Ready, Set, Talk!: A Guide to Getting Your Message Heard by Millions on Talk Radio, Talk Television, and Talk Internet

Ready, Set, Talk! will help anyone—from the novice activist to the sophisticated public relations professional—develop a talk media message, prepare a campaign, and roll it out. The authors demystify the process of identifying and analyzing potential media targets and opportunities, and show readers how to develop media events for maximum attention and continuing exposure on talk media.

Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes on how to—and how not to—execute a successful campaign, this revealing media manual pulls no punches. Ratner and Scarrah analyze the conservatives' success on talk media and explain how anyone can do the same, not just by creating their own show, but also by going head to head with others on highly successful existing shows.

Ready, Set, Talk! is a roadmap to putting the internet, podcasting, and videocasting to work for ideas, causes, and candidates. It includes guidelines for print and television interviews; a step-by-step guide to selecting, booking, and preparing a spokesperson; a comprehensive idiot-proof promotional checklist; and advice on how to manage crises in the media.

Ellen Ratner is the White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief for The Talk Radio News Service, covering the White House and providing exclusive reports to talk radio stations from the Congress and government agencies. Ms. Ratner is a news analyst on The Fox News Channel where she has a weekly segment entitled "The Long and Short of It" with Jim Pinkerton. She is heard on over 500 stations across the United States representing individual stations as well as syndicated shows on both commercial and public radio venues. In addition she writes a weekly column "Liberal and Proud" for World Net Daily. She is also the only talk show host granted two in-person interviews with President Clinton.

Ratner is the political editor and Washington bureau chief for Talkers Magazine, the "bible" of the talk industry. In addition, she has developed College Media News, a broadcast service for college and university radio stations, served by students interning in Washington, DC. In the capacity as Political Editor of Talkers Magazine, she developed the concept of combining radio rows with immediate Internet access. In addition, she has trained many groups in use of radio, television and Internet media. Her latest book, Ready, Set, Talk! A Guide to Getting Your Message Heard by Millions on Talk Radio, Talk Television, and Talk Internet will be published in June, 2006.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ratner graduated from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. She earned a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University.

From 1973 to 1986, Ratner served as co-director and co-founder of Boundaries Therapy Center, in Acton, MA. Also, from 1974 to 1981, Ratner was the Director of the Psychiatric Day Treatment Program at South Shore Mental Center in Quincy, MA. In 1984, Ratner joined the Addiction Recovery Corporation as a Consultant on Program Development. From 1986 to 1990, Ratner served as Vice-President of Research, Development, and Service at the Addiction Recovery Corporation and as Director of its ARC Research Foundation. She served as Principal Investigator for an outcome research study, determining treatment outcome factors in alcoholism and chemical dependency treatment.

Ratner is the author of The Other Side of the Family: A Book for Recovery from Abuse, Incest and Neglect (Health Communications, Inc.), published in 1990. In February 1997, Ratner published 101 Ways to Get Your Progressive Ideas on Talk Radio, published by National Press Books and Talkers Magazine.

Kathie Scarrah is an independent international television news producer for Associated Press Television, Voice of America Television, the U-S Department of State and the US Army. Her news productions have aired on all U-S commercial and cable network news channels as well as major networks in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. She has been honored with critical acclaim for her long-format news productions at several international competitions.

She was appointed the Director of the Office of Broadcast Services at the US Department of State for the final year of the Clinton Administration. For 12 years she served as Director of Broadcast Communications for Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and a year as Communications Director for Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-10th OH). She came to Washington in 1988 as a Deputy Press Secretary to Senator John Melcher (D-MT).

She has worked on political campaigns in the US, Germany and UK and has advised members of the US Senate, the European Union Parliament, the German Bundestag and the British House of Commons on how to effectively communicate with their constituents via television, radio and the Internet.

Ms. Scarrah began broadcasting on local television while still a college student and after graduation she was a local television and radio anchor and reporter with stations in Montana and North Dakota.