Media Training - how to deal effectively with the press & TV

July 2003

Docleaf associate and media trainer, Jim Preen, talks about the importance of being prepared when it comes to speaking to the media in a crisis.

Foot in mouth disease
The way news is reported is constantly changing. Much of the time these changes are driven by technology. The recent Iraq war highlighted television news’ obsession with broadcasting live. The advent of videophones has meant that journalists are able to report from any bit of flyblown desert that appeals to them.

For broadcasters this makes the news seem immediate and exciting - it also has the added benefit of being cheap. Until recently live broadcasting was relatively expensive, so now TV stations feel they are in a win win situation by going live. As the glamorous Christian Amanpour of CNN said, CNN “has gotten away from taped packages. Keep it moving, keep it moving is what they tell us”.

The way news is reported is changing in other ways. So often now pictures taken at the epicentre of a disaster are from members of the public armed only with a domestic camcorder. The aftermath of the Bali bomb, for example, was filmed by an Australian tourist. And such is the media literacy of the young that he not only took the pictures, but also recorded a pseudo-news commentary at the same time. Sky news broadcast both his pictures and words.

But if aspects of the news change, then others remain the same. Why do people who are used to dealing with the media assume that cameras are turned off and tape recorders are not recording?

During the last US election campaign George Bush was waving to a crowd with his mouth a few inches from a prominently deployed microphone. Did he pause to consider this when he noticed a New York Times’ journalist in the crowd who he didn’t feel was quite on message? No he did not. So instead - continuing to smile and wave with his running mate Dick Cheney at his side - he described the hack as a “major league asshole.” The BBC were not the only ones to construct a whole news package out of this blunder.

But it’s not just cameras and microphones you have to beware of, don’t forget journalists don’t come fitted with an off switch. Right at the beginning of the Iraq war the British armed forces spokesman Group Captain Al Lockwood made an unfortunate mistake. After an interview with a US network, he was chatting with the journalist who asked how long he thought the war would last. He gave a flippant, jokey reply saying three or four days. By the time he got back to his office the headlines were already screaming: “UK spokesman says war will only last three days.”

He immediately went to see his boss Air Marshal Brian Burridge to apologise. Burridge just said: “Well you learned on day one.”

If you have to face the press then make sure you are media-trained and prepared. Winging it on the day is not an option, and best practise is to assume that all cameras, microphones and journalists are switched on.

The articles which appear on this web site are written and/or edited by Dr. David Perl, Chief Executive of docleaf®, unless otherwise mentioned. Articles are copyrighted to docleaf®. Permission to reprint will usually be granted for no charge. Write to info@docleaf.com. The articles represent the opinions of the authors and all information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

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