|
Declining Media Requests
How to minimise the
damage
One of the
hardest parts of the job for media spokespeople and their
communications gatekeepers is being unable to respond to a request
or question from a journalist.
The reasons
for declining may be authentic and varied but this is a time when
you risk relationships which are valuable and may have been built
over a long period.
Whatever the reason
- inappropriate timing at a strategic level
- unwillingly or unsuitable spokespeople
- commercial-in-confidence
Avoiding a question or declining to reply has the potential to
damage your relationship with a journalist, or to cause that person
to hold a negative attitude towards you - but it doesn’t have
to.
Most journalists, even those
who are most persistent and even abrasive in seeking answers,
understand that your role is to control the flow of information to
media as well as to facilitate it. They know there are times when
you must decline to answer.
The manner in which you
decline will have an impact both on the journalist’s approach to
the story he is seeking and to his future attitude to you and your
company.
In trying to minimise the
potential repercussions:
-
don’t waste the journalist’s time: only make undertakings you
expect to deliver on
- be as open as
circumstances allow
- reinforce that you like
to help - it’s just that this time you can’t
- suggest alternative
lines of inquiry if appropriate
- offer a better story -
but only if you have one
“Let me
get back to you on that”
Promising to get back to a
journalist allows you to elicit further information about what they
are seeking, why they’re seeking it, and what their deadlines are.
It buys time to formulate a response - or a non-response. But
when you say “let me get back to you”, only make undertakings you
can deliver on.
If you know the odds are that
you will be ringing the journalist back to tell him you can’t
answer his questions, don’t leave him with the impression you’ll be
dishing up an interview with the CEO later that day. Give at least
an indication of what to expect - for example, say you’re not
certain you’ll be able to find someone to talk but you’ll see what
you can do.
Undertake to get back to the
journalist within an agreed time, and do so, even if only to
apologise for having failed to produce the answers he wants.
Do not waste his time or raise his ire by leaving him to call you
repeatedly, or by deliberately delaying calling back until the
deadline is past. By always ringing back when you say you will, you
build trust.
“I can't
answer that at the moment”
This invariably invites the
follow-up “why can’t you?”. You must be ready to produce a
reason.
Any reasonable journalist
will accept that you can’t answer questions about matters that are
subject to commercial in-confidences agreements, or that are before
the courts, If there’s a genuine reason of this nature, say so
immediately. Be as open as you reasonably can about why you
can’t answer, bearing in mind that whatever you give as the reason
has the prospect of being published or broadcast.
That said, when you’re trying
to keep out of the news, expressing your refusal in relatively
bland terms will diminish the odds of your words being reported. If
you have a flair for soundbites, this is not the time to display
it.
You may elect to go off the
record to explain why you won’t talk publicly but only do this if
you have a good understanding of what “off the record” means, and
you’re confident the journalist does too.
“Sorry I
can't help you with that today”
When you have to decline
questions, express yourself in terms that reinforce that you are
generally willing to assist the journalist and expect to do so in
the future. It’s just this inquiry that’s an exception.
For instance, if a journalist
is seeking comment on a negative article about your organisation in
the financial press you could say: “I’m sorry I can’t help you with
that today (subtext: but I will help you another day) but
you know, it’s not our policy here to respond to reports of that
kind. Is there something else you want to talk about? (I am
generally willing to help) Okay. Another time, then. Talk to
you soon (we have an ongoing relationship).”
Although it’s important to
indicate that you take the journalist and his inquiry seriously,
humour can sometimes defuse a tense moment (“That’s an outrageous
question, John! You don’t expect me to answer that, do you?”) and
remind both of you that none of this is personal. As with going off
the record, you need to be sure of your mark, as you will not want
to see this mutate into “A spokesman for Smith Corporation said the
allegations were “outrageous”.”
“I CAN’T
HELP YOU WITH THIS ONE, BUT TRY SO-AND-SO . . .”
The journalist has contacted
you because he wants you to help with a story. Even if you can’t
deliver what he wants, you may be able to make his job easier by
suggesting alternatives.
When you won’t answer a
question, the journalist will go to someone else. In a lot of
industries, that someone else will come from a rival company and
potentially be hostile.
Depending on the nature of
the inquiry, you may be able to suggest an alternative interviewee
who you believe will be friendly or impartial i.e. “Anne Smith at
the industry association may have something to say about this”
or “Professor Jones from ANU has written a really
thorough paper on this – here’s his email address”.
“IF YOU
CAN HANG IN THERE FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS . . .”
Can you suggest that if the
journalist can put this line of inquiry on hold, he’ll be the first
to know when you’re in a position to say something? For example,
when the time comes, you might offer him an advance viewing of an
embargoed announcement.Or that you might have a better story for
him in the near future?
Under no circumstances should
you take this approach unless you are confident of being able to
deliver in the short term. Beware of using it simply as a delaying
tactic. If you don’t cough up a decent exclusive within a matter of
weeks, the journalist may feel compromised as well as duped, with
predictable consequences for you.
back
|
