I just ended a phone conversation with a colleague.  We were discussing the Yin/Yang of public relations activities.  As a long-time PR person and a journalist, I have a nuanced view of media coverage and it is best described as the Yin and the Yang.

Let me explain.

The Yin
Good PR people often counsel their clients against pursuing the one-off “big story.”  You know the “I-want-to-be-in-the-Wall-Street-Journal” story.  And the reason is simple, most clients are not very happy the first time their company is covered in the Wall Street Journal precisely because the reporter has done a good and fair job. 

I know this from experience.  In the 1990s, I was a PR director at a large IT services company and when we finally got the CEO quoted in the local business journal, all hell broke loose.  To say the CEO was angry was an understatement.  He was furious because the story was “fair” and it covered the market, not just us.  He knew the scope of the story going into the interview, but somewhere along the way, he thought that the story would make us look like angels and the others like the devil. 

In reality, the story was good, and we did come off well, but it wasn’t exactly as he would have worded it, more importantly many of our competitors came off well too. 

It’s important to understand when we undertake a proactive media campaign that the story will — NEVER, I repeat, NEVER — read exactly as we hoped it would. 

The Yang
With practice and realistic expectations, we can reverse this perspective and find ourselves very satisfied with a story EVEN when the reporter doesn’t include all our “best stuff.” 

The key to being satisfied, even happy, with an article is simple. 

Every interview deserves a planned, disciplined PR approach.  The PR person should vet the reporter and determine the nature of the story.  The PR person should talk with the spokesperson in advance to ensure that he/she has all of the information needed and a precise way of stating it.  The PR person can/should sit in on the interview (physically or by phone) and clarify or offer additional information as needed.  And post interview, the PR person can and should check in with the reporter to see if anything was missing or more detail is needed.

Preparing for a media interview is as important as preparing for a job interview.  You get one chance to make a good impression and simultaneously present relevant information.  It’s an opportunity and a challenge and should be viewed as such.

Laura Field
PR Director
ClearEdge Marketing

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