Press
HOW TO GET ON OPRAH
(TORONTO) If life's a pitch, there's no one better than a TV producer to give you tips.At a downtown Toronto hotel, LeGrande Green is about to give his Learning Annex seminar: Get Booked On Any TV Talk Show. A CBC camera crew is waiting. True to his profession, he's doing a final check of the conference room before the audience arrives.
A perky 39-year-old who worked on Oprah for seven years, Green has parlayed that time into a new career."I'd been consulting for a while, but everyone asked me, `How do I get on Oprah?' " says the Miami resident, dressed in Miami Vice casual - white linen shirt, black pants. "So I started doing these seminars as a fun thing - it's still a fun thing, actually - it's like breathing."Thanks to talk shows and reality programming, we live in an age when being on TV is almost a right. Success, we are told, is all about selling yourself. So what does it mean if you've never had your 15 minutes?In an intense three-hour coaching session, Green offers a prescription for achievement that says as much about the meaning of modern life as it does about any professional aspirations."People don't know the first step," he says. "They have the big dream. I've run across a lot of Oprah-worthy people who don't know how to get on TV. It's not that hard to get on TV."
Green is living proof of his can-do philosophy. He has a career because he has a "hook." Seminar attendance has doubled since this morning - thanks to an appearance on CITY-TV's Breakfast Television. That's $55 a shot for 140 people.
As they settle in eagerly, Green tells his own story. He was working for a Seattle TV station when Oprah came for an appearance."I said, `Ms. Winfrey, here's the green room. You and your entourage can come and have a good time.' Oprah turns to me and says, `I don't have an entourage.' So I said, `Well, you, your camera guy, your security person and all those 10 people can go right there.' Oprah Winfrey looked at me and said, `And your name is?' `LeGrande Green.' And she said, `Okay, LeGrande, I'll remember that.' " Three months later, he was called to Chicago and hired as an associate producer.
Lesson No. 1: Recognize opportunity.But after working up to supervising senior producer, one rung below executive producer, he left for gigs on Sally Jessy Raphael, Montel Williams and Jerry Springer. Why leave the best gig ever?"I can boil it down to two words: personal challenges. Basically substance abuse. Robin Williams said, `Cocaine is God's way of telling you you have too much money.' I didn't do that, but I did almost everything you could possibly do. But I'm okay with that because there are two other words: spectacular comeback."
Applause for Lesson No. 2: Anyone can start over."What is my hook?" he asks rhetorically.It's not "TV producer tells all," he says. "My hook is Oprah. You wouldn't have come if my hook was Montel."According to Green, the most powerful person in the talk-show world is not the host or anyone else you see on air. It's the producer.The producer is a person with a short attention span. With attention deficit disorder. Average age of 28."We're not talking a lot of life experience," Green says. "So basically, you've got to do the work for the producer."A producer wants to know three things. Who will be sitting in the chair? How will that person and thing they are pushing relate to the viewer? Why do I care?That's where Lesson No. 3 comes in: Know what your hook is."If you don't have a hook," Green says, dropping his voice to a whisper, "don't contact us."
Pat and Diane know what their hook is."A breast cancer calendar," Pat tells the room when Green calls her up. "I'm on a mission to raise a half a million dollars.""Why do I care?" Green says."It's a big topic," she says."Let's move on," he says.
Next up is Alex, a pretty young playwright whose hook is "motherless daughters," and who says, "Mother's Day just passed. Wouldn't it be great to celebrate those who've passed?"Peter is a soft-spoken guy who says he has been called twice to be on Oprah for a show on "following your heart and striking it rich." He never actually made it to the show, however.No one seems to grasp what his pitch is.We move on to Johnny O, a white-haired character who has got a "co-operative" card game to promote in "an age of disintegrating families."
Last up front is Bianca, who really does seem ready for Oprah. She holds up a press kit and a videotape. "This is a 10-minute non-surgical facelift," she says."Baby boomers are looking for fast and quick.""Who has the best chance of getting on Oprah?" Green asks. In an approximation of story-meeting Darwinism, we get to vote.Bianca and her facelift win with 39 votes.
Though the audience is mostly women, they are a range of ages, so they aren't necessarily all interested in her product. It seems she just had the best presentation.Johnny O gets 30. Alex gets 17. Peter gets seven. And Pat's worthy cause gets 0.Green gets the last word, and he goes for Alex as the most Oprah-worthy. Call it the Hallmark effect: Even though it still needs development, "motherless daughters" is the perfect combo of emotional and touching. He also likes the facelift. And the game has potential.Now that we've seen how it all works, we are given fortune cookies.
