Getting dunked by the doughnut

This morning at the gym, Clem was taking some civic pride because a national figure gave an interview on a local radio station. “You know we matter when that guy gets up early in the morning to talk on one of our stations.”

You might want to hold off before you go bursting your buttons. What you’re listening to is a doughnut, which is intended to curry favor with you.

The way it works is that the marketing or public relations people craft an interview with the public figure, book author or whoever wants to impress upon the public that their community is important to him or her. They ask the questions and record the carefully worded responses.

The responses are forwarded to the media, with gaps where the questions were. The script of the questions is provided so the radio personality can ask them in the gaps and you think you’re hearing a local interview.

Why do the stations go along with the ruse? It’s free programming and adds to their prestige. And, by playing ball, they have a better shot at getting any paid advertising from the producers of the interviews.