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It happened again on Monday.
A client in the midst of a controversy got a media inquiry initiated by someone on the other side of the issue.
Here’s what the client did not do: ignore it and hope that it went away; argue with the reporter about whether or not it was “news”; relitigate the matter, either with the reporter or with the sympathetic audience in their office; complain about “how unfair the media is.”
Instead, they called me right away. From there, I returned the reporter’s call, had a “background” conversation with her to make sure she understood the basics of the complex, long-running story. I also told her I would have a written, on-the-record response to her questions via email within the next two hours.
Then we went to work – gathering facts, asking and answering questions and working with legal counsel to make sure our response didn’t unwittingly undermine the client’s legal position.
The response then went to the reporter and was incorporated into her story. Speed is key here, because if we had delayed much longer, her story for that night’s news would have largely been written, and our answers would have been merely tacked on at the end of the story as an “oh, by the way…” addendum.
How do I know this was a “win” – or as close to one as possible? After the story ran, the client said “Wow – that was actually fair.”
The key takeaway? When you get a media inquiry, skip the options on my “Do Not” list, above. Rather, it’s crucial to engage and respond quickly, and effectively – then live to fight another day.
Best,
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