DOCUMENTING THE DOCUMENTED:

COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS
OF PARTICIPATION IN POPULAR TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES
AND REALITY PROGRAMMING

TRANSCRIPT OF ANNA SIMCOX
INTERVIEWER: ABIGAIL DOUGLASS

LOCATION: NEW YORK, NY

DOUGLASS: Let me just get this down for the record. Today is September 16, 2010. My name is Abigail Douglass, graduate student in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin. I am interviewing Anna Simcox, a former publicist and media consultant for the documentary THE OFFICE. She’s agreed to be interviewed about her experiences in that regard as part of our study on the effects of participation in reality television. I really appreciate you doing this, Ms. Simcox.

SIMCOX: Call me Anna, please. It’s no problem, but I have to admit that this is weird for me. I’m used to being on the other side of the interview. I’m not sure what you want, or what you need from me.

DOUGLASS : Well, you know the scope of our project. As I said, we’re looking for long term effects on participants of reality based television programming. Basically, we want to know if these peoples’ lives are different because they were documented. Obviously, you were a part of that and we’re interested in your story. Why don’t you just start out by telling us a little bit about yourself and what you did before you began working on THE OFFICE.

SIMCOX: Okay. I’m a publicist. I know some people like to call us media consultants or spin-doctors or fixers, but I prefer publicist. I have degrees in Communications and Marketing from Penn State and I interned at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce…basically writing press releases. After graduation, I moved to Los Angeles where I worked for a time in an advertising agency. I got lucky, though, and through a friend of a friend, got a job at a well respected boutique PR firm. I handled mainly musicians but I also worked with some actors…most of whom were royal pains in the ass. I made really good money, got to meet a lot of cool people, but long story short, I got burned out fairly quickly. These “celebrities” forget sometimes that their publicist is on their side. It’s our job to help them out. I got sick of arguing with people who were supposed to be on the same team I was. I came back home and hung out my freelance shingle.

DOUGLASS: Is that how you got connected with THE OFFICE?

SIMCOX: Yes. Someone from the network remembered me from my time in LA…we handled a crisis with one of the stars of a popular medical drama together. They knew I was near Scranton and they hooked me up.

DOUGLASS: Let’s backtrack for a minute. Why did this show require a publicist?

SIMCOX: It was really important for the network to have this show be successful. I’m sure you know all of this already…

DOUGLASS: I’d like to hear your take on it.

SIMCOX: Okay. The show started out a documentary on the TruLife Channel…one of those niche channels on basic cable. They followed these people around at their office and because of the personalities of the people involved, it was actually quite popular. It put TruLife on the map. They aired a mini-season…five episodes, I think, on TruLife. NBC was looking for something unique to compete with CBS’s reality juggernaut and put their money on THE OFFICE. It was a kinder-gentler kind of reality program. They bought out the show from TruLife and gave it a nice spot on Sunday nights. Because of the investment in buying out the show and putting it on their prime-time schedule, they needed to give it a huge publicity blitz. The show had a loyal fan base, but word of mouth wouldn’t be enough to get it to develop a network sized audience. NBC knew they’d have to get their “stars” out, on the talk-show circuit, giving interviews to magazines and they wanted to make sure that went smoothly. That’s where I came in.

DOUGLASS: Didn’t NBC have in-house publicity for that sort of thing?

SIMCOX: Definitely. My role was to be a little more hands on with the people in Scranton. These people weren’t actors or even media savvy. My job was to act as their publicist, but also, to get them ready for media appearances and to diffuse any situations on the ground there in Scranton. In a sense, they all became my clients. We were supposed to be a team.

DOUGLASS: So, this was a very different job than what you did in LA.

SIMCOX: Totally. I mean, you’ve seen the show…I was dealing with people like Michael and Dwight. I couldn’t send Kelly out in front of a camera without restraints and I really didn’t want the press anywhere near Angela. Kevin? He was a lawsuit or an FCC violation waiting to happen. With some of these people, we had to start from the ground up just so that they wouldn’t turn off potential viewers.

DOUGLASS: Thanks. I think we’ve got enough background. Why don’t you tell me about the first time you met the people on THE OFFICE.

SIMCOX: Okay. That would have to be the time I went in to introduce myself and tell them about media training. I had divided the staff into two groups….

Jim thrummed his fingers on the conference room table in time with the throbbing that had started at the base of his skull. He hated these days when the network sent somebody in to talk to them or to have them sign another heap of papers. He had thought the worst of it was over…especially after they had to endure the NBC mandated version of sexual harassment training after already sitting through both Toby’s and Michael’s versions. The corporate version had been the worst…binders and self-assessments were much more boring than inflatable sex dolls. In addition, men and women had been separated to “…facilitate openness” so he couldn’t even mock the proceedings with Pam. That should have been a sign of things to come.

