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Your City in the News Be Ready for your Close-Up Media Relations Training September 30, 2008

The news will happen At some point, your organization will want to communicate through the media The difference between succeeding and failing depends on preparation Why Media Training?

Almost everyone has preconceptions and prejudices about journalists

Strong Negative Feelings Typical Missed the point Got the facts wrong Had their idea of the story and fit me into it Focus on the negative, sensational Out to “get” you

Impact of Negative Feelings Can be defensive, suspicious Feel as though preparation doesn’t matter Focus on the journalist rather than on the audience

Change the Mindset Old : Survive without embarrassing yourself New : Accomplish an objective Increase awareness Increase understanding Get people to take action

The Opportunity Mindset What would you want the headline to say? How would you want the news anchor to lead into the story? Write it down! This serves as your objective or purpose.

The basics about journalists and the mainstream media

Some Basics about Journalists Reporters are doing a job They are story tellers Journalists are busy They want the basics quick and easy Journalists are generalists They know a little about a lot

Some Basics about Journalists Journalists don’t care about you The story takes precedence Journalists want “good tape” The more unusual, the better Journalists make you feel at ease They want real, not rehearsed

So, how do you know if YOU have a story?

Do You Have a Story? Is the news media really the best way to get the message out? What are the chances the story could turn negative? What visuals do/will you have? Do you have a “wow” factor?

Do You Have a Story? Do you have personal stories? Is it the first time? Does it signal a trend? Is there conflict? Do you have any celebrity factor? Do you have confidence in your spokesperson?

Do You Have a Story? How can you “segment” the story? For the features section For the health/medical writer For the parenting/family writer For the business section For the calendar For television (visuals drive story) For radio (tie to bigger story)

Trends Favor Local News The percentage of U.S. newspapers that have increased or decreased coverage of the following topics the last three years: Source: Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism

What Drives “Newsworthiness” Surprise Emotional Affect Effect Conflict Reporter’s Interest Mistakes Change Editor’s Perspective

You can’t decide what is newsworthy, which is why media has such credibility

All media has been pressured by the immediacy of the Internet, but some basic rules still apply…

Newspaper Schedules, Deadlines Reporters have beats, expertise Watch for developments and present ideas to editor Assignments made 2-3 days out Often have 3 or more stories in development Deadlines throughout the day

Television Schedules, Deadlines Reporters have loose beats Often opportunistic in coverage Assignments made at 9 a.m. meeting It’s all about the visuals Deadlines before the mid-day, evening and nightly newscasts

Radio Schedules, Deadlines Reporters develop several stories each day No discernable beats Assignments made minute-to-minute Want quick sound bite Deadlines throughout the day

How does online media factor into this?

Impact of Internet “Citizen Media” Blogs Podcasts Online Video Their personal passion drives what they “cover” Often get the story first

Americans who have a blog 8% Source: Synovate marketing research, www.synovate.com

Americans who read a blog daily 15% Source: Synovate marketing research, www.synovate.com

Americans who read a blog monthly 28% Source: Synovate marketing research, www.synovate.com

Americans who read a blog less than once per month 39% Source: Synovate marketing research, www.synovate.com

Journalists who check a blog list regularly 69% Source: Brodeur, 1/8/08

Journalists who read blogs at least two to three times per week 57% Source: Brodeur, 1/8/08

Journalists who spend more than one hour per day reading blogs 21% Source: Brodeur, 1/8/08

Journalists: blogs have a significant impact on editorial direction 51% Source: Brodeur, 1/8/08

Leveraging online/ social media can attract the mainstream media

What Should You Do If Called? Be cordial and welcoming Log who called, when and from what media outlet Note the information requested and ask topic of story Ask for some time Confer with Communications & Marketing Director

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do think beyond your interests Journalists focus on the interests of their audience and you should too Don’t get bogged down in details Unless they specifically request minutia, stick with the basics

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do your homework Develop several newsworthy angles to provide the reporter with options Don’t presume to know what the reporter finds interesting Listen to the reporter and be ready to adjust course quickly

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do build a working relationship The real estate in their rolodex is invaluable Don’t take it personally You are an information source first and foremost, not a buddy

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do welcome the attention Be responsive because reporters can help get your message across Don’t snub the little guy Even little media outlets can have big influence

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do hunt for good story ideas Look for good people stories Don’t waste the editor’s time Before presenting a story idea, consider if it is really newsworthy

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do take full advantage of the Internet Reporters prefer to gather the information without interference Don’t bother reporters unnecessarily Follow-up calls should only be done if you offer something of value

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do the reporter’s job Present the information the way reporters do – who, what, where, when, why and how Don’t bury the good stuff Grab a reporter in the first couple sentences because that’s all you have

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do offer to be the reporter’s helper They will appreciate your help in tracking down data or people Don’t ask for favors Their interest is a good story and anything else is an obstacle

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do respect the privacy of those involved Err on the side of caution when it comes to releasing personal information Don’t get tricked Even if a reporter already knows, protect personal information

Media Relations Dos and Don’ts Do keep your promises Once you have lost their trust, they won’t come back Don’t blow them off Keeping the information flowing is essential to maintaining the public’s trust

Positive media relationships can be invaluable in a crisis

Sometimes You Don’t Dictate Timing

Fundamentals: Definition of “Crisis” A crisis is an unexpected and uncontrolled event or series of events that disrupt normal operations for a prolonged period and cause unwanted public scrutiny

Fundamentals: Definition of “Crisis” A crisis always has “victims,” which can be either human or animal. If nobody was vicitimized, it’s not a crisis.

