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PM Forum - Birmingham
Crises, what crises? How to handle the media.
The media interview is without doubt something quite unique for the majority of us, and our fabulous speaker, Andy Hitchcock, Director of Media at specialist media training company, BMS (Broadcasting Media Services), made no bones about this in this informative, entertaining and highly useful session.
Before giving the delegates a snapshot of how to approach a media interview, Andy explained his credentials which served to illustrate just how well-placed he is for passing on his advice and guidance in this specialist area – during a total of 25 years experience in broadcasting, Andy has been bureau chief for BBC News, worked on the 1 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock news on BBC1. He has also worked on the Today programme, BBC Breakfast, as a breakfast show presenter on BBC radio, as ITN news editor and programme editor for BBC Radio 5.
We all felt comfortable that Andy knew what he was talking about, having been on the other side of the microphone for many years, and seen the good, and the bad, of media interviews and interviewees.
Maintaining a firm and brand reputation is key, whatever the news, and the golden rules for managing this through any crises situation, as Andy explained, include:
- The purpose of a media interview is not to demonstrate your knowledge, but to use the small time available to you to communicate the information and core messages that lie at the foundation of your reason for speaking to the journalist;
- Whilst preparation is important, don’t over-prepare with hundreds of anticipated questions and answers, that the journalist may or may not ask you.
- Start by creating the strategy of what you want to say, and remember who the audience is – Andy’s advice was look beyond the journalist or interviewer (or ‘microphone holder’, as Andy affectionately called the journalist), as strange as this feels, and remember its not him/her that is important but the viewers/listeners/readers.
- Focus by creating a short list of core messages, or themes, and be ruthless about prioritising these. Don’t be drawn by the interviewer into discussing something outside of these core themes (even it means a glimmer of the ‘knowledge comfort zone’ that is almost instinctive to move into); remember that audiences are savvy, so simply not answering a question – in the style of a politician – is not the best way of handling this media situation. It is vital to acknowledge the question, but deftly steer the answer and response back to one of the core themes. You must prioritise just 2 or 3 core themes or messages that have to form the foundation of each answer.
- Language must be simple to maximise the impact and understanding by the audience; forget jargon and corporate speak as this will ‘lose’ the audience’s attention and they will potentially miss the main message or theme, as a consequence, whilst their mind is distracted on trying to decipher the jargon.
- Performance is important, so make sure whatever you say is delivered with passion and energy – especially in broadcast media interviews. Never under estimate the power of this both for the media using clips and keeping them through the editing process, but also the impact a powerful performance will have on the audience and how successfully it is engaged.
- The ‘interview technique’ spans the whole ‘media transaction’, as Andy described the media interview – in the words of The Jackson 5 song, ‘ABC’ you must first Acknowledge the question, then Build the bridge from where you are to where you want to get to (ie the core theme) and then deliver it with Confidence and Control.
Andy encouraged us to remember that in a 2 minute interview – whether for a pre-recorded or live interview – you have to remember the ‘sound bite’; whichever interview route is taken by the media, it is probable the interview will be distilled down to a 15 – 20 second clip for the purposes of the broadcast, so you have to be sure to keep in mind this length of time and endeavour to communicate your core messages, whilst following all the other golden rules, in less than 20 seconds.
Never forget that a media interview, whatever the reason or crises for it, is not about building a case, that each response to every question must have the same ingredients (core themes) so the journalist has the opportunity for a sound bite. Don’t use fillers like ‘as I said before’, but answer each question as if it was the first time.
All our delegates heartily agreed that this was a highly useful session and that we were fortunate to secure the services of such an accomplished broadcaster and trainer, in a session that brought practical and highly useful tips for handling the media, combines with some additional colour in the form of some very amusing anecdotes about some of the most seasoned politicians and public figures interviewed by Andy in the past.
Diane Wood
Diane Wood PR
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