A communications lesson from afar

By Mark Grabowski
A recent Meeker on Media Telegram weblog column (E-mail trail, Dec. 12, 2007) detailing an e-mail trail between a journalist and the premier's communication director provides a good example of how not to deal with the press.
First, when you're talking to a journalist - whether it's in person, over the phone or via e-mail - never assume you're off the record.
Even a side comment made to someone else and overheard by a reporter could be considered fair game.

Don't make enemies
Second, don't make enemies with the press.
That's one battle you can't win.
Because the media controls its own editorial content, they can make you look really bad, if they want to.
I don't mean to suggest that journalists are vengeful or out to get anyone.
As a former journalist who now works as a communication professor and runs a media relations firm, I know otherwise.
The vast majority of journalists strive for objectivity and accuracy.
And, of course, if a reporter makes a factual mistake, you should seek a correction.
They'll probably be glad you did.

Not your story
But people in the news, especially government officials, need to remember that a journalist's job is to write a story.
That doesn't mean she's obligated to write your story.
Be thankful when a journalist asks for your opinion, and always respond.
Ignoring a journalist or dismissing him with a "no comment" might lead him - and the public - to believe you're hiding something.
It also creates a vacuum of information. And newspaper column space that would be filled with your side of the story might, instead, be used to quote one of your critics.
The Premier's office is learning this the hard way.


Mark Grabowski is a communication professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey. He is also a lawyer and president of Media Unspun, a media relations firm in Philadelphia.