It’s wasn’t that he didn’t like the documentary staff. The camera guys were pretty cool and the whole documentary thing was usually a pleasant distraction from the drudgery of his regular job. Talking head interviews were always a built in excuse if he needed to get away from his desk and unload. And with the cameras, he always felt like there was someone there that just “got it”. He could look over and shrug or smirk knowing that somewhere out there…there had to be someone else got how ridiculous this place was. It made him feel less alone. Ever since the little company that had started the show had been bought out by NBC, though, it seemed like the production of the show had taken over everything. It felt like they worked for NBC instead of for Dunder-Mifflin.

He knew that the producers had made suggestions to Michael when things around the office got boring. They’d plant an idea in his head and then watch him run with it. He had overheard one of them saying something like, “Yeah, call Jan. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.” He knew too, that the new production staff wasn’t above jumping into something that just happened for a reshoot. They had asked him to stay after the other day so they could catch him leaving Dwight the bottle of champagne from a different angle where the lighting would be better. And everyone had noticed that Michael’s hair looked different…it was softer now and didn’t give the impression that he had just gotten plugs.

All in all, it was just a bunch of little things that bugged him and it seemed like nobody else cared. What he couldn’t get past, though, was the sense of foreboding that had enveloped him ever since he had heard that they were going to get some sort of media training because they were fast becoming minor celebrities. Being filmed at his dead end job was one thing…he didn’t want to talk about it publically and he certainly didn’t want to answer any questions. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that the producers and camera men had his number. He had tried to hide what he felt for Pam, but their repeated questions trying to trick him into outright admitting something let him know that he wasn’t very skilled at subterfuge.

The Janeane Garafalo-alike at the front of the room had been rambling for the past 15 minutes about teamwork and support and a bunch of other motivational poster words that he strongly suspected were purely bullshit. He looked around the table at his coworkers and figured that most of them were just probably better at feigning interest than he was. Phyllis sat closest to the speaker, a happy smile on her face, nodding along with all of the bulleted points in the NBC branded PowerPoint presentation. Oscar looked like he was taking notes and though Toby’s eyes were hooded half-slits, he appeared to be paying attention. Ryan had his laptop out and Jim wondered if he was diligently copying down the presentation or checking his account on Monster.com. He wondered why only half of them had been invited to this little meeting.

When he looked over to his left, though, Pam caught his eye and offered a small smile. He shrugged, smirked and rolled his eyes in a less exaggerated version of what he knew the production team called his trademark “Jim-look.”

“What?” She mouthed silently back at him.

“This sucks.” He mouthed back.

She jotted something down on her steno pad and slid it over to where he could read it.

“It’s better than Michael.”

He chuckled, looked back up at her and nodded, giving her that point. The east-coast accented voice of their presenter, Angie? Anna? Amelia? Anna! broke through their quiet moment.

“Okay, now that we’ve gone over what I was required to go over with you, I’d like to be up front with you guys. As I’m sure you surmised, most of what I just went over with you was corporate bullshit.”

She had his attention for the moment, but he was still wary.

“The only thing in there that you really need to remember is that I am on your side. I’m here to help you guys. I’m not the enemy and you’re going to have to work with me…not against me. I know this was in the presentation, but let me lay out for you exactly what my job is. First and foremost, I’m here to get you ready for media appearances. The network is going to start asking you to go on some shows…mostly local, but who knows how big this thing will be. I want you to feel comfortable in front of a different kind of camera. We’re also going to have to go over what you can and can’t say in regards to future “episodes” and some of the behind the scenes stuff. I’m not worried about it with you guys. You’re what I’m calling my A-Team.”

“Which one of us is Mr. T?” Jim quipped, trying to diffuse the internal discomfort that the words “media appearances” churned up in him.

“Thanks for affirming my choice, Jim. You have a sense of humor about this. You guys are the sane ones…the articulate ones. You can think on your feet and you aren’t embarrassing. I’m not going to have to go over much with you. Though Phyllis and Toby, we’re going to have to work just a little on speaking up and projecting confidence. Everyone else out there is a special project and I’m still trying to find ways to convince them they need to spend 2 days in a media seminar with me.”

“Michael takes improv classes, you have nothing to worry about,” Oscar deadpanned.

Pam offered her input. “Oooh. Just tell Kelly that it’s the same course Tyra gives to all of her girls. She’ll love it.”

