January 24, 2005

Media Advisory: Today Show Guest Heidi Reeder

Who: Today Show guest Heidi Reeder What: Fun, first-person “Celebrity for a Day” feature When: Contact her directly at 426-2404 to set up an interview time   It started with an unexpected call on Monday, Jan. 10, and ended with a day of celebrity for Boise State Communication professor Heidi Reeder. The call was from a woman at NBC’s Today show. “I was skeptical at first,” said Reeder, “but then she put the producer on speakerphone.”   The pair asked Reeder what she knew about friendships, especially those between men and women. As it turns out, she knows quite a bit. Her expert opinion has been quoted in Time Magazine and Psychology Today, among other places. And so it was she found herself flying off to New York City just days later to discuss the topic with Katie Couric and Al Roker on the Jan. 13 show.   Although at ease before the cameras, the experience leading up to her moment of fame was a bit outside the norm, she said. The top-notch hotel, fancy car, make-up and wardrobe specialists — all of it made her feel like a celebrity for a day. Despite all the activity, she was surprised at how conscientious and professional the staff was. “When I think of a news program, I think of chaos,” she said. “This was chaos, but it was controlled chaos.”   And just how did she calm the nervous butterflies she felt leading up to the interview? “The real turning point for me was when I had the thought that I was just teaching in front of a larger audience,” she said. “I felt very fortunate to have such a large audience.” The Today Show reaches about 6 million viewers each day.   For more information, please contact Kathleen Craven, Communications Specialist, at 426-3275  or kcraven@boisestate.edu.