NBC’s Tim Russert died yesterday. One of the things I will remember him for was his expert use of videotaped soundbites of his interview subjects. Russert could host nearly any politician on his or her own petard. Russert was convincing because the video didn’t lie. Russert, more than any other modern journalist, taught politicians the importance of crafting every single soundbite out of their mouths, unless they wanted the soundbites to come back to haunt them.

Speaking of Roger Ailes, he truly is the matter of the sound bite, especially when there is invective involved. If you want a weekly or daily tutorial on great sound bites, do what I do, I have set up a free Google news alert to send me an email every time Roger Ailes is mentioned in the media. Typically, I am rewarded with some golden nugget where Ailes has skewered some hapless CNN or CNBC executive. I might not agree with Ailes very often, but you can’t challenge his status as king of the sound bite.

Hats off to Tiger Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg. Recently, there was controversy when Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman suggested that young players on the PGA would “lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley.”

Steinberg made the following response on behalf of Woods, “Regardless of the choice of words used we know unequivocally that there was no ill-intent in her comments. This story is a non-issue in our eyes.”

This is a brilliant sound bite and message because it does the following:
1. Addresses the issue squarely.
2. Recognizes that something inappropriate happened.
3. Sends a forgiving message.
4. Minimizes the issue in such a way as to make Tiger Woods seem like a class act who transcends petty racial squabbles.
5. Keeps Woods above the fray by not having him quoted directly.
6. Contains classic sound bite elements such as absolutes and emotions, thus guaranteeing placement in multiple media outlets.

I don’t normally advise stars avoiding media comment and having agents or spokespeople speak on their behalf, but in this case, I think the Woods team made a smart decision by having Steinberg diffuse the issue with his statement.

Once in every election there is a sound bite where something dramatic occurs that supposedly turns the election. Usually, the news media get this wrong. Here is the clip where Senator Clinton allegedly cries in New Hampshire. Only, if you look closely, she doesn’t actually cry—she simply speaks in emotional terms. In 2004, Howard Dean’s scream allegedly destroyed his campaign. In truth his campaign had already peaked and John Kerry had already destroyed Dean in Iowa.In 1987 Gary Hart supposedly destroyed his campaign by issuing a challenge to the press “Go ahead and follow me around. You won’t find anything and you will be bored.” But what everyone always forgets is the story where that this was quoted came out one day AFTER the Miami Herald broke the story about Hart’s Monkey Business. Did Ed Muskie’s crying in New Hampshire destroy his candidacy in 1972? In truth he was an establishment candidate who didn’t campaign very hard and was seen as a sinking ship. Even the supposed tears on his face are questionable, given that it was snowing on him at the time.So what’s the point? I am a lifelong fan of politics and the art of the sound bite. But the more I follow both, I realize that the political media and other observers will often latch on to a sound bite to try to impose a narrative onto a story and to establish a cause and effect when it fact all they are doing is guessing. I think Hillary Clinton’s emotional moment in New Hampshire was a compelling emotional moment. But did it turn the election? I find that a dubious proposition.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, vividly demonstratives that you don’t have to be experienced, old and wizened to be a confident and compelling public speaker. Zardari is all of 19 years old; he’s just seen his mother’s brains splattered across his TV set, and yet at his introductory press conference (watch here) he comes across as poised, confident, and as a strong leader. I’m not suggesting that one good press conference appearance is enough to make him the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, but his initial performance in front of the camera will do much to solidify a positive image for him in his country and around the world. If you watch the first 30 seconds of this video, please note the volume and energy in his voice are powerful, his quoting of his own mother is memorable, and the emotion and absoluteness of his comments guarantee great sound bites. Something tells me he has a bright future ahead.