Category Archives: Media Relations

Six Ways for Ad Agencies PR to Counter Media Bias

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When I started my PR career in the mid-80s, I believed that most reporters tried to be fair and objective, in spite of their personal feelings. I can no longer say that’s the case.

While media bias has always been an issue that plagued politicians, business leaders, clergy and others, the problem seems to have gotten exponentially worse—to the point where much of the national media in particular have become advocates for a particular worldview, focusing their efforts on shaping news rather than reporting it.

Not surprisingly, a recent Gallup survey found that distrust in the media has hit a new high, “with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.”

And no wonder—the bias is hard to miss. Rush Limbaugh has frequently played sound bites from one independent media outlet after another repeating the same word or phrase when discussing a person or event, making it embarrassingly clear that there was discussion among these reporters about how to slant their coverage.

There was a time when editors could be shamed into taking corrective action when a reporter’s bias became too obvious, but generating shame is getting harder and harder to do. Many of today’s national reporters and editors have an agenda, and promoting that agenda is far more important to them than practicing integrity in their craft.

The bias in this year’s election campaign has been the worst I’ve ever seen. One of numerous examples I could site was a Republican debate in which George Stefanolopous, out of the blue, raised the issue with Mitt Romney of denying women contraceptives. Romney appeared to be caught off guard and simply indicted that he was not advocating that at all—it hadn’t even been discussed. It was, in fact, a “when did you stop beating your wife” set-up question from the start.

The spin was became “Romney was talking about banning contraceptives,” and the next thing you know there’s a ridiculous and absolutely phony charge of a Republican “War on Women.” But in the world of politics and PR, once you’re on the defensive with such a volatile issue it’s hard to recover quickly. It’s a good example of how fundamentally deceptive and dishonest the news media can be, knowingly framing an issue in a manner that has no grounding in reality.

Another less obvious bias is in choosing what to report and emphasize, and what to downplay or ignore altogether. But that’s a topic for another post.

Conservative blogs, The Wall Street Journal and talk radio help balance the liberal bias of national print outlets and networks. In my opinion, FOX is the most fair and even-handed TV network in terms of presenting both sides impartially. Sure, FOX has plenty of conservative commentators, along with quite a few liberal commentators, and viewers  know where they’re coming from. But when it’s time to report news rather than comment on it, FOX does a pretty good job overall. Not perfect, mind you, but it’s the only national TV news I trust.

Media bias can be just as big a problem for ad agencies and their clients, as well as for businesses of all sizes. So how should a PR person representing an agency or business navigate in this environment, especially when representing an issue or cause that runs counter to the philosophy of the dominant media?

There are no easy answers to dealing with media bias, but here are six suggestions that I’ve found helpful:

First, understand the reality of the situation. If you are a conservative, you’re not going to get a fair shake among much of the national media. If you’re a liberal, certain national talk radio hosts will interrupt you repeatedly and not give you much time to make your case. Knowing what you’re up against is important to get you prepared and keep you from being caught off guard.

Second, avoid dealing with the worst offenders. I don’t care who it is, or how big a name or reputation the media person has, if he or she is blatantly dishonest and hostile, or won’t give you a fair opportunity to make your point, why allow yourself (or your boss) to be interviewed by that person? You know going in that the entire interview is going to be about trying to make you look bad. Contrary to what P.T. Barnum believed, in most cases no publicity is better than bad publicity. There are plenty of other ways to get a message out today.

Third, don’t be afraid to be a little feisty and turn the tables when appropriate. Newt Gingrich is masterful at this, and a lot of liberals fear him because they know he’s not afraid to mix it up with them on the issues, and that he’ll call them out publicly when they lie or distort the truth. Gingrich also knows how to get his point across and not allow the interviewer to constantly interrupt or cut him off before he’s finished. At the same time, you never want to lose your cool no matter how provocative a question or statement you get hit with. Controlled indignation can be very powerful.

Fourth, recognize that complex issues are going to get reduced to a sound bite or two. That’s unfortunate, but it’s reality. Learn how to play the game and get your point across quickly, clearly and in a way that’s memorable.

Fifth, if you become the victim of a media hit, get the truth out quickly. Press release distribution services, the Internet, advertising and interviews with fair-minded reporters can help get corrective information out to counter lies and misrepresentations. But you must not wait too long and let the message spread too far unchallenged; otherwise, you’ll be playing on defense for some time to come.

Sixth, if you make a mistake, or say something you regret, don’t wait to apologize and correct yourself; do so immediately. We all say things we wish we had phrased differently or not said at all. The worst thing to do is defend something like that and then later, after much damage has been done, come back and apologize. It’s far better to acknowledge the error up front and move on.

