Like most public relations pros, my Google reader is filled with blogs about my clients’ industries, the daily news feeds for several national media outlets and various other job-related queries I need to look at on a daily basis. While that is part of my daily work, I also have blogs related to my personal interests like cooking, crafting and everything home that I follow. It certainly came as a surprise to me when I found some of my personal interest blogs were dealing with a media relations crisis.
Several of my favorite bloggers who write about their healthy living lifestyles and offer recipes, exercise suggestions and support were cited by a large fashion magazine for promoting unhealthy living in a magazine article titled The Hunger Diaries. The magazine paints an apparent unflattering picture of these bloggers, using their online diaries to showcase their “bad, obsessive habits.”
The bloggers, already a vocal group, came together en masse to write rebuttals to the article. Not only did the main bloggers cited in the article respond, but their readers and support system rallied around them in just a few hours to share their frustration with the magazine and reporter. Be sure to check out the Magazine’s Facebook page to see the hundreds of comments rallying around the bloggers.
The public relations implications of this incident are very representative of what clients fear every day when dealing with the news media. Clients are cautious of media interviews because they might not trust a reporter’s reputation. Some are afraid to grant interviews because something they say or do can be taken out of context or misrepresented. Add in the element of social media and word-of-mouth and clients are worried their comments can spin out of control before they even have a chance to clarify anything.
While the healthy living bloggers situation is less than 24-hours old, there are already public relations lessons to take away.
Always ask the intent of the story. Make sure the reporter tells you what they are trying to prove with their article. That being said, these bloggers asked the reporter her intent and claim they were lied to so…
Trust your gut. Some of the bloggers didn’t feel right during the interviews and felt there were some strange questions being asked by the reporter. If something doesn’t feel right, end the interview. But just in case, keep copies of all correspondence and don’t be afraid to take notes during your interview on the questions you are being asked and the way you respond.
Make corrections quickly. Within a few hours yesterday morning, the article was live on the magazine’s website. Most of the bloggers mentioned had their responses posted by lunchtime. Some even had point-by-point rebuttals to the author’s claims. If they had waited another day, another week, the story is old news.
Use social media to rally the troops. In this case, all it took was the bloggers to post the magazine editors name, e-mail and Facebook page link to get people to respond with their distaste for the article. By mid-afternoon, hundreds of comments were on the Facebook page against the magazine article. This passionate response was because these bloggers have a large base of followers who are interested and engaged in that community. If your customers aren’t engaged in your social media community, find a way to get them active before something like this happens.
Keep it in context. One lesson learned by these bloggers is that in today’s world, what you post on your blog can be taken for face value – and that’s it. One blogger’s 22-mile-run can sound obsessive, but when framed in context of marathon training, it doesn’t sound so unreasonable. Making sure you tell your whole story is incredibly important.
I’ve managed to keep the magazine’s name out of the entire entry, but since I haven’t seen it yet, Marie Claire, what is your response to all of this?
Don’t Let Your Story Get Away From You
Tags: "No Comment", brand control, branding, broadcast media, Brooke Bouma, Crisis Management, Des Moines, Des Moines Business Record, Des Moines Marketing, Des Moines Register, DSMCVB, Eric Hanson, Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau, interview, Jim Pollock, KCCI, Kendra Williams, KIOA 93.3, Lynn Hicks, marketing plan, Maxwell Schaeffer, metro Des Moines, Midwest Living, Pioneer Communications, Polly Clark, PR, print media, promotion, Public Relations, research, spokesperson training, story, Van Hardin, WHO AM 1040, WHO TV
Posted in Public Relations | 3 Comments 5/12/2010
Love Scott was proud to sponsor the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau (DSMCVB) “Marketing Panel” a couple weeks ago. Our third time sponsoring one of their events, we’ve come to recognize it as a valuable service they provide to their metro partners as a source of marketing/PR education, updating and networking.
On a broadcast media panel sat:
• Eric Hanson, TV reporter for KCCI
• Van Hardin, radio show host at WHO-AM 1040
• Maxwell Schaeffer, host at KIOA 93.3
• Brooke Bouma, morning co-host at WHO-TV
On a print media panel sat:
• Lynn Hicks, business editor of the Des Moines Register
• Jim Pollock, editor of the Des Moines Business Record
• Polly Clark with Pioneer Communications
• Kendra Williams with Midwest Living.
I listened closely to these panels because, as a PR person, I’m intrigued to hear their takes on how the industry has changed, their pet peeves when receiving information or interviewing, and what helps them report most accurately.
One comment repeated in both panels was on the topic of granting media interviews. A few years back, I did a short stint reporting for a business publication in St. Louis and will never forget times I’d call a business for information or a quote, and nobody would call me back. I wasn’t digging anything up – simply needing accurate information to complete a story…that most often would help promote that company! It astounded me that they would blatantly ignore me, I assume out of some sort of fear. Maybe they’d been burned before by the media – inaccurate information, misquotes, negative story angle, who knows? But every time I was left to think “well, you’re not doing yourselves any favors this way!” Either the story would get scrapped (no free publicity for them) for lack of information, or we’d have to say something ridiculous like “representatives from ‘Company X’ were unavailable for comment.” That is more damaging than no story at all, in my opinion.
Both media panels at the DSMCVB’s event mentioned that companies are doing a disservice to themselves when ignoring opportunities for interviews. Especially when they are associated with a controversial event, an interview is an opportunity to tell their story. Both times the subject came up in the panels, both the TV media reps and the print reps said even if you don’t grant the interview, “the story is going to run anyway”. So basically you have the opportunity to say what YOU want to say, or take a chance that somebody else will say what you wouldn’t want them saying FOR you.
If the idea of speaking to the media scares you, take the time for spokesperson training. Most times, if you’re prepared, it’s actually a positive PR opportunity, not a burden.
What do you think when a company has “no comment”? What are some of the best TV/print interviews you’ve seen or read, even in times of crisis?
Andrea James, President / Director of Public Relations