How to Manage the Media

Rethink Your
Relationship with the Press

Goal: Understand how
the media has changed and what it means for you.

There have been at least two major structural changes in how and
why the media cover companies: the first is related to the rise of
shareholder coalitions, and the second is the continued advance of
Internet-based communications. These two trends are catching many in top
management by surprise. Organized labor, academics, and religious organizations
are appealing to investors in their attacks on CEOs and boards. Blogs are
succeeding in generating news coverage in the pages of major newspapers rather
than vice versa. Sites like YouTube and Facebook have intensified demands for
immediacy and transparency that didn’t exist even five years ago.

To survive, much less thrive, in this new climate, CEOs need to
understand that communications can no longer be a sideshow — it must
be built into a company’s DNA. That means business leaders
increasingly need to view every move in terms of how it makes the company look.
Remember the New York Times rule: Ask yourself, “If I make a
certain decision, how would it look if it appeared on the front page of the New
York Times?”

Select a Top Advisor

Goal: Find an
experienced professional who understands the business.

One of the root causes of a company’s media problems
is that CEOs often have put the wrong people in place to manage the PR function
because they have difficulty identifying the right set of skills. Most PR
personnel know how to write press releases, manage a corporate website, and
arrange interviews and briefing sessions. But many lack deep understandings of
business and how global and technological trends will affect a company.

Here are some guidelines for how to fill and structure the job
of the top communications advisor:

1. 
   Choose someone based on seniority and experience. Instead
   of focusing on who merely “gets ink,” look for someone who has
   a history of helping companies communicate a winning message.
   
2. 
   Look for a much broader skill set than simply media relations. Your PR manager needs the intellectual horsepower to discuss the future of the
   company with top execs. Find someone who has a savvy understanding of the
   business and industry at large.
   
3. 
   Have the top communications person report directly to you. Often PR people report to other execs like corporate counsel or the chief
   marketing officer, who either block direct access to the CEO or else filter the
   message. Be the first in line.
   
4. 
   Bring the communications advisor to the table when the
   executive team makes decisions. If the head of PR isn’t present
   when major company decisions are made, you’re missing the key step of
   asking, “How is this going to sound to the outside world?”
   

Define the Story

Goal: Go on the
offensive and clearly communicate your company’s message.

One of the worst mistakes a CEO can make is falling victim to the
“airline syndrome” — only speaking to the media
in the event of crashes, disruptions in service, and other disasters. The
better strategy is for CEOs to project broader, positive messages about what
they are contributing to the American economy.

Start defining the story by outlining a set of issues that the
media pay attention to. The key is to first understand the public dialogue and
to position the corporate message in it, rather than the other way around. That
requires extensive reading, listening, and viewing to get a sense of the public
zeitgeist. Your broad mission statement should include these issues as well as
other, more tangible goals, such as penetrating certain markets or geographies.
Financial results are a part of the message but just a part.

Start a Dialogue with
Your Critics

Goal: Prevent the
creation of broad coalitions against your company.

Thought leaders in the PR field believe that rather than raise
the barricades against critics, CEOs need to engage them to learn what they are
thinking and planning. PR staffs should be doing ongoing risk assessments to
see what groups are considering targeting the company, and that information
needs to be in the CEO’s hands — early.

Kathy Bloomgarten, CEO of PR firm Ruder Finn, says that Novartis
CEO Daniel Vasella is a prime example of how a chief exec can engage in quiet,
genuine dialogue to prevent a PR disaster. Vasella awoke in his Swiss home about
three years ago to find a Greenpeace demonstration on his doorstep. Rather than
calling in the police, Vasella walked outside and asked to talk to the leaders
of the demonstration. He invited two of them inside for breakfast and
discovered that they were protesting a Novartis waste dump that he had never
heard about. He promised to look into it – and his cooperative style
ultimately helped him defuse the Greenpeace campaign.