Larry King Tips: How to Make it in Media

Apr 23, 2019

When I was a kid in Brooklyn, I would sit in the bleachers at the old Dodger Stadium and pretend I was on the air. I imagined my voice on the radio, calling strikes, outs, and runs. Broadcasting and Dodger Baseball are my two favorite things.

Start with your dreams. What did you want to be when you grew up? What do you think of at night, or in your car, or at your job? From there, you find a way--any way--to get your foot in the door. It isn’t always direct, and things certainly change, but you just keep moving. 

“When I was seven I knew what I wanted to be. But, when I was eight, the Dodgers moved. What am I going to do? Just keep persevering. Figure out what you want to do, get on an occupational highway and go for a ride.” -Larry King on the last episode of Breakfast with Larry

You can’t control your results, but you can control your actions. Work your tail off and build off your momentum.

“From day one, people think you can get Paul McCartney. It’s better to think of it like dominoes. When you get 100 dominoes down, you can get the person everyone knows.” -Cal Fussman (Co-host of Breakfast with Larry)

Use the success of one interview to gain your next.

That momentum starts with you. Nobody is going to ask you to be interviewed. You have to track them down, be curious, and be interesting (or give an interesting reason enough) to say “yes.”

Paying Attention When Everyone Else Isn’t

Media is far from what it used to be.

For a long time, there were only a handful of channels to go through. A few people told all the stories.

Today? Everyone can jump on Facebook Live or Instagram Stories or YouTube and tell their story. There’s always a microphone or camera around you. At any moment, you can be on. That leaves a whole lotta talkers and not a lot of listeners.

It used to be harder to get the answers you needed. You had to hunt for them, and it for sure wasn’t easy. You had to read the newspaper. You had to ask a lot of people. You had to work it out for yourself.

Now, you can pull out your phone and pull up Google and have any answer you want.

It has never been easier than ever to find your answers.

So how do you separate yourself when everyone talks and there are an abundance of answers?

Now? Your skill is about how to ask the right questions.

Look outward. Ask questions. Be curious. Gone are the days of being the one-in-a-million that caught the lucky break to be the voice of authority. The best way to connect to people in a world where everyone has something to say is to be the only person to ask them.

Want to be mentored by Larry King himself?

Check out Breakfast with Larry!

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