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Dealing with a hostile media: Why bother?
If you’ve ever been in the eye of a media storm, you’ll know just how important it is that you understand the motives of a journalist, why they come calling and what you can do to get your side of the story heard.
Although there is no magic formula for guaranteeing that the media will always give you or your company a fair go, there are things you can do to increase the likelihood that your positive messages will be printed or broadcast.
Here are my 3 star tips for dealing with a potentially hostile media.
1. JOURNALISTS – KNOWING HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT THEM
Journalists who work in news are busy people who take their jobs very seriously. Every day, they work under pressure: the pressure of meeting deadlines, and the pressure of internal and external competition to get the best angle, the best interviews and the best pictures on the best stories.
In this kind of environment, reporters rely very heavily on your cooperation to get the information and/or pictures for the stories they are assigned quickly and in a ready-to-use way. Note: this state of affairs puts you firmly in control – not the other way around. It pays to be co-operative where ever possible.
2. KNOW WHAT THEY’RE AFTER
Reporters working in different media have specific needs and it is useful to know what those needs are. Radio and TV reporters use ‘news grabs’ or ‘sound bites’ in their stories to supplement the information they acquire and to be effective in these media, you must learn to deliver your messages in these ‘bite-sized chunks’. TV news grabs run, on average, 7-15 seconds. For radio news, grabs should run between 10-20 seconds.
Often, these reporters only have room in their stories for one ‘grab’ from you so your answers need to fit their requirements. If your answers are too long, they will edit what you have said or not use your interview at all.
Newspaper reporters look for strong quotable quotes from their interviewees. For a conventional newspaper story, prepare at least three key messages of between 30-36 words. For a longer news feature, you need to have more.
3. KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN REPORTERS COME CALLING
When approached by a reporter to participate in a story, you must be crystal clear about exactly what they are doing and what they want from you. At this point, this is your golden opportunity to turn the tables and ask them a series of important questions. This is what you should ask:
· What is this story about? What exactly do you want from us?
· What program is it for?
· Who else do you plan to include in this story?
· Have you already spoken to anyone else on this issue and what did they tell you?
· How long do you think it will take? When is your deadline?
Once you have this information, always contact your PR executive (if you haven’t already done so.) Your PR team will know to buy some time for preparation. A minimum of 30 minutes to an hour is ideal. Arrange to call the reporter back and remember never to miss their deadline….this may well land you in hot water.
By Tina Altieri.
Media Australasia Xchange(MAX)
Communicate to the MAX!
www.maxcommunicate.com
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