Post on 14-Apr-2017
MANAGINGMEDIAINTERVIEWS&BRIDGINGTOPOSITIVEMESSAGES
MediaTrainingforHealthProfessionals
VincentRhodes,PhD,APRChiefCommunicaAons&MarkeAngOfficer
¨ Alertustoinforma6onordevelopmentswemaynotknow
¨ Providethepublicwithinforma6onorrequeststhatwewishtoconvey
¨ Quellrumorsandreassureconcernedci6zens¨ Generateoutsidesupportandassistance
WhattheMediaCanDoforUs
3
¨ Fiveelementsofnewsworthiness¨ Importance,Prominence,Proximity,Timeliness,Novelty
¨ “News”istheunusual¨ Biggest,First,Only,Out-of-the-Ordinary¨ Manbitesdog!
¨ Newsiswhateverthereporterssayitis!
WhatisNews?
4
¨ Naturallycurious,skep6calpeople¨ Facedwithdifficultjobs(becoming“instantexperts”)¨ Haveeditors¨ Haveajobtodo—getthestory!¨ Generallyrespondposi6velywhenprovidedassistance
UnderstandingReporters
5
RelaAonshipswithreporters…
6
“Treatthemlikeprofessionalsandtheywillbeyourfriends.Treatthemlikefriendsandtheywillbetrayyouevery6me.”
—MarlinFitzwaterFormerWhiteHouseSpokesman
¨ Alwaysaskareporterabouthis/herdeadline¨ TVreportershave6ghterdeadlinesthanprintreporters
¨ Internetreporterswanttoturnthingsaroundinstantly
¨ ConsideraAon:Whoseemergencyisthis?
Reporters&Deadlines
7
¨ Whoisauthorizedtospeakfortheorganiza6on?¨ Whatkindofinforma6oncannotbereleased?¨ Areyourequiredtono6fyanyoneofthemediacontact?
¨ Whatkindofcommunica6onssupportisavailable?
KnowOrganizaAonalMediaPolicies
8
¨ Agreetodotheon-cameraorin-personinterview¨ Answerques6onsoverthephone¨ Turndowntheinterviewopportunity¨ Referthereportertosomeoneelse(districtspokesperson,etc.)
YourOpAons
9
¨ Whenareporterrequestsaninterview,askenoughques6onstogainafullunderstandingofthestory¨ Whatisthestoryabout?Whatisyourangle?¨ Whatkindofinforma6ondoyouneed?¨ Whoelsehaveorwillyouinterview?¨ Whatpromptedinterestinthisstory?
InterviewtheInterviewer
10
Releasingbadnews…
11
“Badnewsisnotlikewine.Itdoesnotimprovewithage.”
—ColinPowellFormerGeneral&SecretaryofState
¨ Mostreporterswillhaveananglefortheirstory—butyoucanalwaystrytobringthemaroundtoyours!
¨ Conveyyoursugges6onsforwhatshouldbeinthepieceintheformoffacts:¨ “Youknow,theques6onIgetaskedthemostaboutthisis…”
¨ “Whatmanypeopledon’tknowis…”
Pre-InterviewTricks
12
¨ Atechniquefortransi6oningfromanega6veques6ontoposi6ve,pre-determinedresponses
¨ Worksinmediainterviewsandinmee6ngswithstakeholders
WhatisBridging?
