Most organizations know they should authorize only one individual to handle media encounters during routine situations and especially when emergencies strike.
This designated spokesperson -- your media relations "quarterback" -- can best:
* Consult with other members of your company to determine the best answer to provide in response to media inquiries;
* Make sure your company responds to all inquires in a timely fashion;
* Maintain the continuity of information, particularly when dealing with multiple media calls. A single spokesperson would be most familiar with how your company presented certain information in the past and can prevent contradictory responses;
* Avoid confusion caused when two or more voices speak for your company -- even when presenting the same information;
* Determine if someone other than the spokesperson himself should provide information -- especially highly technical information;
* Arrange and manage all subsequent media interviews.
But what can you do when someone other than the designated spokesperson responds to a media inquiry -- especially when that individual is a blabbermouth?
I'm sure most public relations professionals have had to clean up after unauthorized individuals either responded spontaneously when a reporter caught them off guard or when someone answered a reporter's questions without first conferring with the public relations department.
Two such incidents took place on my watch.
The first occurred when I was handling media relations for a large metropolitan area hospital. A syndicated columnist called the hospital's staff psychiatrist prior to an accused serial killer's trial. The reporter wanted the doctor's opinion concerning the accused individual's motives behind murdering four people.
The doctor, who had no connection to the case, immediately gave the reporter his best guess.
I didn't learn about the interview until the next day when the reporter's column appeared in the New York Daily News. Shortly after, the accused person's defense attorney used the psychiatrist's comments to support his argument that pre-trial publicity had tainted the jury against his client.
The second incident involved a major defense contractor. A reporter called one of the company's marketing executives to root around for details on a contract to rebuild military aircraft for Taiwan. By merely substantiating that the company had a contract with Taiwan, the marketer jeopardized sensitive contract negotiations with Mainland China.
Even executives who are in a position to respond to a reporter's questions put themselves at a disadvantage when they don't have their media relations person in the room or on the phone when an interview takes place.
If incorrect information attributed to the executive appears in the story, contradicting the information or the attribution is difficult if no one else heard the reporter's question or the executive's answer.
In today's media-rich environment, information moves faster and spreads wider than ever via the Internet to feed news-hungry blogs, websites and traditional news outlets.
Maintaining a company's flow of positive and intended information to the media is tough enough under these circumstances. But, in addition, individuals can pump their own information into the electronic pipeline without realizing the damage it may cause and multi-interpretations it can go through.
To protect your company against unauthorized individuals from responding to media inquires or providing information to the media on their own, you must:
* Emphasize -- within your company -- your public relations department's responsibility to serve as your organization's only media interface and information resource.
* Establish and communicate within your organization a "no exceptions" policy stating that
> All media requests and inquires must be directed to the public relations department for the rapid determination of how each request will be handled;
> Employees must not contact the media on their own to discuss or disclose company information.
* Designate one person to serve as your organization's media contact and corporate spokesperson.
* Provide your media contact with excellent media training
* Maintain a close relationship between management and your media contact
* Realize that every comment to the media has consequences and must be taken seriously throughout your entire organization.
Brian R. Salisbury, a writer and a public relations and communications consultant, combines a wealth of communications know-how with an engaging writing style to help his clients shape the most effective messages and deliver them with the greatest impact where they count most. Visit Brian's website at http://www.BriansQuill.com and subscribe to his free public relations newsletter and receive his free report "Ten Key Components of a Successful Public Relations Program." Or send him an email at BrianSalisbury@BriansQuill.com.
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