1. Preparing to Meet the Media

Consider the following situations:

You are the chief public relations official for a major company. A reporter calls your office at 9 a.m. She wants to see you for an interview at 11 a.m. She wants your company to respond to allegations made by a source that she is not at liberty to disclose. All she will say is that the charges deal with corporate finances and questionable conduct of certain corporate officials. As the public relations director of a major private university, you decide to hold a press conference to announce the initiation of an important fund-raising effort. A prominent alumnus has donated $5 million to kick off the campaign. You know that recent media coverage has criticized the university's budgetary problems, tuition hikes, and incursions into neighborhoods around the school that displaced poor people and eroded the community tax base.

You are the community relations’ director of the local police force. A reporter calls to request a meeting with your chief about low police morale resulting from the city's inability to meet rank-and-file demands for pay rises. When you attempt to arrange an interview for the following afternoon, the chief berates you, saying: "It's your job to keep the press off my back. Why can't you handle the guy's questions?" You convince the chief that the reporter would not talk to you because he said he was tired of the chief hiding behind his "flack." You tell him departmental integrity and morale depends on his willingness to deal with the press. You promise to help him prepare. He reluctantly agrees to the interview.

2. Opportunities Offered by Media Contact

In each of these cases, a meeting with the media represents a critical challenge to the organization. Some organizations see such challenges as problems to be overcome. It is more constructive, however, to view them as opportunities. Publicity cannot replace good works or effective action, but it can gain atten­tion for issues, ideas, or products. It can spotlight an organization's person­ality, policies, or performance. It can make something or someone known.

Every media contact is an opportunity to get feedback, to tell your story, to create a positive response to your organization. Of course there are dan­gers—but what opportunity presents itself without risk? And what opportu­nity can be taken without preparation?

3. Preparation Strategies

Preparation to meet the media is essential for both individuals and organi­zations. Preparation means more than getting psyched up about a particular interview, because when the opportunity comes, there may be little time to prepare, as the preceding cases suggest. In the first example, a company of­ficial would have only two hours to gather information and prepare strategy to deal effectively with some very sensitive issues. Before anyone in the organization meets with the media, the first step is to develop the proper set of attitudes. Meeting the media is an opportunity, not a problem; therefore, defensiveness is not appropriate. There is no need to feel intimidated—particularly if your objective is worthy. In the case of the university's fund-raising campaign, the purpose of the press conference must be kept firmly in mind. The public relations director should refuse, in a friendly way, to be dragged by reporters' questions into subjects other than the do­nation and campaign.

The attitude of the interviewee toward the journalist should be one of hospitality, cooperation, and openness. At the same time, the interviewee should realize that the reporter need not be the person in control. The interviewee should decide what needs to be said and say it—no matter what the reporter's questions may be. A positive mental attitude is essential. Once this attitude is established among everyone in an organization who may be called on to be interviewed, it becomes much easier and less traumatic to prepare for specific interviews. After the chief of police completes one interview successfully, the next will be more easily handled.

Before looking further at how individuals can interact successfully with the media, we will discuss how organizations can publicize themselves effec­tively.

Research and Planning in Media Relations

The old saying "Success is when opportunity meets preparation" is never truer than when applied to publicity. As we showed in earlier chapters, preparation indicates research and planning.

In media relations, research means knowing whom you are dealing with and what they are interested in. Media relations’ specialists deal primarily with their own management and with the media, so they must understand both parties well. The management of various organizations differs in their attitudes toward media relations. The Oil Company Amerada Hess does not return calls from the press. Procter & Gamble encourages coverage of its products, but not it’s manufacturing processes. Bank of America during recent financial problems, Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol panic, and AT&T during deregulation all benefited from their candor and openness during difficult times. In each case, media relations strategy was based on an understanding of manage­ment's desired approach.

After understanding the organization, the publicist must study the spe­cific media with which he or she will work. Research in this area consists of finding qul-4h0nterests and needs of the people affiliated with the various media outlets. Media guides can provide some of this information. Effective media relations specialists also maintain their own file systems, rolodexes, and charts to keep track of the personal qualities and preferences of the media people with whom they work. Pub­licity plans can deal with an organization's overall efforts or with a specific situation or campaign. In general, media plans will describe the circumstances with which the organization is dealing, lay out goals or objectives, identify key audiences, specify strategies, list action steps, identify special media to be con­tacted, and provide for evaluation.