Engage or Not with the News Media
by Michael B. Perini, ABC
perini & associates
No matter what sector you work in, long-standing success won’t come without the support of an informed public.
I have more than three decades of experience dealing with the media — local, regional, national and international. I have stood with the news media at accident sites and been behind the podium “live” in countless challenging situations around the globe. I’ve participated in the 24 hour news cycle (which we thought was very short in the 1980s), to the instant information age of today where we often have requirements to update the media nearly every 24 seconds.
The news media may have changed in form, i.e. a movement toward a more robust internet presence via web and social media outlets (facebook, twitter, smart phones, etc.) but the function and methods for gathering and reporting news have stood the test of time.
Here are some of the lessons I learned over the years that will assist you in your engagement with the media. And, if you think you don’t need to worry about standing in front of a camera…just check the news today! See how many CEO’s, educational leaders, government organizations, non-profits, advocacy leaders are finding themselves on the front pages.
Getting Ready: Your success in an interview is directly tied to the quality of your presentation, your ability to articulate your messages, and the level of control you exercise during the interview process. Never think an interview is a conversation or that you can “wing it”. View it instead as an opportunity to make a well-developed presentation reflecting research, preparation and enthusiam.
Messages: Never do an interview unless you know exactly what you want to say and how want to say it. Anticipate the issues and questions of an interviewer and equip yourself with short, memorable, positive and relevant messages.
Use the “inverted pyramid” to structure your interview answers. Lead with your most important message — your headline — then cover your messages in descending order of priority.
Be aware of interview time constraints and the importance of optimizing every moment. Some interview situations will allow you to time to talk at length; however, for most you must distill your messages down to 12- to 15-second sound bytes or one to two dozen quotable words. Given that you have no control over what answers an interviewer will use in editing the final story, each one of your answers should be a “home run.”
Personal Credibility: Remember, you are the expert (that’s why you’re being interviewed). Use your personal knowledge and experience to avoid speaking about your organizaton, activity or issue in the abstract. In other words, if you can say, “I’ve flown the plane” or “I’ve talked to the people using the technology” do it.
Repeating Your Messages: An interview has a purpose and so should you. During an interview, repeat your messages frequently. Repetition increases audience retention. It helps ensure the audience and the reporter will remember your messages.
Finally, don’t ignore the media. Frankly, you can’t. Maybe short-term but not forever. Yes, engage! Do so with preparation. You wouldn’t go into potential combat without training and a good strategy. Do the same when there is a camera focused at you.
