Lessons From “We Solve Murders”-- Separating Fact from Fiction

In this episode, Elizabeth Sutherland, President and CEO of Sutherland Weston, explores the blurred lines between fiction and real-world media access, sparked by a plot twist in Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders, part of the Thursday Murder Club series. 

Using the fictional scene as a springboard, Elizabeth and Ric Tyler offer a behind-the-scenes look at television media protocols, typically involving multiple layers of approval from producers to anchors before a story sees airtime. The idea that someone could simply walk into a studio and share a narrative unchecked is, for most people, pure fiction—unless they carry significant fame, and even then, it’s not that simple.

Elizabeth shares a rare Maine-based exception involving Senator George Mitchell, adding depth to the conversation and highlighting how influence and integrity can sometimes bend the usual rules.

YOU’LL LEARN:

– Media Vetting Processes: What it actually takes to get airtime on a professional broadcast.

– Celebrity Influence: How fame can shift access to platforms, but not eliminate gatekeeping entirely.

– Real-Life Media Exceptions: A rare case of unscripted airtime featuring a well-respected public figure.

 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) For the most part, you are not going
to get airtime to offer a breaking news
story without someone having an advanced notice of
that story.
Now, I do have a Maine-based tale
to tell where that did happen.
This is The Briefcase from Sutherland Weston Marketing
Communications.

(00:21):
Quick conversations from everyday observations delivering practical marketing
ideas you can carry with you.
I'm Elizabeth Sutherland, President and CEO of Sutherland
Weston Marketing Communications.
We just finished another Audible.
It's a Richard Osman book.
Yes, it was great.
He's the fellow that wrote the Thursday Murder
Club.

(00:41):
A series.
This is a brand new series for him.
It's called We Solved Murders.
And in the book, spoilers, there is an
uber rich character named Rosie.
Yeah, she was great.
Who finagles her way onto a morning talk
show in Ireland.
Right, Dublin.
She finagles as in she's world famous, so
it doesn't take much finagling.

(01:02):
And once on the set, she weaves this
tale about how a man rescued her from
drowning.
And she wants to find him to thank
him and plasters his photo.
But in truth, she's trying to stall a
hitman.
Correct.
It's a very complicated plot, and you should
definitely read it if you are a mystery

(01:23):
buff.
What we wonder is, even someone who is
uber wealthy, can they just find their way
onto a morning talk show and then spin
whatever tale they want and get away with
it?
So a couple of things.
It's not that she's uber wealthy.
It's that she's uber famous.
And with fame and celebrity comes a lot
of privilege.

(01:44):
Indeed.
However, even for the multifaceted, globally famous individuals,
there is some vetting that takes place before
you can go on air and just say
anything you'd like.
My experience in television, you had to work
with a producer, an associate producer, a news
director, and maybe even the reporter, let alone
one of the anchors.

(02:05):
Correct.
Before you would even take a seat on
the set to be able to tell such
a tale.
Very true.
For the most part, you are not going
to get airtime to offer a breaking news
story without someone having an advance notice of
that story.
Now, I do have a Maine-based tale
to tell where that did happen.

(02:26):
When Senator George Mitchell decided to retire in
the mid-90s, he booked five minutes of
paid airtime after the news on all of
the stations in Maine.
And there was an actual conversation with station
owners, leaders, with the Mitchell team about letting

(02:46):
him do that without them knowing what the
topic was.
And they were very uncomfortable with that.
However, because of his celebrity and because of
his integrity and the understanding that people had
of his personality and character, they allowed that.
And that's when he announced his retirement from
the U.S. Senate.
So it is possible.

(03:07):
It is possible.
Highly implausible in the way Richard Osman wrote
it in We Solve Murders, but it can
be done in certain situations.
For most of us, however, we would find
that we were telling our tale over and
over again to a number of folks involved
in the broadcast as they vetted the story

(03:27):
to make sure it was appropriate for air.
You have been listening to The Briefcase from
Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications.
Got a question for the Sutherland Weston team?
Email us at SutherlandWeston.com.