Article archive / November 1, 2009
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 3. Source pages: 12, 5.
I was on the Montel Williams Show. Julie, our esteemed publisher, has been pressing me to write about the experience in my column. I’m more impressed that I danced on the Larry Kane Show, the Houston equivalent of American Bandstand, in high school. But this is the Psychology Times and I am writing for psychologists, so here’s what happened.
Before 9/11 I had enjoyed many years in the New Orleans media, as the guest expert on numerous radio and television programs, producer and host of a classical music radio show, regular guest host of a jazz radio show, psychologist and consulting producer for a teen television talk show, and producer and host of a television call-in health show. I’d even gotten a couple of awards for producing a television show on which I interviewed various psychologists, promoted community events, and featured musical performances.
I had been invited to be on Montel many years earlier, but had declined this and other chances to be on the national media scene. Except for trips to cities across the country, to train others in media skills and to present my own media research, my focus was on the local media and on raising my children. Then came the destruction. Like many others, I began to re-evaluate what I was doing with my life. Was this the time to shift gears?
So off to New York I went, where the show put me up in a fancy hotel, a driver ferried me to the studio, and an assistant escorted me to the green room, where a generous array of snacks, sandwiches, desserts, and beverages awaited me. After signing all the requisite paperwork, a staff member took me to the in-house salon, the hair and make-up people fixed me up, and out I went, in front of a sea of audience members, to talk to Montel’s guests.
I had been briefed on their problems before my trip, felt right at home in my “natural habitat”, and had a lot of confidence in my recommendations. Everything went smoothly. A media colleague of mine, who’d been a respected television news anchor, saw the program and called to say “Susan, the camera loves you!”
The feeling is mutual. I love the camera, and the microphone, and the opportunities the media provides for communicating with the public, which is my real passion.
As I was on the plane headed back home my re- assessment of my life continued. By now my children were grown and gone, and I had enjoyed a satisfying local media career. Was now the time to pursue this national opportunity?
Next month I will tell you what I decided, and what happened.
Media Psychologist Dr. Susan Dardard gets ready to introduce celebrity guest. See her column about media psychology, page 12.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.