So You Want To Be A Television Analyst

What it is really like to be a CNN television analyst

So you really want to know ...

Since my first opportunity on CNN back in September of 2016, and following my signing this past May as a CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, I have learned more than a few lessons about the television news industry. I have been blessed beyond what I deserve for this incredible opportunity and privilege and I KNOW there are LEGIONS of equally talented and prepared folks who could do this job.

Every day on a CNN set is a blessing and a lesson. I truly appreciate what I have been afforded --- an opportunity to discuss --- "demystify," if you will --- a profession I proudly spent a quarter-century serving within. I certainly know quite a bit about law enforcement culture, tactics, investigations, methodologies, and response capabilities. I would NEVER claim to be an "expert" on anything. My job is simply to provide some "color," or background, and to aid the viewing audience in better understanding what they're witnessing in a breaking news story. It's certainly a tiny needle to thread --- educating the audience, being both interesting and informative, while never giving away trade secrets to aid the "bad guys" in the pursuit of harming the "good guys."

Understand that a television analyst must be well read, and be able to riff on any number of potential tangential subjects to his/her subject matter expertise. Yes, you must be prepared to comfortably and competently speak across a broad range of issues, some that have nothing to do with your titular assignment or expertise. Sports, pop culture, U.S. and world history, politics, and any topical subject may be on the menu during your segment. So, if you're not a fan of Jeopardy and don't get excited when encountering a Barnes & Noble bookstore during your travels, this limits your ability to fully 'color' your analysis, or engage in a topic on a level beyond superficial depth.

But one thing, more than anything else, has truly resonated with me this past year during this incredible ride:

For decades, I was a voracious consumer of cable news. And from the safe and comfortable perch on my couch, I can't begin to tell you the number of times I smugly chuckled as an anchor or contributor or guest twisted themselves into a "word salad," inadvertently misspoke, mangled the pronunciation of a common word, or made an earnest mistake in attempting to define or describe something. I'd turn to my wife, chuckling, and remark, "Wow! What a dumb mistake!"

Well, suffice it to say --- but this damn business is a most humbling pursuit. Working "without a net" is extremely exhilarating and a helluva lot of fun. There are no "do-overs" and, on set, "take two" isn't a real option. This extemporaneous profession certainly comes with its pitfalls. And I've experienced a few along the way to improving my craft. And I now better appreciate the occasional malapropism or less-than-perfect explanation given by someone on television. Regarding the identified potential pitfalls, please take these few into account:

One is the expected 'trolls.' Or, more to my point --- your potential (over)reaction to them. The best defense against these folks with far too much time on their hands, is to simply ignore them. That's their "kryptonite." But even the most harshly critical tweets --- if offered in a smart-funny manner that makes me laugh --- will sometimes engender a response back, by way of further explanation or countered quip. I appreciate different viewpoints from my own. I also recognize I'm fallible and imperfect --- as are my theories and analyses. They're based in 33 years of USG service, but they are my OPINIONS. And they're subject to fair scrutiny and opposing viewpoints.

And this business fairly demands a thick skin. Really THICK skin.

So what have I learned --- especially in the wake of my flurry of on-location appearances across a multitude of CNN shows in Las Vegas this past week?

Firstly, CNN has an amazing team of management, producers, directors, camera crews, sound operators, security personnel, anchors, show-runners, interns, and contributors. Everyone wants to be a part of something "bigger than themselves." I have certainly experienced just that while studying at West Point, or assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, serving in the FBI, or while assigned to the FBI-HRT, and now at St. John's University where I teach as an adjunct professor. I certainly am a part of that at CNN.

Again, I'm blessed.

But to my point about the precarious nature of this business, the erstwhile analyst must understand that there are NO do-overs. Get it right, and get it right the FIRST time. This can be a difficult pursuit in the "breaking news" arena and when you are operating on little sleep (during a major breaking news story) and imperfect, undeveloped information. No excuses. Get it right...the FIRST time. It's your JOB. And the network and the viewing public demand it and certainly deserve as much. Being accurate AND precise must certainly be requirements for staying power in this business.

And understand that when you do make a mistake, misspeak, stumble over a word, or struggle to succinctly make your point, the 'vultures' will pounce. They exist on BOTH sides of the partisan ideological divide and they will champion you one day and remain smugly unapologetic as they viciously lampoon you the next. Get over it. Otherwise, it will consume you and make you 'gun-shy' when next asked for your opinion or analysis. That's a recipe for disaster in a business where being quick-witted, on-point, interesting, relevant, learned, and collected is everything.

If you do make a mistake and are afforded an organic opportunity to clarify your point, do so clearly and unabashedly.

If you do misspeak --- no matter how sincere your intentions --- be prepared to be called #FakeNews if you work for CNN, as I do, OR, #AmericanPravda if you work for FOX News. Also, some viewers desperately want to believe that anchors and contributors and guests are TOLD what to say by Management. They couldn't be more wrong. No one at the network has EVER censored me or filtered me. They ask my opinion. We engage in a conversation. Sometimes the anchors or other guests concur with me and sometimes they don't. Isn't that the beauty of America?

Lastly, no matter how much you lament a missed opportunity during an appearance or ruminate on what you could have done better to express your point --- Move On! In basketball parlance --- NEXT PLAY! Don't obsess over your mistakes. And always remember to take the accolades and the criticisms in the same vein. Remain even-keeled. You're not THAT good and you're simply not THAT bad.

I'm too 'new' to the business to reflect on years of experience. However, I am a student of the game, and have begun charting the trends and studying my colleagues and the craft I will work hard to get better at. I have a lot to learn. But the biggest takeaway, thus far, for this former Monday Morning Quarterback, has been this one:

Next time you sit down on your couch to take in a professional football game and question why the running back chose the wrong hole to wriggle through or space to dart across, take a deep breath, reflect on the difficulty of his craft, and imagine making those decisions in real-time --- the blink of an eye --- with a 300 pound defensive lineman squaring you up for a "decapitation."

That's what it's like under the klieg lights, when the reporting suddenly shifts, expert analysis is called for at that immediate moment, and a producer suddenly blurts into your earpiece, "CAMERA!"