Chapter 16 - Working with the media

Media relations is an essential role public relations practitioners must play, and this chapter offers some excellent suggestions on how to make your relationship with the media a mutually beneficial one.

The authors assert that the media’s role in risk/crisis communication falls into one of three categories: reporting existing information, influencing the way an issue is portrayed, independently bringing an issue to the public’s attention or restricting its coverage (i.e. investigative reporting), or proposing solutions to a risk-related decision, which includes taking a stand on an issue, often through editorials (p.272). An example is this recent editorial in the Washington Post concerning a Metrobus that had struck and killed two pedestrians, and the Post calls out Metro for not having stricter safety and training protocols. This case exemplifies the quote on page 273 – “individual editors or producers occasionally feel that a particular issue is significant enough that their organization must get more involved, sometimes to the point of going on record with a stated position.” For more editorials, check out The Editorialist, a blog with excerpts from opinion pages around the country.

According to L&M on page 274, “reporters and journalists, in contract, generally aim for objectivity and balance in their stories.” To this, I say HA! While the majority of journalists are fair, there are the bad apples that bring personal bias into their reporting. A great example of this is a press conference my company participated in recently – we, along with other members of the organ and tissue donation community, are working on legislation that would create an online version of the FL organ and tissue donor registry, managed by Florida Coalition on Donation and the DMV. This is truly positive legislation, and at the press conference we had the bill’s House and Senate sponsors speak (including Senator Steve Oelrich, whose son was an organ and tissue donor after dying suddenly in his teens), along with transplant surgeons who testified about the shortage of organs and the number of people who die waiting for transplant. One reporter’s story focused not on the positive impact of the legislation, but how the companies involved would make millions of dollars, which is 1. factually inaccurate and 2. not even remotely related to the point of the legislation. This particular reporter obviously has a bias against some portion of the industry, which led to his gross misrepresentation of the facts.

This story illustrates the importance of cultivating a relationship with your local media. Understanding their goals and objectives will help you work better with them to create a story that satisfies both your needs (most of the time, anyway). The example of the researcher on page 276 highlights the need for communication. A good working relationship with the media will make the chance higher that you’ll receive a fair story, as you’ll have established yourself as a credible and reliable source. It’s also a good idea to be proactive with story ideas – if you’ve got a good relationship with a particular reporter, give them a call and say “hey, I’ve got this great story – let’s meet and talk about it.” This helps the reporter by eliminating some of their legwork and gives you a chance to get your information heard correctly.

It goes without saying that in crisis situations, organizations must “pre-establish media protocols, including the use of trained spokespeople” (p.280). While the authors advocate having the organization’s top leaders ready to speak to the media, other sources I’ve read suggest that it’s best to have one main spokesperson, either a public relations representative or the organization’s president/CEO (if applicable – some CEO’s aren’t very good with the media). Having only one person allows for a consistent message – however, if your organization chooses to have several representatives speaking to the media, it is essential they they’re relaying the same information. All this should be clearly outlines in your company’s crisis plan, along with cell and home phone numbers for all the key members of the organization.

FYI, for those of you interested in the Lisa Nowak ongoing saga, Florida Today ran a story last week analyzing NASA's crisis response in the situation. It's a very interesting read, so check it out!