what they are

Why to professional investors appear on radio and TV shows?  Why do they give interviews to newspaper reporters?  After all, it takes time, they don’t get paid, the interviewer may be clueless and have his/her own agenda, and they give away information that they normally charge their clients for.  Nevertheless, professionals are eager to do so.

why appear in the media?

Ego is one reason, but that only goes so far.

The real reason is that most people have an unusually favorable view of the media.  They think that before you get to appear on a TV show about investing, you have to pass a rigorous screening process that weeds out all but the best and the brightest.  With retail clients in particular, the implied endorsement by the media can be a more important factor in their deciding to hire you as a manager than your experience and track record.

The reality is that a media appearance can simply be the result of a phone call by your public relations company, or the fact that you look good in a suit and can talk in sound bites, or that you can appear on short notice when a comment on your specialty is needed, or that your firm is a big advertiser.  So the appearance is actually more like a product placement in a movie than an independent evaluation of your competence.

Despite this, the sales materials for your products will doubtless feature your media appearance prominently  …because it works.