"Bridging" is tricky. Don't try to shift the focus to
your own agenda, unless you are media-trained.

One of the most important provisions of a good media relations policy is that when a reporter asks you a question, assuming you have the authority to answer it, then you should respond truthfully and accurately, and then shut up. Do not try to steer the interview in another direction—especially, don't try to promote your products or services—or you'll only frustrate the reporter, who can always find another source of information.

You should prepare in advance a brief statement explaining who you are and what your company does, similar to the boilerplate information you include at the end of a press release. All employees who are authorized to respond to media inquiries should have a copy of this statement, so your message is consistent. Beyond that statement, however, do not talk about yourself unless the reporter asks. Your goal as a spokesperson is to establish your organization as a reliable source of news and background information.

Violating this policy can have serious consequences. A few years ago, an international scientific institute held a weekend conference in Chicago, and asked me to help them publicize the event. The keynote speaker was a world-famous scientist who had recently returned from a world lecture tour. I set up an interview with him for a Chicago Tribune reporter.

We held the interview just before the conference started. The institute's director attended the interview, along with the reporter, the scientist and me. During the interview, which focused primarily on the scientist's illustrious career and particularly his recent meeting with Nobel Prize winners in Europe, the director repeatedly urged the reporter to ask the scientist about the keynote speech he had planned to give later that evening, and about the conference in general, to the point that this imploring became disruptive. A few days later the reporter told me confidentially that he would never again conduct an interview with that director in the room. The article that appeared in the following Sunday edition of the Tribune barely mentioned the institute and its conference.

Another example involves a big Midwest law firm—let's call it The Firm—that was defending a major corporation in a wrongful death lawsuit. In fact, the claim for damages was so huge that the corporation had hired two law firms for its defense. After months of litigation, the judge dismissed the case, based on arguments made in a brief that one of the lawyers from The Firm had written. The defendant and its two law firms decided that this brief-writing lawyer (BWL) would be the spokesperson for press inquiries. A reporter finally called him, intending to ask questions about the issues in the case, the social implications of the judge's decision, and how the decision might affect other companies in the same industry, for example. But BWL tried to steer the conversation to his brief and his firm's representation of the defendant. The reporter finally gave up and called the other defense firm for comments.

Now, there are some media trainers who teach spokespersons to subtly steer reporters in certain directions that serve their own purposes, and in some cases this can be done without alienating the reporter. But it takes a lot of training to be able to do that well, and you have to know when to back off and let the reporter maintain control.

In most cases, your value to the news media depends on your ability to provide the information they need to do their jobs well. If you prove your value in that respect, the press will contact again and again, whether it's about a story that involves your company, or when they simply need background information.

Dave Freedman is a Chicago-based writer and media relations consultant, specializing in the fields of law and finance. (www.freedman-chicago.com) He is a coauthor of The GET GOOD PRESS Series for Lawyers (www.getgoodpress.com).

Posted Oct. 20, 2004

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