Developing a Crisis Plan that Works “ One of the first things you learn is you have to have a plan in place. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sophisticated or simple – you’ve got to have one. Frankly, the simpler the plan, the better.” - Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech

Developing a Crisis Plan that Works “ Most plans I see are convoluted, unrealistic, out-of-date nightmares to interpret and never tested by a drill. Good plans point you in the right direction so you can act fast. If yours doesn’t, throw it out and start over.” - Richard Amme

Developing a Crisis Plan that Works Keep it simple Focus on functional aspects of response Build out crisis infrastructure Examine and mitigate vulnerabilities

Planning: Keep the Plan Simple The process of planning involves an objective inward-assessment Examine operations and processes Evaluate and catalogue assets Good plans can be hundreds of pages Better plans are just a few pages

Planning: Functional Aspects of Response Who is on the Response Team and who are their alternates? At what point do you activate the Crisis Response Team? How can they be reached 24x7? Who is spokesperson?

Prioritizing Target Audiences Insiders Employees, suppliers, customers Government Local, state and federal regulators and lawmakers Neighbors Media to reach community

Prioritize from the inside out Employees Citizens Local businesses Other local governments Local, state and federal regulators and lawmakers Neighboring communities Media to reach community

Specifics of Crisis Response Scheduling and adequate staffing can’t be overlooked 24x7 means 158 hours per week Be ready for a crush of calls from media, customers and others Your infrastructure may not handle the volume, contributing to confusion and perceptions of poor response

In the Media Spotlight: The Critical 10 Minutes Today, everyone with a nice phone can be a “journalist” Video and photos can be posted on the Web within minutes Speculation has a life of its own, so stating facts can quell rumors

Guiding Principles of Crisis Response Quickly assess situation and lay out options Your first concern should be the health and safety of anyone involved Express concern and sympathy

Guiding Principles of Crisis Response If the case, emphasize that there will be a complete investigation and your organization will fully cooperate Stick to the facts Focus on the 5 Ws Never guess or speculate about information you don’t know

Guiding Principles of Crisis Response Understand that leadership may be part of problem Making a statement quickly can help define the story You can’t wait for comprehensive information

Crisis Response Realities In a crisis, confusion and inaccurate information dominate The media deals in black and white and simplicity, but a crisis is shades of gray and complexity Media will assess blame Media often gets information you don’t have

Think Actions Over Words Look for opportunities to exhibit concern and control Resist blatant photo ops Document your organization’s efforts, but resist the temptation to self-promote too soon

Crisis Recovery: The Crisis Lifecycle Discovery True impact clear Personal stories On to the next story Duration Intensity

Examples of Organizations that Recovered Quickly Southwest Airlines – Plane skids off runway City of New York – Terrorist attacks NASA – Columbia disaster Johnson & Johnson – Tylenol tampering Pepsi – Syringe hoax

What They Had In Common Visible senior leadership Immediate expressions of concern and sympathy Rapid unequivocal action in the public’s interest

Organizations that Failed to Recover Quickly Merck – Product recall Exxon – Environmental disaster Tobacco industry - Lawsuit Firestone – Faulty product

What They Had In Common Leadership was late to show Slow to express concern or sympathy Slow to take definitive action Lied and/or stonewalled

Interview Basics Have a purpose Have an opportunity mindset Make sure verbal, nonverbal and message are aligned Answer the audience’s core question: What’s In It For ME?

Interview Basics Speak from the heart Keep it basic and avoid jargon Your opinion doesn’t matter Don’t speculate, exaggerate or lie Think about likely questions Be in control of yourself and the situation

Interview Basics Keep it positive Don’t ramble Return to your messages Remember that everything is on the record If you don’t know, say so

You Have the Right to… Know the topic Know the format in which it will take place Ask who else has been interviewed Have time to answer the question without being interrupted

You Have the Right to… Deflect questions that are based on speculation, unnamed sources or innuendo Correct misstatements that you make Refer to notes to ensure accuracy Record the interview

The Concept of “Control” Interviews are among the few situations in which you don’t feel in control, but in reality, you can be: Responses Environment Time

Practice Interview Review your objective Prepare for questions from a television reporter doing a story on the company

Evaluation Criteria Confident, at ease? Was message delivered? Focused on interests of audience? Avoid jargon? Assert “control” over the situation?

Critiques: Length of Response The average length of a sound bite on TV news: 1969 – 31 sec 1983 – 7.5 sec 1997 – 5.8 sec 2005 – 4.3 sec Source: Schaefer, R. (2006), The Shrinking Sound Bite: Two Decades of Stylistic Evolution in Television News

Critique: Unfocused Response If you touch on two subjects in your response, there’s a 50 percent chance that the resulting story won’t focus on the right message On Message Off Message Off Message

Critique: Message Out of Alignment When what you say is out of sync with how you say it, your message will be lost Source: Mehrabian, A. (1981), Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes

Key Messages Unless you consciously think about WHAT you want to communicate, your responses won’t be focused Defining a set of key messages (3 or 4) can help focus responses

Great Key Messages Start with the fundamental truth Support it with data Have a personal anecdote ready that makes the message personal and memorable

But… What about when the reporter plays hardball?

Nightmare Questions Take a moment and write down five questions that you hope will never be asked in an interview Why are these questions keeping you awake? What if you could welcome these questions?

The Art of Bridging The concept: your role is to communicate YOUR message In practice: inject your message into your answers, regardless of the question The challenge: being responsive and disciplined

Three Part Process Question – Welcome every question as an opportunity Response – Acknowledge the question and briefly respond Message – As quickly as possible, bridge to your purpose

Bridging Phrases Can Help But we are focused on… What’s really important is… What your audience really cares about is… What I can tell you is…

Key Takeaways Journalists can help serve the public good and build trust There is a balance between exposure and access Crises can be opportunities There is no substitute for a confident, powerful spokesperson

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