What Green wants us to do is distill our idea into something that will fit on the back of the little piece of paper."Okay," he says. "You've got your hook. Now, how do you get people in the tent?" The last hour is devoted to the Ps. The Pitch, The Package, Persistence.The pitch should be brief.
Lesson No. 4: No one has time any more. It stands to reason that producers have even less.
Lesson No. 5: Package yourself. Pad your CV. Bolster your Oprah-worthiness by getting on local TV first and listing your appearances. Send a DVD, not a tape. Have a good website; producers book off websites.
Lesson No. 6: Don't give up. And here's the really shocking thing. Never just send your package once.Watch the credits, Green says. Send packages to everyone below the executive producer level, since different producers will be producing different shows.It's for such minutiae that people like Julia Moulden came tonight. An executive coach, she knows how to promote herself. But she has learned something. "Really, it's worth it just for his point about e-mailing shows directly."So, what if a producer actually calls?"It's not just being articulate," Green says. "You have to have energy and speak in sound bites. Producers are always looking to upgrade. You could get booked and they find someone better."
Lesson No. 7: If you're not passionate about your topic, forget it.Finally, Green admits the truth: "This class is a lie. It's not about getting on a show. It's about `What is your message?' People on Oprah have a passion: `This is what my life mission is.' You have to have clarity."It's true. Most of these people won't even try to get on Oprah. But if a talk-show appearance is a metaphor for getting your act together and knowing what your personal sound bite is, this is $55 well spent.
Green is peddling both his expertise and his own story. He figured out what he's all about after battling drugs and bottoming out. All you have to do is raise money for breast cancer. Get a move on.
After a frantic question and answer period, Green wraps: "I'll see you on TV."And with that, half the crowd rushes the stage. He won't make it out for another hour. Videos, books and press kits form a tower next to him. He patiently listens to more pitches."I try to keep in touch," he says, showing no obvious signs of fatigue. "Some people might become clients."
reported by TRALEE PEARCE The Globe & Mail May 14, 2005
(TORONTO) If life's a pitch, there's no one better than a TV producer to give you tips.At a downtown Toronto hotel, LeGrande Green is about to give his Learning Annex seminar: Get Booked On Any TV Talk Show. A CBC camera crew is waiting. True to his profession, he's doing a final check of the conference room before the audience arrives.
A perky 39-year-old who worked on Oprah for seven years, Green has parlayed that time into a new career."I'd been consulting for a while, but everyone asked me, `How do I get on Oprah?' " says the Miami resident, dressed in Miami Vice casual - white linen shirt, black pants. "So I started doing these seminars as a fun thing - it's still a fun thing, actually - it's like breathing."Thanks to talk shows and reality programming, we live in an age when being on TV is almost a right. Success, we are told, is all about selling yourself. So what does it mean if you've never had your 15 minutes?In an intense three-hour coaching session, Green offers a prescription for achievement that says as much about the meaning of modern life as it does about any professional aspirations."People don't know the first step," he says. "They have the big dream. I've run across a lot of Oprah-worthy people who don't know how to get on TV. It's not that hard to get on TV."
Green is living proof of his can-do philosophy. He has a career because he has a "hook." Seminar attendance has doubled since this morning - thanks to an appearance on CITY-TV's Breakfast Television. That's $55 a shot for 140 people.
As they settle in eagerly, Green tells his own story. He was working for a Seattle TV station when Oprah came for an appearance."I said, `Ms. Winfrey, here's the green room. You and your entourage can come and have a good time.' Oprah turns to me and says, `I don't have an entourage.' So I said, `Well, you, your camera guy, your security person and all those 10 people can go right there.' Oprah Winfrey looked at me and said, `And your name is?' `LeGrande Green.' And she said, `Okay, LeGrande, I'll remember that.' " Three months later, he was called to Chicago and hired as an associate producer.
Lesson No. 1: Recognize opportunity.But after working up to supervising senior producer, one rung below executive producer, he left for gigs on Sally Jessy Raphael, Montel Williams and Jerry Springer. Why leave the best gig ever?"I can boil it down to two words: personal challenges. Basically substance abuse. Robin Williams said, `Cocaine is God's way of telling you you have too much money.' I didn't do that, but I did almost everything you could possibly do. But I'm okay with that because there are two other words: spectacular comeback."
