Maintaining Positive Media Relationships

  • Don’t lie, hedge or exaggerate. Honesty is the best policy.

  • Provide service. The media have specific needs and constraints. They want interesting, timely stories and pictures in usable forms, and are restricted by tight deadlines.

  • Don’t beg, complain or demand. It does no good to beg to have your news covered, to complain about the treatment or tone of a story, or to demand that a story be killed.

  • Don’t overdo it. An overload of releases can decrease the perceived value of all your news in the eyes of the media.

  • Be public-spirited. Whenever possible, represent the public’s view in your statements — both written and verbal — not your view or your organization’s view.

  • Be friendly.

  • Remember the pyramid style. Give the most important information at the beginning. Speak in short, easily understood sentences that make you quotable.

  • Never argue with the reporter or lose your temper; it only makes things worse.

  • “Off the record” is not reliable. Don’t say anything you don’t want quoted.

  • Don’t repeat an offensive or negative question. The public will only hear or read your comment and construe it as your thought — not a response to a reporter’s question.

  • Answer questions directly, whenever possible.

  • If you don’t know the answer to a question, simply explain that you don’t know. Don’t try to skirt the question. It rarely works.

  • Avoid jargon.

  • Respect deadlines. Get your news in well ahead of time.