Your efforts have paid off and you've been approached by the media to do an interview. There may be several reasons why a reporter wants to talk to you:

• You're the official spokesperson for an organization or event.
  
  
• The reporter has asked you to respond to a specific youth-related story because you've developed a good relationship with him/her.
  
  
• In response to a news story, the reporter wants a "reaction clip" (a five- to ten-second bite) that offers an emotional response.
  
  
• The reporter wants a fresh perspective and an honest point of view. (That's attractive to reporters who are used to media-savvy spokespeople who always feed them the same lines.)
  
  
• The media want to appear young and hip. The mainstream media are predominantly staffed by middle-aged men, but their audiences cover a much broader demographic. By including interviews with young people in their stories, media types hope to attract a broader crowd - including young people.

The information in the following sections will help you learn how to get your message across effectively in an interview, and how to understand your rights when approached by a reporter. We also look at a fictional case study that shows how being prepared - or not being prepared - can make a difference to the outcome of the story.