Day Eight & Nine

It's been a productive couple of days. Received an e-mail from Oakland University's PR department. They received my e-mail request to interview Dr. Russi and are currently trying to work out a way to make it happen.

I also received an anonymous tip. I can't say what it is yet but it could be an "ace in the hole" if all else fails in getting Dr. Russi on the show. In case you're wondering, no, it doesn't involve anything illegal or unethical.

More to come...

Interview Request Letter

The following is a copy of the e-mail sent to media relations at Oakland University. Yes, it's very similar to the e-mail I sent directly to Dr. Russi. Hopefully this will get the ball rolling in setting up an interview with him.

Hi!

My name is Erik Anderson, I'm the General Manager of Oakland University's Campus Radio Station WXOU. I'm also host of The Erik Anderson Program which airs Mondays from 11am to 1pm on WXOU. I wanted to send an email to openly invite Dr. Gary Russi to appear on my radio program. I've never interviewed him and I think it would be great to have him on the air. I don't have any pre-set agenda to discuss and I'm open to discussing / promoting whatever he wants to talk about on the show. I'll be open, honest, and fair with him as long as he does the same in return.

Please contact me to set this up. Let me know what I can do to help make this happen. I can be reached via this email address or by phone. My campus extension is 4324.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,
Erik

Day 7

No calls or e-mails from Dr. Russi or his PR people. I did send a formal e-mail to them in hopes of getting the ball rolling.

Day Four, Five, and Six

No calls or e-mails from Dr. Russi.

I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback from various sources. Thanks to everyone who has either written a note or talked to me directly in support of this blog. I appreciate the support and words of encouragement.

Please tell your friends about this blog. I'll make an effort to have banners and buttons sometime next week so you can post them on your favorite websites.

Enjoy your weekend!

Day Three

Saw Dr. Russi while walking across campus today. He was walking with some people and a person who appeared to be on security detail. While I wanted to yell HEY DR. RUSSI! DID YOU GET MY E-MAIL? I didn't think it would be appropriate nor did I want to run the risk of possibly being tasered.

Other than that, no calls or e-mails from him. I'll keep trying "Official Channels" for awhile.

Day Two

No calls or e-mails from Dr. Russi. However, one WXOU staff member ran into him on campus this morning. The staff member didn't have the chance to ask him why he (or another representative) hasn't contacted me to setup an interview yet.

So close! Oh well...next time!

Day 1

No calls or e-mails from Dr. Russi.

The Postcard

During the Oakland University Professors Strike, students were given cards to send into Dr. Russi as a show of support for the Professors.

This is a photo of a card I mailed in.

That was over a week ago...so far no calls from Dr. Russi.

Open Invitation E-Mail Sent To Dr. Russi

The following is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Dr. Russi today giving him an open invitation to appear on my radio show.

Dear Dr. Russi,

My name is Erik Anderson, i'm the General Manager of Oakland University's Campus Radio Station WXOU. I'm also host of The Erik Anderson Program which airs Mondays from 11am to 1pm on WXOU. I wanted to send an email to openly invite you to appear on my radio program. I've never interviewed you and I think it would be great to have you on the air. I don't have any pre-set agenda to discuss and i'm open to discussing / promoting anything you are interested in talking about on the show. I'll be open, honest, and fair with you as long as you do the same in return.

Please contact me to set this up. I can be reached via this email address or by phone. My campus extension is 4324.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,
Erik

The Quest Begins

Welcome to the "Dr. Russi Log".

This blog is going to showcase my attempt to get Oakland University President Dr. Gary Russi to appear on my WXOU Radio show, The Erik Anderson Program.

As time goes on, I'll post updates on how the quest is going. David Letterman kept a similar "Log" during his attempt at getting Oprah to appear on The Late Show several years ago. I hope to accomplish the same thing with this blog.

I came up with this idea during the 2009 Oakland University Professors Strike. During the strike, we constantly heard from Union representatives and other University administrators, but rarely from Dr. Russi outside of a press release or two. I wondered what would happen if he appeared on my radio show. What would he say, what would we talk about?

Hopefully over time, we'll find out the answers to both of those questions.