I don’t know about you but my coffee and cereal lost its luster while watching the Today Show this morning. During a live interview with the ‘balloon boy,” Flacon (I won’t even start on that), the 6 year old was apparently not feeling well. He was sick twice on national live television. Click here to view the interview.

This is obviously the downside of live TV, which while unpleasant does not parallel such blunders like Janet Jackson’s ‘malfunction,’ the Ashley Simpson lip singing fiasco on SNL and the various f-bombs heard around the world. The FCC and I often disagree on how to ‘punish’ these people, but that is another entry.

There is a special place in my heart for a specific breed of live bloopers and blunders- live news. Any public relations professional or publicist has felt the overwhelming fear and helplessness when an interview goes wildly out of control- whether it is their client or not. We feel it for both the interviewer and their subject, and often enjoy dissecting how it could have gone better/worse after it flops.

The great thing about news bloopers is that everyone involved has done everything to make it as scripted as possible without losing the essence of a live interview. Typically all parties have been properly prepped. ‘Possible’ questions/answers have been outlined, wardrobes have been coordinated, and someone inevitably said to “just relax” or “act natural.” Properly preparing for a live interview is of the utmost importance because, as you have seen, anything can happen. Nerves, ear piece malfunctions or other unexpected interferences throw off an interview, and it is essential to have prepared talking points and key messages to fall back on. It is nerve racking to be live and I give the media and its subjects a great deal of credit not matter how an interview goes.

But always remember, it probably could have been worse…