I listen to a lot of podcasts of public radio shows, as well as live news shows on NPR. As I listened to a couple of Market Place shows this morning, I began to think about the various people whose voices I heard, and whether those people get paid for being on the show.
Obviously, the host and reporters get paid. How about the journalists who work for other organizations (BBC, Washington Post) who are asked questions about stories they have reported for their employer? How about similar journalists who take part in the weekly roundup discussion that Market Place does every Friday? How about the economists and researchers who are asked to opine or inform on the topic of a story? How about government or company officials who respond to questions about a story?
If you regularly appear on a show, you’re paid, so the roundtable participants would be. If, however, you’re an expert asked to comment on a one-off appearance, you are not paid.
I used to work with Hugh Johnson, who still is often called upon as a stock strategist, but he never got paid for appearing on TV or radio.
I’ve interviewed hundreds of people for news and public affairs broadcasts, and this is simply a non-issue. You call up somebody who possesses expertise or knowledge and ask if you can interview them, or if they will appear on a panel discussion, and they nearly always say yes, and they make themselves available on their own time, and even come to the studios.
Nowadays, there is even a certain blackmail emerging. The cost of declining can be an announcement that they declined, or the dreaded “did not return our calls”, which is not good for the appearances of someone who in the long run, stands to benefit from public image.
People basically tend to be hams, even the rich and famous. That’s why the “talk format” exists in the media.
I think many interview subjects appear because it’s good publicity for themselves or their employer. A university’s media relations department might have a list of in-house experts, so if a local or national news program calls and says they need an expert in the Ebola virus, the university will set up an interview with someone in the appropriate department.
**Reality Chuck **covered two of the three types of people I am talking about: the regular guests and the go-to experts. That leaves the people who are in the news business but work for entities other than the current host entity. Reporters who have written important stories on a topic will be in the studio or on the phone and will either re-report the story or answer questions about it. An example would be a New York Times reporter talking on All Things Considered. Obviously that is publicity for NYT, but does the reporter get a little taste for that appearance?
Yes. When I was a salaried working reporter (and even when I was not), I was also a stringer for UPI. They paid a flat rate for everything I submitted. Automatic, no negotiations. Unless prior arrangement were being made for me where there was a lot of news originating, in which case I might be offered a retainer for the duration or a more lucrative per-piece rate.
On outlets like Fox News and MSNBC, pundits who are working journalists are usually identified as “regular contributors”, for which presumably they have been paid, or else identified by their news organization, and I presume would typically be paid for that too. He might get paid by his own organization, if they think it is wotth their while to get the mention.