Expand your reach. As a think tanker, your direct publications won't get many eyeballs. Your policy impact depends more on popular media outlets sharing your findings and recommendations. In fact, you should proactively reach out to journalists to share your publications and quickly explain why they are newsworthy.
Increase name recognition. The more you're quoted on a topic, the more you're recognized as a subject matter expert. There is a snowballing effect here. Greater name recognition may also expand future research grants and speaking opportunities.
Summarize your work. Interviews force you to consider, "Why does my research matter? What are the main takeaways? What are my assumptions?" We should be thinking about these questions throughout our research process, but speaking with journalists adds a personal cost to failure. It puts skin in the game.
How do you prepare for interviews?
Prepare for expected questions. Don't just think about them—write them out, and clearly organize your responses. Re-read your related research. Read more recently published literature.
Consult with colleagues. This is easier if you're emailed questions, in which case you can share your responses with colleagues and ask for their feedback. But even if you're not given questions in advance, you may chat through the subject and your views.
Organize your key points. Focus the conversation on those 3-5 points and respectfully avoid tangents that you're not prepared to discuss.
Ensure material requirements. Double check that you have access to a good camera and microphone before joining a recorded interview or podcast.
Clarify the scope of your expertise. You should know the reliability of all information that you're providing. Provide names of people who can answer questions that you can't answer.
Be at your A-game. That means having enough sleep, food, sun, and exercise. Do not over-caffeinate before an interview.
When should you reject an interview?
You're asked to speak on a subject for which you're not an expert, or at least not significantly better than their alternative speaker.
You're asked to respond immediately on breaking news. When the BBC emails at 6:30am for a TV spot on a Middle East crisis, they're giving you a ripe opportunity to screw something up or accidentally share dis/misinformation.
You're busy with deep work and the potential engagement is unlikely to have wide viewership. I strongly support local journalism, but I won't reschedule my calendar for them like I would for NYT or WSJ.
Your interviewer is adversarial or has a poor reputation. Review their past publications, interviews, and podcasts before agreeing to an interview, especially if they are from an unknown media outlet. You should know their history and biases.