Maybe if you add up all of the times I’ve been published in the newspaper and now, appearing on television, it might add up a bit closer to 15 minutes. Maybe not quite.

But last Sunday I appeared on Northwestern News Network. It is on WYCC which is Channel 20 in my Comcast area. Of course, I had to watch the entire show as I appeared at the end.

Was it about real estate? Nope, it was about several posts I’ve made about hypermiling (a way of driving to save gas consumption). The blog posts I made put that particular blog somewhere on the 2nd page of Google if you do a search for the term hypermiling. I guess these grad students made it to the 2nd page as they wanted to find someone in IL, even better Northern IL.

I received an e-mail asking me if I would mind being interviewed on film about this new way of driving. My husband said to go for it but I could imagine myself having to drive up north for the interview and didn’t know if I felt like doing that. I replied that I would consider it and asked where I would have to go. I didn’t hear anything for a day.

Then I think I got a phone call from the e-mail sender and we tried to figure out where we would meet (I suggested half way). She told me they would actually film me driving which upset me a bit as I am a nervous driver to begin with. It was one of those things that I thought I should do but I really didn’t want to do it. She told me she’d call me back in 20 minutes and I didn’t hear back. Since the interview was for the following day I figured they changed their minds. She called back later that night and apologized. The good news was that they would actually come to me!

The Interview

I hadn’t really scripted anything as I didn’t know what questions I’d be asked or how this was going down. The first question was very general asking me what hypermiling is and how I found out about it. I told a little bit thinking that I’d demonstrate most of it while driving. I had taken my car out of the garage and parked it in front so we could jump right in.

I was told to get in the car and the photographer took film of me sitting in the car, a close-up of my hand turning the key in the ignition and my foot on the gas and brake pedals. I almost changed my shoes as I had sandals on and hate my feet but I didn’t. I was also filmed getting into my car and buckling up.

But I found out I would not be filmed driving the car, at least not inside as I had expected. They did get a shot of me driving away. They said they didn’t have the equipment to keep the camera steady enough while driving. This kind of goofed up my interview as I hadn’t mentioned everything I was planning so I ended up leaving out some tips and techniques.

The TV Coverage

I found my “click” again to get back on track with my diet after watching myself on television. I’m ready to get liposuction on my double chin! I should have known better standing up higher than the camera man. I also think I look funny when I talk.

I also learned how editing occurs and can change your entire interview. I was heavily edited and only a small portion of my conversation was used. I was shown buckling up, my hand turning the key and that foot shot seemed awfully long.

One thing I was unhappy about was the fact that they showed me talking about one of the most dangerous hypermiling “tricks” but did not show that I said this was a bad thing and I did not practice it. They panned to me explaining the trick and then went to a driving teacher talking about how some hypermiling techniques were very dangerous and against the law. So it made me look like I was suggesting that people do this! Oh - the media!

I’ve been misquoted before in the Chicago Sun Times and the Daily Southtown (now the Southtown Star) regarding a story of how I lost a long-standing domain name. Although it was the fault of one of my web hosts both newspapers made it sound like I forgot to renew my domain name. I replied to both newspapers asking for a retraction and the Southtown Star actually interviewed me to set the story straight.

If the media can turn around simple little real life stories just imagine what happens to celebs and candidates. You really have to understand that news sources take full control of the stories they tell and it is so easy to turn someone’s words around and make them look bad. It’s disheartening, although I’m not angry at the team that interviewed me. In fact, they both appeared on the show.

And I think the reason I’m not angry is because I can’t imagine anyone watching the show except for the students, their families and the people appearing. How many can that be? Not enough to worry about it. Except I have lost a couple of pounds since and am really taking my diet seriously. So in my opinion, the interview turned out very positive!