And keep in mind that if you’re a conservative, any misstatement or error you make is going to be magnified and repeated by the media much more than if you are a liberal. It’s the way things are.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to advertising agencies and businesses.

photo credit: HonestReporting.com via photopincc

Good and Bad News for Reporters: Today, Anyone Can Be a Journalist

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While attending the 2012 Digital Summit in Atlanta a couple months ago, I heard one of the speakers make the point that the future of journalism is participatory.

With the rise of technology, such as cell phones that are able to record events, everyday citizens can capture news as it happens and distribute it instantly via the Internet. Think about how many times you’ve seen images on the news recently—from uprisings in the Middle East to tornadoes tearing through the heartland—that are attributed to a non-journalist who was at the right place at the right time.

So, why would having all those extra eyes, ears and equipment to capture events be bad news for some media outlets?

How about when a national reporter sets out to intentionally distort what someone says through deceptive editing, only to have the entire context made available by John Q. Citizen with a recording device.

Now, there are ways to hold dishonest reporters accountable, which no doubt is very disturbing to people like Andrea Mitchell of NBC.

After selectively editing a speech by Mitt Romney in an attempt to portray him as out of touch, a smirking Ms. Mitchell mockingly said, “It’s amazing.” But her smirk quickly disappeared when a blog site noted that NBC had doctored the video.

After exposing what she and her editing crew tried to pull off, the post quickly went viral, putting the network’s spin doctors in high gear. It turns out the joke was on Ms. Mitchell because she’d been caught in a blatant deception.

It’s amazing, all right, that a once-respected news outlet like NBC would stoop to something like this. However, it’s hardly an isolated case.

In March, NBC was caught editing the audio of George Zimmerman’s 911 call in a way that falsely portrayed him as racially profiling Trayvon Martin. Last August MSNBC’s Ed Schultz played an edited clip of then-presidential candidate Rick Perry making it sound like he was taking a racial shot at President Obama.

And these people expect us to trust them?

While this sort of behavior has been going on for a long time among some segments of the news media, the culture of “anything goes” seems to be getting worse.

In its heyday “60 Minutes” was notorious for the footage it left “on the floor” to shape a story in the way its producer wanted. Some of the savvier companies that were subject to a “60 Minutes” investigation would hire their own videographers to tape every interview of executives as a way of trying to keep Mike Wallace and Co. honest, but before the Internet was around it was a tough slug to get the word out if you were the victim of a “60 Minutes” hit piece.

Now, reporters are being held accountable by everyday citizens who can expose their shenanigans to the world with the touch of a button.

That may be bad news for unethical reporters, but it sure is good news for the rest of us.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to advertising agencies and businesses.

photo credit: Ernst Moeksis via photopin cc

Ad Agency PR: How to Improve Quotes in a News Release

How many times have you read a quote in a news release that sounded canned, stale and clearly was not something a person would actually say?

“…besides clichés, superlatives, and meaningless terms such as ‘cutting-edge,’ using poorly worded quotes will have reporters hitting the delete button before they read your third paragraph,” writes Laura Hale Brockway, author of the writing and editing blog impertinentremarks.com, in Ragan’s PR Daily.

She offers four tips for improving quotes in releases:

1. Trash those lazy verbs. Laura recommends replacing them with clear descriptions of your customers’ needs and how your product (or service) meets them. To which I would add: just be careful not to sound too promotional or sensational.

2. Keep them conversational. Quotes are more believable if they sound like something a person would actually say if you were talking with him or her.

3. Can you paraphrase? She contends (and I agree) that you can often improve a suggested quote your client or an executive gives you by paraphrasing it or breaking it up so that the quote is short and punchy.

4. Step up your interviewing skills. If you’re interviewing someone, ask for real-world examples, metaphors, epiphanies, etc. Doing so is likely to uncover interesting details that might otherwise be overlooked.

The more a news release looks and sounds like an article in a publication written by a journalist, the more likely it is to be taken seriously—assuming you’ve done your homework and targeted the right media outlets and reporters.

In my experience, quotes are often add-ons to news releases, and they aren’t given the time and attention they deserve. Ad agencies and their clients will benefit from taking a few extra steps to improve the quality of their quotes, and thereby improve their chances of them getting on reporters’ radar.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to advertising agencies and businesses.

For Successful Ad Agency PR, Pitch like a Reporter

Something that’s easy to overlook when pitching a story to a reporter is that in most cases the reporter has to turn around and pitch it to an editor. So, getting the reporter interested is only half the battle. The more you can arm him or her with good information about why your idea would make a good story, the more favorable the odds of selling the editor.

