Hi Arkyt,
I must agree with you – it appears a little fishy, but then all journo’s are … my reason for saying so is this statement:
“Bravo Channel/G4 Tech TV. Nationally and ESPN2 and Fox Sports Net region by region which you would select”
I’ve never heard of a situation where a TV show will let the subject choose where its broadcast, not even the biggest of celebs get that right! LOL
My first reaction to this is that they want to do an ‘expose’ on something negative to do with online casino’s and they need ‘people’ in the feature to make their point … but I, like you, prefer to be paranoid and wrong than careless and made a fool of or worse!
A couple of things to consider when using the media as a marketing tool ….
1) There’s no such thing as bad publicity. 50% true
Even if they do say something bad about you, as long as your website url is included you WILL get traffic. If they say bad things like ‘this person doesn’t pay their bills’ or ‘this person is trying to rip people off’, all the traffic in the world isn’t going to help to earn the surfers trust – especially in the casino world.
2) Get ALL information possible about the show. Ask straight forward questions which trap them into either telling the truth or telling a lie directly like … Why did they choose you and your site? What angle will the feature take and what is the main theme of the show? Who else will be ‘appearing’ on the show? Is there a script or copy of questions you can see before the show?
3) You will probably not be paid a monetary fee, and if you ask you may not like the reaction. Their attitude (because they can) is that if you won’t do it there are 100’s of others who will for the publicity – you have to look at it as if the publicity is your payment.
4) When you are being interviewed, always answer with the question in the answer – it makes it harder for them to twist your words.
eg: So what do you think about casino’s who rip off players? If you respond with ‘they should be shut down immediately, they are scumbags!’ they might use this as an answer to the question “What do you think of online casinos?” Instead answer with “Casino’s who rip off players should be shut down!”
I hope I didn’t add to your paranoia, but I will say in closing – STAY PARANOID & use it to be smart, but don’t pass up an excellent opportunity for publicity by being overcautious.
Good luck … and congratulations!!!! Free media traffic is by far the most valuable, highest converting, and cheapest traffic out there 