Why mimes don’t get radio exposure
26-Oct-2005There was a great radio moment on ABC Radio National’s PM yesterday. Telstra’s Phil Burgess demonstrated how his media training is coming along since that nasty incident where, with one sentence, he wounded shareholders, upset the Federal Government, and let the Australian public know that he wouldn’t be engaging in any insider trading with his grandmother (for now).
PETER RYAN: Mingling with shareholders was Telstra’s Chief Operating Officer Phil Burgess who unsettled investors recently, including the Federal Government, with comments that he wouldn’t recommend Telstra shares to his 88-year-old mother.
Today, after keeping a low public profile, Mr Burgess said he was comfortable with Australia’s political and cultural environment and didn’t back away from his recent investment advice, although he was choosing his words carefully.
PETER RYAN: What about the comment that you made about not recommending Telstra shares to your mother? Do you regret making that comment?
PHIL BURGESS: No. Not at all.
PETER RYAN: Why not? Didn’t you feel that that undermined the stock at all?
(silence)
You don’t want to talk about that?
(silence)
Just in hindsight you wouldn’t have made that comment?
(silence)
Okay. Thanks.
And those were quite long silences.
Even though I’m not a shareholder it’s a little frightening to me that the COO of Australia’s largest telco gets brain freeze every time he’s confronted with a microphone.
My advice?
Pretending to be a tree when you’re asked a difficult question will work on other press organizations, but not the ABC. Remember these people once brought us the Saturday Show (cf). The ABC has a long experience of interviewing arboreal method actors, and worse. He should have tried the Vulcan Nerve Pinch first. If that didn’t work he could always resort to feigning a heart attack and playing dead. Don’t they learn this stuff sometime during their MBA? Oh… he has a PhD
. That explains it then.
Mark Colvin’s closing snark made a good interview even better:
MARK COLVIN: Peter Ryan, illuminating remarks from Phil Burgess there. I’ve heard more informative interviews with Marcel Marceau.
I’ll keep up my search for a transcript of an interview with Marcel Marceau to see if this was typical ABC bias.
[Update 2005-11-7: Phil Burgess is actually Telstra's Public Policy & Communication guy. Oh the humanity!]
Classic.
At least he didn’t put his fingers in his ears and go “la, la, la, can’t hear you, la, la, la”
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