The best way to sell a story is to first do your homework and then tailor your pitch as much as possible.

When I was on the editorial side of a heath care magazine, I never ceased to be amazed at some of the obviously inappropriate pitches PR people sent my way. It was pretty easy to tell who had taken time to read our magazine and understand the types of stories we covered, and who had taken a shotgun approach to pitching.

When the time comes to make your pitch, be sure you not only think like a reporter, but that you write like one as well. In other words, don’t advertise or editorialize your story idea; write your pitch as objectively as possible emphasizing its news aspect.

To increase your chances of success, follow this rule of thumb: find the right reporter and make the right story pitch at the right time.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies Beware of Speaking with Reporters off the Record

Brian Lewis, a former reporter for The Tennessean newspaper, described in a column the different levels of speaking with reporters:

Off the record:  “To have an off-the-record conversation means that the information will not be used in any way in a story.  Many editors, including mine, don’t allow reporters to have off-the-record conversations.”

On background:  “To have an on-background conversation means that the information may be used in a story, but the person who is talking will not be named in connection with the information that is ‘on background.’”

On the record:  “This is the standard conversation with reporters.  However, reporters should identify themselves as working on an article before beginning an interview…once a statement has been made on the record, it cannot be taken off-record.”

While Brian’s explanation of these three levels is helpful, my advice to ad agencies is to never speak off the record, unless you really know and trust the reporter.

Even then, there are risks.

Consider this headline from a story by the New York Times News Service:  “India’s nuclear identify unclear.”  The subhead reads:  “‘Off the record, we are totally unprepared’ says one of its top military strategists.”

I wonder how the career of that military strategist is going these days. He certainly should have known better than to make such a remark to a reporter, and I suspect he learned his lesson after getting burned so badly by someone he apparently trusted.

What’s even more disturbing than this official’s lack of judgment, though, is that The New York Times  had no qualms about using something he told one of its reporters in confidence and clearly thought was off the record. 

The paper’s subhead admits it can’t be trusted, which is why if you don’t want to risk having something appear in print or on radio, TV or the Internet, don’t share it with a reporter!

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies: Talking Points Help Your Clients Stay Focused During Interviews

Talking points – also known as key messages – have gotten a bum rap. For many people, the term “talking points” is synonymous with stonewalling and lack of candor.

Politicians, in particular, are adept at the art of saying what they want to say, regardless of the question they’re asked. If they don’t like the question, they silently make up their own and answer it, making sure they get their messages across.

There are, however, some good and honorable uses of talking points. For one thing, they help the person being interviewed stay focused and on track. It often helps to condense what you want to say into a sentence or two, to make sure you communicate succinctly and effectively.

In this age of sound bites, thinking through a few key points you want to make prior to an interview with a reporter is a must.

Talking points also can help you avoid landmines that otherwise could come back to bite you later on. Of course, it becomes obvious when a person is only spouting talking points, so they need to be used carefully to provide guidance to the conversation rather than being the conversation exclusively.

Recently I helped a couple of my clients develop talking points for situations they were facing. Just the process of working through the messaging was useful because it generated discussion about not only what should be said – and not said – but how the words we ultimately chose would come across to others.

If your agency hasn’t prepared your clients by helping them determine what to say and how to say it, beware that interviews can and sometimes do backfire, and the consequences may be far-reaching and unpleasant.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Journalists Survey Part 2

What’s the biggest concern that journalists have about materials they receive from corporate communications and public relations professionals? According to the new Bulldog Reporter/Cision Journalists Survey on Media Relations Practices, it’s that the information is written like advertising, not journalism.

Following closely behind is the complaint that the material is not relevant to their work.

In addition, half of responding journalists complained that e-mails from communications professionals don’t highlight why readers would care about the subject.

While nearly 70% of journalists surveyed rated PR and corporate communications professionals as substantially or extremely professional, when it comes to understanding their media outlets, 53% said communications professionals have only “some understanding.” Ouch.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Journalists Survey Has Good and Bad News for PR

There’s good news and bad news in a new media relations practices survey of more than 1,700 journalists and editors.

First, the good news: More than 90% of respondents say they rely on public relations for some of their story ideas.

The bad news: Nearly 60% say the relevance of the materials they receive comes up short, citing it as their top problem with PR.

