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Public Affairs Specialist Agenda

• 900 - Media Relations in the '90sPerspective of
  today's news environment, guidelines for avoiding
  mistakes and suggestions for communicating
  policies and issues in various media settings.
• 945 - Break and Key Message PreparationA list
  of key issues concerning a product or event is
  developed. Participants deliver their statement
  and answer questions in a mock interview session.
  
• 1030 - CritiqueParticipants see or hear their
  own performance. A stop-start critique of each
  interview is conducted.
• 1100 - Adjournment

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Golden Rule 1

• The most critical rule for survival in any
  situation is never look like food.
• Park ranger

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Survivor Reporter Island
You dont have to love them, You dont even have
to like them. But you do have to feed them.
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Typical PersonsView of the Media
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Medias View Government
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Hate, Hate Relationship?

• If I killed them all tonight,
• There would surely be news from hell before
  breakfast.
• Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

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Understanding Reporters

• Consumers purveyors of packaged news
• Choose stories that
• Get them noticed
• Have audience appeal (generate ad revenues)
• Beat the competition
• Consistent with cultural narrative
• Want to appear objective

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Battle of the Agendas

• You want to
• Deliver your message
• Define your own character
• Be treated fairly
• Control your part of the process

• Reporters want
• Answers to their questions
• Companies to stay in character
• Avoid being embarrassed
• Dominate the process

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Your Weapons?

• Access
• Information
• Expertise
• Freedom to work with other reporters
• Other means to reach your audiences

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How to Fail? No Preparation!

• No ground rules
• No target audience
• No message
• No messenger
• Spinning bull droppings into silk

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Reporters And Deadlines

• Reporters live and die by deadlines
• Ask reporters will tell you what their deadline
  is
• At times, deadlines are unreasonable

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A Look At Deadlines

• Mid/late afternoon
• News conferences
• The trades
• Monthly or quarterly magazines
• Breaking news

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• ..

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• ..

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What Do You Need To Know In Advance?

• Who is the reporter?
• For whom does he/she work?
• What is the focus of the story?
• What is the format of the interview -- live,
  taped, etc.?
• When will the interview take place?
• Where will the interview take place?
• What is the deadline?

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Preparing for an Interview

• Develop key messages
• Anticipate questions
• Prepare responses
• Know reporter, publication or program, interview
  format
• Background reporter, producer

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Telephone Interviews
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Telephone Interview Tips

• Buy preparation time if possible
• Establish an interview setting
• Clear your desk
• Close the door
• Use notes
• Keep message points in front of you

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Telephone Interview Tips

• Speak distinctly
• Use short declarative sentences
• Avoid ambiguity and subtlety

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Telephone Interviews

• Take control by asking questions
• If uncomfortable, ask the reporter to review what
  you have said
• Fax or e-mail your main points to the reporter
  after the interview, if necessary

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Print Interviews
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Print Media

• Longer, more detailed interview
• Possibly more knowledgeable reporter
• Questions repeated in different ways to get
  response
• Chance to correct misstatement

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Radio

• Emphasis on delivery voice, inflection, pace
• Need to speak visually
• OK to use notes

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Television

• Short, simple answers crucial
• Emphasis on appearance, technique
• Non-verbal must match verbal communication

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The Unexpected Interview

• Treat all reporters equally
• Negotiate quick ground rules/limits
• Remain friendly and undefensive
• Keep your sense of humor

• Expect the unexpected
• Know your messages
• Know who youre talking to and why

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The Taped Interview

• Anticipate the reporters agenda.
• Repeat messages. Interview will result in very
  brief sound bites or quotes.
• You can do an answer over, but everything you say
  and do is on tape.
• Consider the impression the setting makes.
• Tape the interview.

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The Remote Interview

• Find out who the reporter is
• How the interview will be structured
• Who else is being interviewed
• Be alert to time limits
• If you loose audio, behave normally and stay in
  character
• Keep eye contact with the camera at all times
• Pretend you are talking to someone you trust and
  like

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Time for a Short Break
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The Math of Messaging
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You Do The Math

• About 10 seconds of what you actually say will be
  used on television news.
• About 2 paragraphs of what you actually say will
  be quoted in a newspaper story.
• About 5 seconds of what you actually say will be
  used in a radio news story.