“Thanks. Seriously, though, I think part of my job with some of those people is to keep the cameras away from them or at least keep them from interviewing them. For example, I have a local news crew going to film Kevin’s band this weekend and they’ve agreed not to send a reporter. With this group here, I don’t anticipate needing to do anything more than a quick little talk before each appearance. But, if you have questions, feel free to ask my anything.”

There were things Jim wanted to ask, but he caught a whiff of Pam’s melon scented hair and felt her shift in the seat next to him. He was reminded that he’d have to be extra vigilant now. There was way too much at stake. He kept his questions to himself.

“My second job here is to help you guys deal with being in the public eye. If this show blows up the way the network is projecting, people will become very interested in what you do off camera. I’m not saying you have to change anything about your lives, but I can help you deal with some of the inconveniences of being in the public eye. That being said, if there is anything…anything about you that might potentially cause embarrassment to you or the network if it comes out, I need you to give me a heads up. I can’t help you if I can’t be prepared. If you’ve got a DUI or shoplifting charge…if you’ve been in rehab…if you have a relative who has done something bad, I need to know. Not because I’m nosy, but because I can help you if it comes out. Also, if there’s anything personal that you that you want me to help keep private… if you’re…I don’t know…gay or a Scientologist or your dad is a Nazi….”

Pam and Jim both chuckled, not noticing the nervous way Oscar crossed and re-crossed his legs.

“Oh God…don’t tell me….”

“Yup. Dwight.” Pam said in a tone that implied the association should have been obvious.

Anna scribbled something down on her legal pad.

“Shit. They are definitely going to have to pay me more for this. Anyway, just don’t be afraid to come clean with me, okay?”

He felt Pam lean in, felt her hand grab his forearm, felt her breath in his ear.

“Do you have anything to confess, Jim?” And then her irrepressible giggle, all warm and fresh and….shit. He tried not to let the redness pumping through his veins flush his cheeks or the heat he felt flushing his skin raise goose-bumps under her touch. There was plenty he wanted to confess…wished he could confess…needed to confess, but he knew from his youth and the claustrophobic wood box scented with Father Mike’s spearmint whispers that confession led to penance and he knew what his would be…he knew he’d lose her. So he was willing to play this game, willing to listen to Anna, willing to just go on with the freaking show.

“Just the cross-dressing.” Sometimes he hated himself for his ability to joke his way out of difficult situations.

“I meant besides that, you dork.”

Phyllis was asking a question about one-night stands. Either she was really embarrassed by this moment in her past or fiercely proud of it. She seemed to bring it up a lot. Anna was listening, but Jim noticed the slightest flicker of her eyes first to Pam and them to him. She held his gaze and he wasn’t sure what he saw there. Understanding? Pity? Maybe having a publicist on his side wouldn’t be a bad thing…especially if she could teach him to say “no comment” with conviction. She looked back at Phyllis.

“I think you’ll be fine, Phyllis. Why don’t we talk later? Okay, everyone. I think that’s it. Let me see…oh, do any of you speak Spanish? That could come in handy.”

Toby and Jim both half-raised their hands.

“I lived in Belize for a couple of years,” Toby confessed shyly.

"Really? I try to vacation there every year. We'll have to talk sometime."

"Okay."

“Just high-school for me," Jim interjected. "I’ll let him take the Telemundo interviews.” Jim nodded over at Toby.

“That’s it? Oscar, Michael mentioned that...” Oscar started to reply, a look of frustration across his brow, when she continued. “…right, that was Michael. I need to get used to that. I guess, then that we’re finished. Thanks for your time.”

Chairs were pushed out and pushed in as they murmured their thanks and left the room. He was actually looking forward to getting back to work.

“Jim…Pam…can you guys stick around for a second?” They hung back while Anna rifled through her papers and the door slowly swung shut on its spring. The sense of foreboding was back. This was what he had been dreading. When the door finally clicked shut, Anna took off her glasses and set them down on the table.

“I really appreciate your cooperation today. I know this is difficult and weird and you didn’t sign up for this when you took your jobs at Dunder-Mifflin.”

“It’s fine, really. We’re totally cool with it, right, Jim?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely. Whatever you need…within reason of course…I don’t take my clothes off for just any movie producer.” There was the humor again. This time, the charge in the air deflated it and his joke fell flat at his feet.

“I’m going to be honest with you. You two are probably going to get called for the most interviews.”

He caught the joke he was about to make about their stunning good looks in the back of his throat and swallowed, loudly, he was sure.

“You two are easily the most popular characters. People really like you, they relate to you.”

“That’s good, right?” Pam’s voice was small and tight.

“It’s great. Part of that popularity, though, is…there are a lot of people that would like for you to be a couple…that think you want to be a couple too. They think you are hiding your feelings for each other.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m engaged! We're friends!” Her rapid fire denial cut straight across his gut. She sounded almost disgusted. She looked up at him, nodding manically and looking for him to agree…to make Anna see that this idea was so outside the realm of possibility. All he could do was parrot her.

