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Media Interview Bridging: Is Bridging An Outdated Practice?

In my series about media interview bridging, I’ve explained the importance of bridging and showed you how to execute the technique effectively.

But I wanted to acknowledge a debate in the public relations industry about whether or not bridging is an outdated practice that should be abandoned.

My short answer to that question is no. But the critics make a few points worth examining—so in this post, I’ll look at the main objections and assess their validity.

Media Interview Bridging: Two Good Video Examples

In this post, I’ll continue my media interview bridging series by showing you two good examples of bridging from two very different types of spokespersons.

The first highlights Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who appeared on Face The Nation in 2014 to discuss Ebola in the United States.

The second features actress Anne Hathaway, whose promotion of her 2012 film Les Misérables was marred by a revealing photo of her that had been taken without her permission and widely shared online.

Media Interview Bridging: Three Examples

So far in our media interview bridging series, you’ve learned what a bridge is and when to use one, seen a list of sample bridge lines, and read an example of a bridge in action during an interview.

In this post, you’ll find three additional examples of bridging during an interview.

To make this post as helpful as possible, I selected three types of questions interviewees often face: speculative questions, false premise questions, and accusatory questions.

Media Interview Bridging: Sample Bridge Lines

In the first part of our media interview bridging series, I defined what “bridging” is, showed you how to bridge during a media interview, and explained when you should do so.

In this post, you’ll find a list of 17 popular bridge lines.

I suggest that you take a look at them, find a couple you’d be most comfortable using, and store them in memory before your next interview.

Media Interview Bridging: An Introduction

Despite publishing more than 1,200 blog posts, we’ve never done a deep dive on how to “bridge,” or transition, during a media interview. I’m not sure how that happened!

Over the next month, I’ll correct that oversight and publish a series of articles about bridging that teaches you how to transition from a reporter’s question back to your message effectively. Along the way, you’ll find a few dozen transition lines, see several examples, and read why I disagree with those who argue bridging isn’t as useful as it used to be.

In this first article, I’ll discuss what a bridge is and when to use one.

The Worst Media Bridging Phrase Of All Time?

Australia’s SBS2 channel recently aired a piece about “bridging” lines, those phrases media spokespersons use when they’re trying to transition away from a reporter’s question and to their own messages.

I found the segment quite interesting, as it breaks down where such phrases come from, what they really mean, and how they too often compromise a

Reader Question: Can You Clarify Your Advice On Bridging?

I recently received this email from a communications consultant working in Brussels, Belgium. She writes:

“I bought your book a couple of months ago and found it a terrific read. I give a great many media trainings a year and found inspiration for a couple of improvements of the way I train my clients.

I do have

Why You Shouldn’t Say “I Don’t Know”

I recently posted a YouTube video that taught spokespersons how to answer questions to which they didn’t know the answer.

A few people wrote in and told me they thought my advice to avoid the words “I don’t know” was wrong. They maintained that saying “I don’t know” would play well with the audience, which appreciates

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