May 2nd, 2006
Spencer Sartin and his Media Career - Step 4
Never discount the Rolodex Effect.
It turns out there are at least two feedback cycles. One is that, being in the media makes you worth covering. The other (stronger I believe) is that Spencer (and I, his publicist) wound up in the rolodexes of several people at Children’s Hospital of Austin and the Lance Armstrong Foundation as being willing to talk to media and at least tolerably photogenic. As a result of the Rolodex Effect, I received a couple of phone calls early in the year.
One call was asking me to participate in St. Baldrick’s in Austin. St Baldrick’s is an event where people shave their heads to raise money for pediatric cancer research. As soon as Spencer heard about it, he challenged me to see who could raise more money. He kicked my butt. Then he shaved my head before a professional shaved his. The St. Baldrick’s web site has an article about Spencer shaving his head for charity that includes a pointer to the KEYE News Story about St. Baldrick’s here in Austin.
The other call was asking us if we would be willing to be taped and interviewed by KLRU, Austin’s PBS station, to do an episode of their Austin Now news magazine. They will be airing an episode in June covering pediatric cancer as a tie-in to the airing of Lion in the House – a compelling documentary on pediatric cancer that follows several patients from the moment of diagnosis. KLRU dropped by the St. Baldrick’s event and shot some B roll in preparation for more to be done in April.
Come back soon for step 5 – our busy April.