I've been attending and organizing protests since late 2003. By 2007-2008, I was leading them.
That means I've spent a solid 15 years talking to the media.
In the last decade, I've averaged 100s of them a year.
Even though I originally applied to Carleton for journalism and media studies, I hated it and switched to Women's Studies and Canadian Studies.
I have zero formal media training. Zero.
But practice makes perfect and I've had a lot of practice.
And as any ballerina or stand-up comedian will tell you - making it look easy is a sign of being good at your job.
Unfortunately, we live in a culture that views visibility as currency. We think "paying people in exposure" is a legitimate form of payment and we think that every time we see someone in the media, that's a cheque in their pocket.
Nah, babe. Not even close.
This is what being a media source really entails:
Read more: On being a media source