Peter Spurway’s Practical, Powerful and Effective Guide to Media Relations

Why this Relationship Matters Effective media relations is critical to building awareness about your company/organization/brand (COB). Supportive media stories can be valuable third party endorsements and can position your COB as a valuable contributor to the life and growth of your community, with so much more credibility than any advertising you may do. Your goal is not simply to supply useful, newsworthy information to media outlets, but to build trust and good faith in your working relationship with them. A good relationship with the media is based on trust and honesty. There will be the odd reporter who may violate these principles, but they can be managed. Your goal is to manage your relationship with the media, because you cannot control it. You are one half of a relationship, and you have complete control of your side of the equation. Use that control to your advantage. You have what they want - and they have access to audiences valuable to you. Objectivity (and Unicorns) Objectivity is a myth. Reporters are human beings and they bring a set of biases to every story they cover. They like some things and don’t like others. They particularly don’t like people who lie to them and treat them badly. The two qualities that you can reasonably expect from your encounters with the media are accuracy and fairness. Did they get the facts right? Were they fair in their presentation of the story? Was there an apparent bias? Lies Don’t tell them. And don’t make things up. If you don’t know the answer, commit to getting it. Better to look unprepared than deceitful. Questions You are not obliged to be confined by the question. The question is your invitation to speak. Bridge from the question to your key message. This is one of the ways you exert the control you have over the interview. You have 100% control over the answer you give and the tone you use in giving it. If you limit yourself to the questions you are asked, you give up that control and allow the interviewer to set the agenda. Communications advisor: “Boss, why didn’t you talk about all the wonderful things we’re doing to help disadvantaged youth get jobs and experience in our ‘Building for Tomorrow’ Program?” Boss: “They didn’t ask me.” Communications Advisor (to self): “Deliver me from this idiot.” Verbal Cue This is one of the simplest and most effective techniques in an interview. When you are gearing up to deliver one of your key messages, tell the world it’s coming: “If I make only one point here today, it is this one…” “The most important element in this situation is this…” “Here is the essence of this situation…” Now, once you’ve done this, you’d better be prepared to deliver a gem. If you use the verbal cue to foreshadow a weak, irrelevant point, you’ve wasted it. It’s only for the big message at the heart of your story. Nuance For the most part, shades of meaning, subtleties and nuance are lost on reporters. For the most part, they will see the broad strokes of a story, but struggle to express fine elements within it. What this means for you is that you will have more success when you express large, broad ideas than you will if you try to be too cute or introduce elegant shades of meaning. “Off the Record” There is no such thing as “off the record”. Everything you do and say in the presence of the reporter is fair game for them to use. If a reporter asks you something “off the record”, stick to your planned responses and do not be drawn into such a discussion. You’re on dangerous ground. There is very little upside for you. And never offer a comment “off the record”. The reporter may respect your confidence in the short term, but will likely be unable to resist the temptation in the long term. Keep your life simple, and stay “on the record”. Ego Reporters have egos. In some cases, large ones. This can leave them vulnerable to flattery. Advantage you. And some people being interviewed by the media have large egos. Advantage them. Credibility An audience will make virtually instantaneous judgements as to your credibility, even before you answer your first question. Yes, it’s not fair, but such is the way of the world. That’s why your appearance must be credible, your answers must be credible and your message must not test the elasticity of the audience’s imagination. Working as the Public Affairs & Communications Director in a major teaching hospital, as you’d expect, our VP Medical was a doctor. When he did TV interviews, regardless of the topic, I would insist he put on his white examination coat, and string a stethoscope around his neck so he’d look the part. Worked every time. Bridging This is how you get from the question the reporter is asking to the answer you want to give. Not that you can ignore the question. Instead, listen for the essence of the question, the value it speaks to (integrity, safety, care for customers, etc.) and move from there to your agenda of telling your story and delivering your messages. Examples: “The primary focus in this situation is safety. At ABC Corporation, we have a strong commitment to safety. That’s why we do safety audits every six months, which is more than government regulations require.” “You’ve raised the very important subject of quality control. We’ve instituted an extra layer of product quality tests to ensure our products are of the highest quality.” “What’s most important here from our perspective, is fairness for our customers. We made a mistake and we’re fixing it. That’s why we’re…” Conflict This is the media’s bread and butter. It’s when things go wrong that they’re interested. Don’t expect them to come calling when things are fine – or even when you’ve done something terrific.