Respond quickly. Reporters have deadlines. If you do not respond
quickly, they will not be able to use your input.
Prepare and rehearse.
Rehearse major interviews. Create hypothetical incidents,
study them, and prepare responses.
Be open and cooperative: If reporters are interested in a story,
appearing to be hiding something will make them more diligent.
Convince the reporter that you want to help them get a better
story.
This also establishes
media contacts,
who will come back to you for other articles.
Don't lie, hide the truth, or claim to be
virtuous when you are not. If you do not want to answer a question,
explain why, but do not say "no comment".
Personalize your position.
Using stories about people, communicating who ashers are and
what they are facing.
This is what can change prejudices against us.
Take responsibility. If you have done something wrong
, admit it, apologize and
do what is needed to correct the situation.
Making a good impression on reporters is likely to make
the article more favorable to you. Your adversaries, on the
other hand, should
be portrayed to be the opposite. Here is quick summary:
| You | Adversary |
|---|
| Sensitive, cares about people and their quality of life | Egocentric: Lust after money and power - insensitive to human needs |
| An underdog - David | A Bully - Goliath |
| Risk taker: risk your job, financial security, social status,... | Coward |
| Individualist | Conformist |
| Persistent idealist | No conscience |
| Takes responsibility for own mistakes | Blames others |
| Expect to win, never give up. | Burned out |
Give the conclusion first, then add supporting points. This is important
especially in formats where time or space is limited.
Dont give detailed arguments, especially when time or space is
limited. What sells is emotion. You can learn this from commercials,
which usually appeal to emotion, sex, etc.
Acting calmly in a response to false, insulting allegation might
lead the reporter to believe that the accusation is true.
Use
controlled anger instead.
Possibilities for answering allegations:
- You are concerned about the allegation.
You want to find out whether it is true or not.
- Report what you are doing/have done about the allegation.
- Remind that the allegation may be false.
EverDawn
