I really don't want it to last, I just want to get the award for the man and leave it at that (it would make an excellent "I once did..." type story).

I'm quite glad that there is an expiration date on this whole thing to be honest.

I'm still thinking about going to the awards, but it could be pricey for a 1 night thing (going to cost me in the vicinity of $5k AUD)

But thanks, short, sweet and mostly scripted - I can do that.

"... I'm still thinking about going to the awards, but it could be pricey for a 1 night thing (going to cost me in the vicinity of $5k AUD) ..."

5K would support a lot of development. Don't go, save the money and write a paper on "how" social systems can be hacked. As for appearing on tv, MTV who cares? Rick who?

you make some good points, although given the way the aussie dollar is crashing, $5k might be like $10.50 USD in a couple weeks..

It wouldn't be an "I once did..." story since you didn't create the meme. The history of it is covered in detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickroll

When did I say I took credit for the rickroll?

The story is more like how I helped co-ordinate a large group of people (it will be several hundred thousand people by the time this is done given we're now at 150k) getting an 80's pop star the best act ever award (an award I might add that they probably weren't going to nominate him for given they announced it days before without his name), completely frustrating a major media organisation by getting Astley the vast majority of the votes in the process.... in my spare time.

That's a pretty cool story IMO.

It's cool - have fun with it. Not to steal any of the fun from it, but it's been done before. Look up "hank the angry drunken dwarf".

I hate to burst your bubble but this has been on 4chan since the original MTV vote for nominations was out.

yes, I know... and on reddit (which is where I picked up on it) and it originated on the UG forums, this wasn't a question on the origins of the nomination idea, it was on how to deal with the media attention as a result of spearheading the voting effort.

I'm not saying, nor have I ever said it was my idea, I've just helped focus the chaos.

By the way, I actually know the vote totals so far (from someone at MTV who reached out to me) and can quite comfortably say that the tool on our site has contributed to a significant amount to that number (which I can't disclose), given I know how many we've also done.

Meh, ignore these guys saying yer taking credit. The free culture fosters this hatred for people who actually do the grunt work in making memes live.

We're all supposed to remain anonymous, so anyone who takes credit for something automatically seems like the villain.

That'll pass, hopefully.

However, I do agree with the "$5k" is a lot of development. Very true. But if MTV is willing to pay for your trip. Or if Rick Astley is... Call his agent! Who knows!

Don't expect it to last. Don't expect special treatment. But if you can consistently provide a service or genuine analysis then let the world come to you.

The way I see it is I'm providing a launching point for a concerted, collaborative effort.

I figured Rick wouldn't have had a chance otherwise - which is pretty evident given he wasn't actually invited until I got people to make a stink by emailing PR departments of show sponsors and the show's producer directly.

Only took 5 hours to get him the invite when that started happening.

Not sure why you're asking how to deal with the media when you already have? It's okay to just be blatant that you really want to relish your success. It obviously created a bit of a stir.

No I'm just finding it overwhelming given I started it as a hobby I guess.

One of the commenter's above mentioned short and scripted - seems obvious unless you've got so much going on.

Think of snappy, quotable 1 liners and carry yourself very well/polished.

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