“She’s engaged.”

“And that reaction right there…that’s why we need to talk. Pam, you look like you’ve seen a ghost and Jim, your fists are clenched like you’re going to hit me. Everything about both of you screams denial even though that isn’t the case. It’s not the case, right?”

“It’s not the case. I’m engaged.”

Jim stayed silent.

“Exactly. I’m going to do what I can, but you guys have to be prepared for questions like that. I can help you so that you aren’t caught off guard and so that it doesn’t look like you’re hiding anything.

“What would we have to hide?” Every time Pam spoke, she wounded him…destroying the small nuggets of hope that he hung onto. He needed to throw up. He needed to get away. But, knowing that someone who was an expert in reading body language was only two feet away made his struggle to hold down his nausea, keep his pulse in check and stop the urge to get the hell out of the conference room ten times harder.

“Truth and reality don't matter, Pam. In my business, perception and image rule the day. I didn’t mean to upset you. Listen, I’ve prepared a list of questions that could come up and some suggested answers. I’d like you to look them over. I’ve got you two booked on Good Morning Scranton next week. It’s no big deal. I don’t think anyone watches it. It will be good practice. Maybe this stuff won’t even come up. I just think I would be doing a disservice to you and the show if you weren’t prepared for it. And you know…I’m thinking you’ll do a couple of shows right before the premiere and then they won’t ask you to do anything until the end of the season. It’s going to be fine.”

Anna handed each of them a file folder, their names printed neatly on the label. He knew he hadn’t said anything since Anna had laid this on them…had threatened his carefully constructed platonic friend façade. Pam was looking at him again and there was something different there. It was almost as if she were scrutinizing him with new eyes and a new sense of wariness.

“Well, thanks for that then.” He cleared his throat not realizing how dry his mouth had become. “It’s good to be prepared to deal with all the messed up things people think. I mean, come on…Pam’s engaged.”

Though they weren’t touching, he felt Pam relax next to him and then he got his wish. They left the conference room and headed back to the monotony of their real lives.

He immersed himself in his work for the next hour, working at mindless tasks…reorganizing his files…updating his contact list…putting receipts in date order, trying to keep his mind off the events of the day until he could get home and deal with it alone…away from the fucking cameras…away from everyone. He knew that she had been playing free-cell for most of that time and he wondered what she was thinking…could she possible be wondering how this could or would change things between them too?

He was in the middle of a Google search researching how to alphabetize hyphenated names when he heard her clear her throat and lean up against the side of his desk. He mentally braced himself for just a second and then wheeled his chair back and looked up at her.

“Hey, Pam. What’s up?”

He focused on her hands…watched her twist her tiny engagement ring back and forth on her finger.

“That was kind of weird, wasn’t it? I mean people think that you and I are….”

“Yeah. It’s weird. Totally.” He didn’t know what else to say…didn’t know what else he could say without causing any further damage. He wondered if Anna consulted on the side…gave advice for talking with people in your personal life. He couldn’t do this. He really couldn’t do this.

“Jim? I was wondering…I mean I wanted to know if….” Her unasked question hung in the air between them. He didn’t know what she wanted from him. An outright denial? The truth? He wished he had the courage to just say something…get it over with…end his suffering. He wondered what she’d do if he merely whispered a single “yes” to whatever it was she wanted to ask him. Instead he settled for slowly nodding his head down to his chest…blowing out a breath…defeated once gain.

“Hey you two. I’m heading out. I wanted to leave you my card with my personal number in case you had questions.”

They took the business cards from Anna’s outstretched hand. Pam retreated, harkening the call of the ringing phone. The moment was broken and Jim wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved.

“Jim. Listen. I know this is probably going to be more difficult for you than anyone else.”

“Yeah.” He was beaten and exhausted. He didn’t have the energy to offer Anna a denial.

“Just remember, your personal life is still your personal life.”

“It doesn’t feel that way.”

“Your feelings are your business. It’s my job to help you keep it that way…if that’s what you want.”

“Thanks.”

“Take a look at the papers I gave you. Call me if you have questions, okay?”

“Yeah.”

After Anna left, he picked up his file folder and skimmed the the printed text. Anna had painstakingly printed out a list of questions in bold print and then offered several possible responses. She had done her homework. About halfway down page two, his eyes rested on a single question.

“So, Jim. Why don’t you just tell Pam how you really feel about her?”

He shoved the papers back in the folder, grabbed his messenger bag and coat and left the office without another word…almost tripping over the camera cables.