All Posts Tagged With: "Media Relations"

The woman in this video clip is obviously not well-schooled in media relations. According to the reporter, she agreed to do the interview, then refused to answer his questions, save for her one carefully-scripted response. It’s embarrassing for her and the school district that employs her. Sounds like she was surprised a TV reporter brought a cameraman along.

One thing I’ll give her credit for: she never loses her cool.

Her otherwise sorry performance proves why it is imperative that top executives in any organization be trained in how to handle themselves when the media comes calling. Assuming she was willing to talk to the reporter and didn’t have something to hide, here’s what she should have done:

• prepared for the interview by having someone ask her provocative questions about the trip;
• set up the interview in a controlled environment – standing behind a counter, then moving around makes her look evasive, regardless of what she is saying;
• asked another colleague or two to be there for support but to remain quiet;
• emphasize that the board or some authority approved the request to attend the conference and knew what the expenses would be;
• provide documentation what the conference was about and how the students will benefit from the knowledge obtained there;
• point out that while $30,000 seems like a lot of money for a school district in financial distress, it represents a miniscule percentage of the budget.

Certainly, it looks bad that most other school districts in the area sent only one person or none at all to the conference. But with a modicum of aplomb, the bad PR could have been mitigated.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Back in July, I asked the question “Are Newspapers Becoming Irrelevant in Public Relations Campaigns?” My theory was that with newspapers cutting editorial staff and fewer people subscribing, perhaps expending much effort trying to cultivate reporters and editors might be a waste of time.

Well, I’ve changed my mind. It’s not that newspapers have made some remarkable comeback; on the contrary, some of the bigger chains are on the verge of financial meltdown because they have or soon will default on debt payments. More cuts could be forthcoming.

Rather than a challenge, I’ve come to view the slow demise of newspapers as an opportunity. With editorial staffs cut to the bone, editors and reporters are more desperate than ever for good story ideas. I’ve always felt that one of the most important roles a PR person can fill is to make life easier for journalists. The more you can do to provide background and access to sources, the better chance you will have of seeing your story in print.

A well-written press release that follows AP style and isn’t too company oriented is still a powerful tool. The major dailies will continue to develop their own stories, and the small community weeklies will print every word, assuming you follow basic guidelines. But I’ve noticed that some regional dailies — with declining but still significant readership — have become much more receptive to running press releases with minor adjustments. Photos, too, are more acceptable than they once were.

Of course, this is not to say newspapers still carry the influence they did, say, 15 or 20 years ago. You still need to include the Internet, with its myriad of social media outlets, in your PR mix.

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The recent media furor over news that the 17-year old daughter of GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant raises an interesting question: when making an important announcement, how much information should be released? If there’s a skeleton hanging in your closet, should you do the exposing?

As a former reporter, I would recommend full disclosure up front to my client in a similar situation. News coming from a source tends to be much less sensationalized than something that is dug up and reported by the media.

Here is how I would have handled it: during Palin’s acceptance speech, she would have noted the whirlwind that has been her life of late and slipped in, almost matter of factly, that her daughter is pregnant and that she is looking forward to being a grandmother, framing it as a positive development. That would be it.

Now, the media would certainly seize the story and run with it. But it would have none of the “gotcha” mentality that seems so pervasive and it would short-circuit those probing questions about whether McCain knew and if she was properly vetted.

Face it: the media will find out about such things, whether it’s a political candidate, a product launch, a merger or a new CEO. And when they do, it will be a field day, especially among some bloggers who don’t have to abide by the same rules as mainstream journalists.

My advise is to work with someone who knows the kinds of issues that will push the media’s buttons and get out in front so you can control the story line.

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I’ve been newspaper junkie since discovering the sports pages of the old Philadelphia Bulletin in 1964. From the first day I walked into a newsroom more than 30 years ago, I’ve been captivated by the rhythms of putting out the equivalent of a novel a day. The gritty smell of a newspaper fresh off the press still gives me a rush.

So it pains me to see what is happening to the newspaper industry. Three papers I’ve worked for have gone through painful cuts in the last few months with dozens of solid, hard-working journalists losing their jobs. It’s no different anywhere in the country. The villains are precipitous drop in advertising revenue and an unrelenting corporate thirst for unrealistic profit margins. With less quality content, fewer readers subscribe. That means fewer advertisers. Until the bean counters find a way to make a buck off the Internet, the vicious circle will be repeated.

As difficult it is for me to watch as a former journalist, what does the slow demise of the newspaper industry mean to me as a public relations professional? Are newspapers still a relevant part of PR efforts? Should I invest the time and energy it takes to forge relationships with editors and reporters who could be laid off any day? Do enough people read newspapers to make them a worthwhile target?

For now, the answer is a lukewarm yes. But the day is coming – sooner than anyone ever predicted – when printed newspapers will be just an afterthought in most public relations programs. In some cases, that day has already arrived. If your target audience is under 30, forget about newspapers.

So what will take newspapers’ place?

A recent study by the Public Relations Society of America says social media and blogs are becoming a medium for companies to communicate externally – that is, through its public relations. According to the study, “two-thirds of public relations practitioners believe blogs and social media have enhanced what happens in public relations and that social media and traditional mainstream media complement each other.” Furthermore, “61 percent believe the emergence of blogs and social media have changed the way their organizations (or client organizations) communicate.”

While nothing can replace the thrill of a front page story — and I’ll date myself here — “above the fold,” the fact is social media and blogs are the future of public relations.

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So a local Realtor buys an irregularly-shaped property with a dilapidated single-family home on it.

Except he wants to tear it down and build a twin.

But the neighbors, all of whom live in nice singles, don’t want to see a twin in their neighborhood. It’ll lower property values, they say, and you never know what kind of riff-raff will live in anything other than a single.

When the Realtor goes to Borough Council for a variance, the neighbors show up to protest. Things get pretty heated between the two sides. He threatens to build an apartment building, which he can do by right, and turn it into Section 8 housing.

Strike one.

With no decision forthcoming from council, the Realtor takes another swing. This time, he paints the crumbling house a lovely shade of hot pink, combined with a touch of vibrant plum.

Strike two.

But the outside paint job is just the first step if the Realtor doesn’t get his way. Fluorescent yellow trim comes next, and he has even talked about raising turkeys on the property. Neighbors say he has threatened to deck the exterior walls with polka dots and representations of horses’ hindquarters.

“If I don’t get my twins, it’s going to be the ugliest single,” he said in a newspaper story. “It’s going to become “Green Acres’ north. That’s my guarantee.”

Strike three.

Here’s a modestly successful Realtor putting his reputation on the line by trying to bully elected officials and neighbors in to giving him what he wants. Rather than working toward a compromise, convincing his opponents why a single-family home won’t work and why a nicely-designed twin would, he has resorted to cheap publicity tactics guaranteed to turn public opinion even more against him.

Even if he happens to win this battle, his professional standing in the community will have taken a major hit. Would you deal with a Realtor who is so mean-spirited and spiteful? Probably not.

That, my friends, is how NOT to wage a battle for the hearts and minds of the public.

Popularity: 32% [?]