APPENDIX G
Communicating
with the Media
Most crisis management public relations disasters result more from a firm’s inability to
communicate effectively with the media than from the incident that propelled them
to public scrutiny. Always be prepared with the facts of the situation when dealing
with the media. Their job is to get the facts of a situation quickly and meet their tight
deadlines. Although few reporters are hostile, their approach to the type of questions
asked often depends on the spokesperson’s honesty and sensitivity to their needs. It doesn’t
matter to the reporter whether the story makes you look good or bad, but a dull story
makes the reporter look bad. Reporters will use a variety of techniques to get you
to produce interesting facts ...