Sarah Lacy: Good in Print Does Not Mean Good on Stage

Adam Tinworth
Adam Tinworth

Back in December, I was fairly scathing about Sarah Lacy’s interview with Digg’s Kevin Rose at Le Web 3.

[![Sarah Lacy](https://i0.wp.com/www.onemanandhisblog.com/content/images/2008/03/CRW_6384-thumb-140x215.jpg?resize=140%2C215)](https://i1.wp.com/www.onemanandhisblog.com/content/images/2008/03/CRW_6384.jpg)
It would appear from an interview that she did with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg that [she hasn’t improved much](http://www.allfacebook.com/2008/03/mark-zuckerberg-sarah-lacey-interview-disaster/):
> Sarah Lacey, the author of a Business Week cover article as well as a book on Mark Zuckerberg, appeared to spend more time discussing the personal moments that her and Mark shared before. At least ten times during the interview, Sarah Lacey failed to end on a question and instead preferred to end on statements.

The coverage just gets worse and worse and worse. There’s even a comic recounting the Lacy/Zuckerberg encounter.

Alan characterises the [reaction as that of a lychmob ](http://broadstuff.com/archives/780-The-Sarah-Lacey-lynchmob-in-full-cry.....html)but I’m less convinced. There’s a growing body of evidence that, for all her skill as a print journalist, and undoubted charisma, she just can’t cut it as a stage interviewer. And if there’s one thing the social media world can’t abide, it’s old media journalists giving themselves airs above their skill level.
If there’s a lesson here, it’s as simple as “stick to what you’re good at”.
interviewsJournalismJournalistsmark zuckerbergsarah lacy

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Adam is a lecturer, trainer and writer. He's been a blogger for over 20 years, and a journalist for more than 30. He lectures on audience strategy and engagement at City, University of London.

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