|
SBC President's Page - Interview Guidelines
Southern
Baptist Convention
Statement
of the President
Frank Page
on interview practices and procedures
I welcome the opportunity to share my views
through the religious and secular media. In order to
meet numerous requests while also being faithful to fulfill
to my duties as pastor, I will respond to media inquiries
according to the following:
1. Because of my church responsibilities,
I will accept limited numbers of in-person and phone interviews. I
have more flexibility in responding to e-mail if these are
limited to 3-4 specific questions.
2. I will grant specific times to begin and
end in-person and phone interviews. Reporters
should plan their time accordingly, inclusive of follow-up
questions. I will start and finish interviews on time.
3. I request that reporters submit potential
questions at least a day ahead of the interview to allow
me to gather my thoughts and be as responsive and informed
in my replies as possible. I
reserve the right to end interviews that stray significantly
from the stated agenda, allowing for discussion about appropriate
topics that might unfold during the interview.
GENERAL NOTES:
I gladly will comment on world events
and national policies inasmuch as there is an intersection
with the Christian faith. The
focus of my ministry is the life-transforming message about Christ. If
you or your news organization is offended by such a message,
then it is best that you not interview me. If you or your
editors remove my references to Christ then I will not grant
subsequent interviews.
I will be transparent in my interview
and clearly distinguish what is background and what is on
the record. I will try
to be clear and direct in my answers and I expect a concise and
accurate representation of the interview in your reporting. Any
other outcome will cause me to decline subsequent interviews.
It is not my practice to criticize others
and certainly I do not choose to interact with anyone through
an exchange in the media. Please respect my choice when I decline not to comment
on issues or about others. Pressing me to give a response
may result in my ending the interview and cause me to negatively
view future requests for comment from you and your media
organization.
For media inquiries
or to request an interview
contact Roger S. "Sing" Oldham, VP for Convention Relations, at (615)
782-8610,
or by e-mail at soldham@sbc.net.
To view my recent writings,
visit
the president’s
page at www.sbc.net.
 Back
to Top
 Printer
Friendly version
 Questions?
|
