FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

"Don’t Be Media Road Kill- Do’s and Don’ts of Working with the Media " was a highly helpful presentation on dealing with the media. John McShaffrey, APR , Public Information Officer for Earth Tech was the speaker for this breakout and told of his many crises in working for the Department of Transportation. Whether you have or haven't yet, it's probably certain that you will talk with someone from the media, whether they are calling you or you are calling them. This might be because they want your comment on a crisis your company is facing. Here are some quick versions of crises John has encountered and the lessons he has learned from them.

The day the crane fell- Lesson learned: Handling all the media at once can make it go away quicker.

The night the bridge fell- Lesson learned: Crises don’t take holidays.

The day the worker fell- Lesson Learn: Stay out of the crisis if it is not yours.

The day the building was diagnosed with mold and was making employees sick - Lesson learned: Outside PR counsel may be needed for the Big One. FPRA great network to help one another.

Kill it and they will come – Animal Control Public Information Officer – Lesson learned: Have the background material ready.

Zone it and they will come – Lesson learned: underestimate the number of media or attendees that will have interest in your event and become the crisis.

Preparing for crises
1.Have a plan
a. Crisis Communication Team – who should be on it?
b. Positioning – decide the statement that you give to reporters all the time that describes your position.
c. Who is the spokesperson? Back up if they can’t be available? Technical Expert? – Maybe you don’t know everything about the technical aspects, so you need to have someone standing by just in case.
d. Have a media policy – who will the receptionist send media calls to? Make sure everyone knows who is supposed to be on reporter calls and what they should say or shouldn’t say.
e. Prepared statements, press releases – make sure everyone on the communication team prepares these documents. When speaking to reporters this is what you will use.
f. Collateral materials- Photos of projects, quotes from prominent figures that are involved, etc.
g. Contact Log- Who do you need to contact internally? Have all their numbers. Reporters too. Make a list of updated contact info.
h. Communicate to all your audiences – Internally and externally, customers, vendors, etc.. Other affiliated companies or groups might need to know what’s going on so they don’t find out from the TV.
i. Practice – Run through your communications plans to make sure there are no flaws. Think about the weirdest situation that could happen, use your plan to solve the mock crisis and work out the kinks as they unveil themselves.
j. Debrief – Evaluate your plan constantly. It should be a living document.

Working with the Media

The 5 “Fs”
1. Fast
2. Factual
3. Frank
4. Fair
5. Friendly

Always be:
1. Honest
2. Factual
3. Responsive
4. Sensitive to Deadlines
5. Prepared

Never:
1. Say “no comment”
2. Go “off the record”
3. Guess
4. Get hostile
5. Volunteer information

Building Relationships with Reporters
1. Take good stories to them
2. Be accessible
3. Be honest
4. Be consistent
5. Meet their deadlines (or tell them why you cannot)

Interviewing Tips
1. YOU choose where the interviewer takes place
2. Take time to prepare
3. Answer the question- no more
4. Have talking points – try to keep answers brief
5. Look at the interviewer- not the camera- don’t let your eyes stray
6. Take off your sunglasses
7. Limit talking with your hands
8. Treat the microphone as if it were always on