The survey, which was sponsored by Bulldog Reporter
and Cision, contains some interesting information. Here’s a sample:

• Some 45% of journalists report that the communications professionals they work with don’t understand which subjects they cover.
• Nearly 27% say communications professionals don’t understand the subjects they are pitching.
• More than 30% report they cannot find information they need on corporate websites, and nearly 32% specifically say they can’t find the name and/or telephone number of a communications professional on the corporate website.

While these are embarrassing stats for PR professionals, they’re also fairly easy to correct. Learn as much as possible about a specific subject before contacting the reporter covering it, educate yourself on the subject you want to pitch, and then make it easy for reporters to contact you.

If you’ve ever had difficulty finding your way around a city and wondered why there wasn’t better signage, you’ll get an idea of the frustration a busy journalist experiences when trying to find what he or she needs on your ad agency’s or client’s website.

Take a few minutes to visit your site as if you’ve never been there before – how easy is it to find your way around? Then ask some other people outside your company to do the same thing. You may find your website needs a bit of work to make it more journalist friendly. Not a big deal to fix, but the payoff could be great.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Media Survey Provides Insights for Ad Agencies

Journalists are broadening the ways they interact with PR professionals and other sources, and much of this interaction is coming through social media, according to the PRWeek/PR Newswire 2010 Media Survey.

The survey was conducted online, with 1,568 traditional and non-traditional media representatives and 1,670 PR practitioners completing it.

I found it particular interesting, though not surprisingly, that it is becoming more common for journalists to establish relationships with sources online.

The more traditional ways of pitching, while not dead, are certainly declining, and ad agencies need to adapt to new methods of reaching influential reporters.

Other noteworthy findings pertaining to social media include:

• 43% of journalists have been pitched through social networks, compared to 31% in 2009.

• 62% of PR professionals follow individual journalists and media outlets via social networks.

• 59% of traditional journalists are the author of a blog, whether personal or professional, and 31% are writing a blog for their traditional outlet, an increase from 28% in 2009.

• 44% of PR pros are choosing to circumvent traditional journalists for certain stories — 17% of respondents are pitching to traditional media outlets with less frequency; 66% are targeting bloggers more than before; and 45% are going directly to consumers more often.

• Journalists are also using blogs in their research, with 45% saying they’ve quoted a blog in an article. However, when researching a specific company, 90% of journalists are still acquiring information through the company’s Web site; 24% are using general blogs, and 23% are going to the company’s blog to get information on that specific business.

• While 34% of journalists say they use company blogs for general story research, 51% report they do not find company blogs useful, “pointing to a possible disconnect in how businesses are presenting information.”

• 43% of PR practitioners report using social networks to pitch the media, with 76% using Twitter and 49% using Facebook.

• 61% of journalists that have been pitched via social network have received pitches via Facebook, while 44% have received Twitter pitches. (Only 18% of journalists were getting Twitter pitches a year ago.)

• 84% of journalists consider e-mail the best way to receive story pitches; only 4% report the phone to be the best way to do so.

• 57% of journalists anticipate a decline in print circulation with an increased focus on the Web.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Getting the Story Right

Deborah Fisher, senior editor for news at The Tennessean, wrote a column in last Sunday’s edition about the paper’s policy for using anonymous sources and its commitment to accurate reporting.

“The most important factor for us in using an anonymous source is that the information given us by the source is true.” At first glance that seems like a “duh” statement for a news editor to make.

Unfortunately, getting a story right rather than just getting a story is not always a priority for some media outlets these days.

Sloppy reporting, lack of accountability and pressure to be first to break a story are all contributing factors in the decline of journalism.

“It’s too easy for people to hide behind anonymity, planting information with no accountability,” Ms. Fisher continues. “And when you’re not accountable, isn’t it easier to stretch the truth?”

I couldn’t agree more, and I hope some of Ms. Fisher’s colleagues at other news media outlets read her column and take it to heart.

Recently I became aware of one of our local TV stations carrying a report alleging a businessman had lost a $1 million judgment. I know the man and when I asked him about the report, he said a lawsuit had been filed but no judgment was rendered. In fact, the case hasn’t even been to court yet.

It turns out the TV station got its information from a less-than-credible source. Even worse, all the reporter who covered the story needed to do was call the court to verify the information and he would have found out it wasn’t true, but he didn’t bother.

Apparently, truth and the businessman’s reputation were less important to him than getting the story on air that evening. Soon, the false report was picked up by other media outlets that likewise didn’t bother to check out the facts.

The Tennessean’s Williamson AM section reported the man was being held in the county jail, which also was not true.

No wonder so many people don’t trust the news media these days. And no wonder Ms. Fisher felt it necessary to state what should be obvious: that truth is the most important factor in any news story.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.