Applause for Lesson No. 2: Anyone can start over."What is my hook?" he asks rhetorically.It's not "TV producer tells all," he says. "My hook is Oprah. You wouldn't have come if my hook was Montel."According to Green, the most powerful person in the talk-show world is not the host or anyone else you see on air. It's the producer.The producer is a person with a short attention span. With attention deficit disorder. Average age of 28."We're not talking a lot of life experience," Green says. "So basically, you've got to do the work for the producer."A producer wants to know three things. Who will be sitting in the chair? How will that person and thing they are pushing relate to the viewer? Why do I care?That's where Lesson No. 3 comes in: Know what your hook is."If you don't have a hook," Green says, dropping his voice to a whisper, "don't contact us."
Pat and Diane know what their hook is."A breast cancer calendar," Pat tells the room when Green calls her up. "I'm on a mission to raise a half a million dollars.""Why do I care?" Green says."It's a big topic," she says."Let's move on," he says.
Next up is Alex, a pretty young playwright whose hook is "motherless daughters," and who says, "Mother's Day just passed. Wouldn't it be great to celebrate those who've passed?"Peter is a soft-spoken guy who says he has been called twice to be on Oprah for a show on "following your heart and striking it rich." He never actually made it to the show, however.No one seems to grasp what his pitch is.We move on to Johnny O, a white-haired character who has got a "co-operative" card game to promote in "an age of disintegrating families."
Last up front is Bianca, who really does seem ready for Oprah. She holds up a press kit and a videotape. "This is a 10-minute non-surgical facelift," she says."Baby boomers are looking for fast and quick.""Who has the best chance of getting on Oprah?" Green asks. In an approximation of story-meeting Darwinism, we get to vote.Bianca and her facelift win with 39 votes.
Though the audience is mostly women, they are a range of ages, so they aren't necessarily all interested in her product. It seems she just had the best presentation.Johnny O gets 30. Alex gets 17. Peter gets seven. And Pat's worthy cause gets 0.Green gets the last word, and he goes for Alex as the most Oprah-worthy. Call it the Hallmark effect: Even though it still needs development, "motherless daughters" is the perfect combo of emotional and touching. He also likes the facelift. And the game has potential.Now that we've seen how it all works, we are given fortune cookies.
What Green wants us to do is distill our idea into something that will fit on the back of the little piece of paper."Okay," he says. "You've got your hook. Now, how do you get people in the tent?" The last hour is devoted to the Ps. The Pitch, The Package, Persistence.The pitch should be brief.
Lesson No. 4: No one has time any more. It stands to reason that producers have even less.
Lesson No. 5: Package yourself. Pad your CV. Bolster your Oprah-worthiness by getting on local TV first and listing your appearances. Send a DVD, not a tape. Have a good website; producers book off websites.
Lesson No. 6: Don't give up. And here's the really shocking thing. Never just send your package once.Watch the credits, Green says. Send packages to everyone below the executive producer level, since different producers will be producing different shows.It's for such minutiae that people like Julia Moulden came tonight. An executive coach, she knows how to promote herself. But she has learned something. "Really, it's worth it just for his point about e-mailing shows directly."So, what if a producer actually calls?"It's not just being articulate," Green says. "You have to have energy and speak in sound bites. Producers are always looking to upgrade. You could get booked and they find someone better."
Lesson No. 7: If you're not passionate about your topic, forget it.Finally, Green admits the truth: "This class is a lie. It's not about getting on a show. It's about `What is your message?' People on Oprah have a passion: `This is what my life mission is.' You have to have clarity."It's true. Most of these people won't even try to get on Oprah. But if a talk-show appearance is a metaphor for getting your act together and knowing what your personal sound bite is, this is $55 well spent.
Green is peddling both his expertise and his own story. He figured out what he's all about after battling drugs and bottoming out. All you have to do is raise money for breast cancer. Get a move on.
After a frantic question and answer period, Green wraps: "I'll see you on TV."And with that, half the crowd rushes the stage. He won't make it out for another hour. Videos, books and press kits form a tower next to him. He patiently listens to more pitches."I try to keep in touch," he says, showing no obvious signs of fatigue. "Some people might become clients."
reported by TRALEE PEARCE The Globe & Mail May 14, 2005