13
¨ An6cipateques6ons¨ Writeoutanswers¨ Interviewplanningsheet
¨ Keyfacts
¨ Analogies¨ Examples¨ Prac6ce“bridging”technique
¨ Beawareofyourgestures/expressions
Prep&PracAce
14
¨ “Theimportantthingtorememberis…”¨ “Whatparentsreallyneedtoknowis…”¨ “Thebo^omlineis…”¨ “Therealissueis…”¨ “But…”¨ “However…”¨ “And…”
BridgingTransiAons
16
17
Content:BridgingtothePosiAve
Major Weaknesses
Bridging Transition
Key Messages
Negative Aspect Bridge
Positive Message
Positive Message
VIDEO:BridgingtoPosiAveMessages(1)
18
Source: Mastering TV Appearances: The 5-Star Survival Guide for Effective TV Interviews, Center for Advanced Media Studies
19
VIDEO:BridgingtoPosiAveMessages(2)
Source: Mastering TV Appearances: The 5-Star Survival Guide for Effective TV Interviews, Center for Advanced Media Studies
¨ A=Acknowledgeandaddresstheques6on(1-2seconds)¨ yes,no,Idon’tknow,I’mnotabletoanswerthat…
¨ B=Bridge(3seconds)¨ but,however,whatIcantellyouis…,let’sbeclearaboutthis…
¨ C=Coverkeymessages(8-10seconds)¨ Clearlyandconciselycoverposi6vepointsfromyourinterview
planningsheet
¨ D=Dangle¨ what’sreallyinteres6ngis…
UsetheABCDTechnique
20
¨ BEWARETHEPREGNANTPAUSE!¨ Resisttheurgetofillthesilence
¨ TVreportersfacesignificant6meconstraints¨ Silencewillbeeditedout
¨ BEWARETHEREPEATQUESTION!¨ Yourfirstanswerisgenerallythebest¨ “IthinkI’veansweredthatques6onalready”
SurvivalTips
21
¨ Don’tspeculateorofferopinionsorpredic6ons.S6cktothefactsasyouknowthem.
¨ Don’tbeafraidtosayyoudon’tknow¨ Don’tplaceblame¨ Don’tusejargonor“sciencespeak”¨ Don’tstonewall,mislead,orlie
SurvivalTips(conAnued)
22
TellingtheTruth
23
“Lyingtothepublicisnodifferentfromlyinginacourtroomunderoath.Thesentence,however,canbetougher:lossofcredibility,lossofrespect,lossofcustomers,lossoftrustbythecommunity,andbyshareowers.Thereisnosuchthingsasa‘halflie,’a‘smalllie,’ora‘whitelie.’” —CaroleM.Howard&WilmaK.MaDhews
Authors,OnDeadline:ManagingMediaRelaKons
¨ NOCOMMENT:Noma^erwhyyousayit,theviewersthinkthismeanseither“I’mhidingsomething”or“I’mguiltyasHell!”(Differentfrom“Ican’tanswerbecause…”)
¨ OFFTHERECORD:Onceit’ssaid,it’ssaid.Youcan’ttakeitback.Onlyspeak“offtherecord”ifyoutrustthereporterwithyourjob!
¨ BESTADVICEFORBOTH:Don’tdoit!
TwoThingsToNeverSay
24
¨ LoadedQues6on¨ BaitQues6on¨ PersonalOpinion¨ SpeakingonBehalfofOthers¨ Don’tKnowtheAnswer¨ ProhibitedfromAnswering¨ BoxingYouIn¨ Emo6onallyLoadedQues6on
¨ Hos6leQues6on(ButTruthtoIt)¨ PersistentQues6oning¨ OpenEnded/VagueQues6on¨ Hypothe6calQues6on¨ Rumor¨ Mul6-PartQues6on¨ Advice/Recommenda6ontoBoss¨ Sympathe6cApproach
TricksoftheMediaTrade
25
¨ Confidence¨ Haveconfidenceinyourownknowledge.Youknowyoursubjectbe^erthan
thejournalistandmoststakeholders.
¨ Clarity¨ Useaclear,conversa6onalstyle.Establishamaximumofthreekeymessages
andillustrateyourpointswithanecdotalexamplesforcolorandcredibility.Avoidjargon.Simplify!
¨ Control¨ Takechargeoftheinterview/discussion.Prepara6onisthekey.Thereisno
suchthingasawrongques6on,onlywronganswers.
RemembertheThreeC’s
26
¨ “Theaudiencelistenswithitseyesfirst…Thenitsears.”
¨ Nearly87%oftheinforma6onwegetdailyisvisual
¨ Onlyabout7%oftheinforma6onwegetissound
Delivery:ThinkVisually!
