In a week when the £160million Euromillions Lottery Jackpot winners appeared on TV and subsquently were forced to leave home it seems a good time to ask the question TV? Or Not TV? Recently we’ve been contacted by two TV documentary teams wanting to hear from compers – now we’re not saying you’ll be in the same situation as Colin and Christine Weir if you took part in these things, but are they worth doing?
Under A Microscope
When we did publicity stuff ages back for Loquax it was done partly for a laugh but also because it seemed like good promotion at the time. Fortunately, back in the day social media wasn’t an issue so any commentary wasn’t known about!Nowadays, any compers that appear in the media do get put under the microscope. One comper who appeared in a Sunday newspaper earlier this year was particularly affronted by posts made on Loquax’s forums. Yet, in comparison those comments were fairly tame to those that appeared on The Daily Mail for an article featuring another comper. The article generated some quite polar views – and we’d not be surprised if that article alone put off most compers from agreeing to doing PR.
Skin As Thick As A Rhino
The problem with media stuff is that the subject often expects everyone else to share their enthusiasm for comping and to be delighted for their wins. That’s not always the case! So, if you do agree to be in the media spotlight then you’re going to need a tin hat and skin as thick as a Rhino. As an aside you also need similar attributes when you run a website. It’s quite a shock at times just how quick people are to believe an opinion offered by A.N.User rather than actually come to the site and siteowners and ask for the facts or even the alternative view. So just imagine how quick folks can be to jump to conclusions if you’re a comper on the box or in the media! Anyway – with all that in mind – surely to agree to doing media work promoting comping is an insane thing to do? Well, as long as you know what you’re letting yourself in for then it might not be that bad. Honest!
Comping Documentaries
At the moment two companies are looking for compers to appear in potential documentaries. Find out more here and here. There are email contacts on both threads and you’re not committing yourself to taking part. If you fancy getting involved with such things then make sure you’re sure what you’re doing it for! Our advice is if you do say “yes” then do it for fun and try not to stress about “what folks might say”. You might also want to avoid Twitter, Facebook and most comping forums for a few weeks after your appearence. The only time we’d strongly advise against appearing on the telly is after you’ve just won £160million on the lottery – stay anonymous and just don’t say anything at all! Oops!