When getting framed is a good thing.

A handful of elected officials gathered around a podium moments before a news conference inside a suburban Philadelphia museum full of military artifacts, when I noticed something was amiss.

Finding a staffer for one of the speakers, I quietly recommended he move the podium.

Why, he asked. What was the problem?

I motioned to the background - what cameras and viewers would see behind each speaker.

His eyes widened, as he rushed to move the podium.

No, a banner featuring a Nazi swastika was not what anyone needed to see behind his boss.

I’ve removed specific details from this anecdote from my reporting career because the bigger point can be made without them: when you’re on camera, lots of other things can be seen as well.

A recent edition of John Oliver’s HBO show Last Week Tonight featured a newsman reporting from his home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Just one problem.

No one was paying attention to the news report, because his cat was seated on a shelf behind him giving himself a bath. 

And leaving nothing unwashed.

In my training sessions, you’ll learn (among lots of other things) what looks good behind you and what does not.

In the case of a television interview, you may be able to politely suggest to the news crew a tighter (but not too tight) framing that shows you and little else.

But when doing an interview via Skype or other iPhone or iPad- based formats, the wide shot is what you get.

Which is why I will share specific recommendations for what works with the mood/image you’re trying to project.

By the way, some free advice for those law firms and other businesses that spend lots of money on signage on the wall behind their reception desk: it looks good in person, not so good on TV.

Unless the interview subject is about 6’ 10’, the TV camera is likely to capture your head and shoulders (good) and the bottom portion of the company name or logo (bad).

Bottom line, remember that you’re almost certainly not the only thing the camera sees in the frame.

And keep Kitty out of the room.

Especially at bath time.