27
Source:MasteringTVAppearances:The5-StarSurvivalGuideforEffecKveTVInterviews,CenterforAdvancedMediaStudies
VIDEO:FacialExpressions&Gestures
28
Source: Mastering TV Appearances: The 5-Star Survival Guide for Effective TV Interviews, Center for Advanced Media Studies
¨ Ifstanding,avoidrockingbackandforth¨ Ifsinng,sitatbackofchair,sitontailofcoat,andleanslightly
forwardatwaist¨ Assumeyouareon-airatall6mes¨ Keepappropriatetone/facialexpressionsduringthecut-awayshot¨ Placeyourmostimportantpointsatthebeginningofeachresponse¨ Refertothereporterbynameearlyandooen
TelevisionInterviewSurvivalTips
29
VIDEO:TVNewsStoryStructure
30
Source: Mastering TV Appearances: The 5-Star Survival Guide for Effective TV Interviews, Center for Advanced Media Studies
¨ Provideavailablefactssheets&suggestothersourcesasappropriate
¨ Providepromisedinforma6onASAP
¨ Volunteertoconfirmquotesoranswerfollowupques6onsifyou’reavailable
¨ Askwhenthestorywillairorbepublished
¨ Suggestaposi6vestoryideathatthereportercanreturntocoversoon
¨ Ifthereportercoversthestorywell,sendacongratulatorynote/e-mail
PostInterview
31
¨ FEWwillrememberyourname¨ TheyWILLrememberyourorganiza6on¨ ALMOSTNOONEwillremembermuchofwhatyousaid
¨ NEARLYEVERYONEwillrememberiftheylikedyou
FourTelevision“Absolutes”
32
Source:MasteringTVAppearances:The5-StarSurvivalGuideforEffecKveTVInterviews,CenterforAdvancedMediaStudies
¨ Acknowledgethedifferencebetweenwhatiscorrectandwhatyoudon’tlikeaboutthestory
¨ Inmostcases,becharitableanddonothing
¨ Insomecases,contactthereportertorequesttheitembecorrectedfortherecord
¨ Inafewcases,writeale^ertotheeditor
¨ Inrarecases,youwillbejus6fiedinaskingthepublica6ontoprintacorrec6on
¨ Innocaseshouldyoucontactacompe6ngpaper/sta6onto“settherecordstraight”
¨ Iftheerroriscri6cal,postthecorrec6ononyourwebsite
HandlingErrors
33
Source:OnDeadline:ManagingMediaRelaKons
DiscreAon:thebeaerpartofvalor
34
“Neverarguewithsomeonewhobuysinkbythebarrel!”
—aDributedtoMarkTwain,BenjaminFranklinandOscarWilde
—alsoaDributedtoWilliamGreener,pressaidetoPresidentFord
NomaDerwhosaidit,it’sagoodsenKmenttoremember!
¨ Numberofmen6ons(countclips;considerwhethereachisposi6ve,nega6veorneutral)
¨ Shareofeduca6onstories(comparedwitharea/regionalschoolsordistricts)
¨ Appearanceofkeymessages(evenin“nega6ve”stories)
EvaluaAngYourSuccess
35
¨ November,February,&May¨ “Sweeps”months:6meperiodswhenTVsta6onsget
ratedbasedonviewership¨ Ra6ngsusedtosetadver6singrates¨ Toboostra6ngs,storiestendtobeevenmore
sensa6onalthanusual(“hard-hinng”inves6ga6vereports,“shocking”stories,“localizing”na6onalstories)
BewareSweepsMonths
36
¨ Setgroundrules¨ Knowyourfacts¨ Writeoutyourresponses¨ Rehearseyourperformance¨ Sayitin15secondsorless¨ Prac6ce“bridging”
Review
37
Resources
38
MasteringTVAppearances:
The5-StarSurvivalGuideforEffecKveTVInterviews
Media Studies
www.mediatrainers.com