Face To Face – Working With Journalists
Earlier on, we said that most of your contact with editors and journalists will be by way of the written word – that you won’t very often find yourself actually face to face with the ladies and gentlemen of the press. However, there are times when you will find yourself faced with the prospect of talking directly to a journalist, either in person or by telephone. This may range from a brief phone call from an editor to raise a simple query about something in your latest press release (‘I’ve got everything I need except the price – how much are they?’), through a more extended interview perhaps to get your views on a story that’s going the rounds, to a full-blown press conference.
Before we look at the various possibilities in detail, there are a few things you need to have very firmly in mind before getting involved with face-to-face contacts with the press. Unlike a written statement such as a press release, which you can ponder over and amend at leisure before you issue it. the spoken words you nervously blurt out to a journalist will be very difficult to redeem or withdraw. Hence it’s very much a case of engaging the brain before putting the mouth in gear, and knowing the basic rules of the direct encounter – whatever the situation.
Having said this, comfort yourself with the thought that an alert PR person can often use the face-to-face situation to good effect.
Points To Remember
So let’s start with some Words of Wisdom for dealing directly with the press.
Establish A Corporate Policy For Handling The Media
This is important. You need to nominate one or two first-line contact people who will initially handle all incoming enquiries from the press, and make sure that everyone knows who they are. It must also be made very clear to all staff (ideally in their contracts of employment) that only certain people are authorised to speak to the media,
and no one else.If possible, all those who may have to speak to the media should be given some basic training along the lines suggested in this chapter.
Give Yourself Time To Think
Unless the enquiry is a simple one, try to avoid making an instant response. A common technique is to say something like ‘I’m sorry but I don’t have that information immediately to hand’, and promise to phone back. Do sound helpful and positive; ask what information is needed, ask what the journalist’s deadline is, and his phone number and/or email address, and say that you’ll make sure someone gets back to him in good time.
Always Respond Within Deadlines
We’ve talked about deadlines already, so you know how important they are to a journalist. Even if for some reason you can’t get an answer to the query that’s been raised,
you must contact the journalist and say so in good time. Never leave a tricky enquiry dangling in the air, hoping that the journo will conveniently forget about it. He won’t.
Know What You Cannot Talk About
It is quite usual for organisations to decree that certain subjects are strictly ‘out of bounds’ when talking to the press. Examples might be corporate financial and legal matters; plans for future developments; manufacturing techniques; competitors’ activities. You may want to add others.
Considerable willpower may be needed here! If a journalist phones and asks you if it’s true that you are currently negotiating a merger deal with ABC International, or what do you think of Competitor Ltd’s recently announced financial results, politely say ‘Sorry, but it’s our corporate policy never to discuss...’
and stick to that line, however hard or persistent the questioning gets.
Never Say ‘no Comment’
It’s commonly believed that if a journalist asks you a tricky question which you’d rather not answer, you can resolve the situation with a curt ‘No comment’. You won’t it’s a potential disaster. For example, an editor phones and says he’s heard that your company is about to lay off a third of the workforce – is it true? You quickly
snap back ‘No comment’.
The editor will take this to mean ‘it’s true’, and he’ll redouble his efforts to get confirmation – by devious means if the story is big enough. If it’s not true, say so, clearly and positively. If it
is true, you should have devised a strategy for dealing with media enquiries before the layoff decision was finalised. (See Chapter 9 for dealing with negative questioning.)
You Are Never ‘off The Record’
Once you’ve said something, it’s too late to say ‘Oh, by the way, that’s off the record’. Once said, it’s on the record, like it or not (now you can see the wisdom of engaging the brain before putting the mouth in gear!). If you want to give a journalist a confidential not-to-be-printed or non-attributable background briefing, you must agree that situation very clearly with him
before you start talking to him.
Be Positive, Helpful And Truthful
Always be polite and pleasant to a journalist; remember, even if you don’t like what he’s asking you (or the way he’s
asking it) he’s only doing his job. Don’t be ‘thrown’ by aggressive or hostile questioning. And. very importantly,
never tell a journalist a direct lie. If he uses the false information you’ve given him and then finds out that it’s a lie. he’ll never, ever trust you again.
You Always Represent Your Organisation
Always stick to the matter in hand and don’t get drawn into making personal comments on general matters of the day. politics, sport, etc. If you accidentally make disparaging comments about, say, the performance of the journalist’s favourite football team, he may take a dislike to the comments and to you – and that dislike may rub off on your organisation as well. It may sound unreasonable, but that’s human nature for you.
Don’t Ask For Special Favours
A common beginner’s mistake is to ask the editor to give your stories favourable coverage because you advertise in his magazine, or because you’ve helped him with some market information, or whatever. It won’t work, and you’ve probably irritated someone that you need as a friend. Let your stories stand or fall on their merits.