The Interview

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Tricks of the Trade
As interested as reporters may seem in your story, they are really more interested in getting the facts and a few good sound-bites. To speed things up, they’ve developed a few tricks.

But those tricks are pitfalls you should avoid. I have seen several lists. Advertising CEO Walt Klein’s is the most comprehensive.

Planting negative words: E.g. Reporter: “Why do you hate the governor?” Trap: “I don’t hate the governor, I ….” Solution: "I think the governor’s policies are misguided …”

Rapid Fire Questions: Before you finish answering one question, the reporter is shooting another one at you. It makes you look out of control and under attack. When a reporter interrupts you, stop talking, wait (without making face), then calmly respond.

Hostile: When the reporter goes hostile, don’t follow him there. The reporter’s antagonizing question probably will be edited out of the piece, but your angry response will be the lead. I admit using this trick when the speaker is boring. Reporters need passion and emotion in their pieces. If you are a talking drone, they’ll do what they must to liven you up.

Hypotheticals: Don’t answer them. Stick to the facts.

Reporter: Friend or Foe? Neither.
One trick reporters use is acting as if they are your friend. They aren’t. Reporters buddy up to you because it works. If you think this reporter likes you, you are more likely to spill the beans or tell them something you otherwise wouldn’t. Republican strategist, Dick Wadhams says reporters are not your enemies and they are not your friends; it is natural for the relationship to be adversarial.

Tip: Bill Stoller at PublicityInsider says reporters really don’t care much about you or your product unless you give them something to make their job easier: a good story. If you can do that, you earn their respect and affection.

Crisis Communications: The New New You

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Retooling Your Brand
The Republican Party is in a world of hurt. After its 2008 loss, the party is trying to return to normal. It’s really a new normal. And according to Public Relations, a Values-Driven Approach, it is also the fourth – and final – stage of a crisis. It is when companies, personalities and organizations reinvent themselves.

Nix the Negatives
My sense is that the Republican Party hasn’t yet figured out what their new normal will be, but Republican candidates who focus more on their own beliefs and less on party affiliation will probably fare better than those who tow the party line. Advertising CEO Walt Klein advises: When your brand is broken, stay away from names and titles and instead focus on positive associations.

Take Your New Plan Public
But the media can have a one-track mind. Remember the 1999 Columbine shootings? For a long while after those shootings, it was nearly impossible for the school to receive any coverage that was not, somehow, tied to the shootings. The incident dominated the media’s impression. To break away from that, go directly to your public: write letters to the editor, craft an image campaign, or do something completely fresh and new.

In 1994, the Republican Party launched its Contract with America. It was their comeback plan, after losing the White House in 1992. In the Contract, Republicans admitted they had let down their public. They also outlined how they would do things differently if elected. It resulted in the Party winning back the House for the first time in 40 years.

Tip: Everybody, especially the media, likes a comeback. When faced with a crisis: come clean about the facts, deal with the issue and don’t prolong negative publicity. When cleaning up the mess, take notes on what went wrong and come up with a new crisis communications plan … so you can do it better next time.