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Effective Messages

• Clearly define your goals and audience
• Messages are not spin
• Your messages are a road map
• Foundation of all campaigns or projects

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Rules of Thumb

• Rule 1 have one main message. 
• Rule 2 all messages should support main goals
•  Rule 3 messages are not necessarily sound bites
•  Rule 4 messages dont change frequently

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Rules of Thumb

• Rule 5 messages can be tailored
• Rule 6 consistent messages should permeate all
  of your communications efforts
•  Rule 7 messages must be simple.  
• Rule 8 remember messages take time to create.
  Dont rush the process
• Rule 9 remember the math of messaging

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Thinking Outside the Box
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Message Box
CENSUS BUREAU
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Message Box
Its all Greek to me
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Message Box
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Questions surrounding your message box

•  What do people need to know, believe and care
  about to become engaged with your issue?
•  What obstacles or misconceptions do you need to
  overcome to get people engaged?
•  What needs to happen or what do people need to
  do to meet your goals or have impact on your
  issue?
• If people did this, how would things be
  different?

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Telling Your Story

• Develop a simple and compelling story
• Repeat it over and over again in the media

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Start With The Facts

• Do not assume everyone understands 
• Build on what people know and believe
• Be accurate
• Avoid jargon, technical mumbo-jumbo and lots of
  numbers
• Make the facts accessible by putting them on a
  human scale
•  Be consistent and repetitive

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Make a Personal Connection

• Define what is at stake
• Lay out the consequences
• Make it local
• Show and tell

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Provide Solutions

• Couple problems with solutions  
• Provide an action menu

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Manage Your Message

• Message management helps ensure that everything
  your organization and its staff does or says
  reflects that message
• Events
• Interviews
• Written materials, etc
•  Never be led off message

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Great Messages Are Supported By
Examples
Figures
Third PartyEndorsements
Visuals
Humor
Anecdotes
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The Questions Dont Do the Damage. Only the
Answers Do. Sam Donaldson
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Bridging -Turning The DiscussionTo Your Agenda

• Asked about a problem?Talk about a solution.
• Block, or answer the question briefly.
• Bridge with a transitional phrase.
• Present your message and support it.

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Bridging

• Bridging is key
• Bridging is the technique of moving from a
  negative to a positive subject
• Bridging involves practice

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Blocking and Bridging

• Dont ignore or evade the question
• Address the topic of question
• Asked about a problem, talk about a solution
• Never say no comment
• If cant comment, explain why

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Blocking and Bridging Some Examples

• "It's our policy not to discuss ____
  specifically, but I can tell you..."
• "I think what you're really asking is..."
• "That speaks to a bigger point..."

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Blocking and Bridging Some Examples

• Let me put that in perspective
• Whats important to remember, however
• What I really want to talk to you about is
• Whats most important is

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Blocking and Bridging Some Examples

• The real issue here is
• I dont know about that...But what i do know
  is
• What youre asking is

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Blocking and BridgingSome Examples

• Its true thatbut its also true that
• Just the opposite is true
• Thats false

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Blocking - Deftly Avoiding The Question

• Never say no comment or refuse to answer with
  hostility.
• Block only when there is a good reason for doing
  so.
• Explain briefly why you cannot answer.
• Then bridge to your message.

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Headlining

• Make most important point first
• Think like a journalist
• Use deductive reasoning
• Back it up with facts or proof points

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Headlining Some Examples

• The most important thing to remember is
• The real issue is
• Ive talked about a lot of things. It boils
  down to these three things
• Let me make one thing perfectly clear

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Flagging

• Emphasize to the reporter
• What you want them to highlight
• What one piece of information you want them to
  use - by creating a in their notebook

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Flagging Examples

• "The most important thing is..."
• "This is the bottom line..."
• "If you remember one thing about ..."

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Flag Your Messages
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Hooking

• "And that's just one possibility..."
• "We've done something no other organization has
  done."

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Pausing With A Purpose

• Reporters sometimes deliberatelyremain silent,
  hoping you will say moreto fill the vacuum.
• Dont! Smile pleasantly and wait.
• If you must speak, talk your messages.
• You can also use pauses, even in live interviews.
  Take time to think before you speak. Silence is
  eloquent.

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