a r e s p o n s i b l e

P r e s s O f f i c e

a n i n s i d e r ’ s g u i d e
U.S. Department of State Office of International Information Programs http://usinfo.state.gov
From the author

Over the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to
various Central European and Eurasian countries as a participant
in the U.S. State Department’s Speakers Program. On these trips,
I’ve met with many government officials and, based on my experience
both as a reporter and as a spokesperson for several U.S. government

organizations, have advised them on how to run The material in this “insider’s guide” also
an effective public affairs operation. reflects my own working experiences in the
This book is a direct response to the many United States. I have observed how a govern-
questions I’ve been asked while on these trips. ment communicates from the outside, as a
It has been written as a sort of pocket guide for reporter and columnist covering government,
government leaders and public information offi- and from the inside, as a government spokes-
cials who want to create an effective mechanism person working with journalists. As a journalist,
of communication between the press and the I reported on government at all levels—from
government. The choice of material reflects issues the local to the national. As a government
raised by these spokespersons, both in terms of spokesperson, I responded to and worked with
the specific topics addressed and the level of members of the regional, national, and interna-
detail provided. tional press. And as president of the Washington
The questions discussed here are certainly Press Club and an official in several government
not unique to any one part of the world; most executive groups, I learned firsthand the impor-
are the same as or similar to questions I’ve been tance of professional organizations through
asked in the United States and other countries. which you can share experiences, problems, and
How do I deal with the press during a crisis sit- successes with your peers.
uation? How do I develop the message that the Finally, both inside and outside the United
government official for whom I work wants peo- States, I have observed how important the roles
ple to understand and accept? How do I assess of government spokespersons and journalists are
an interview request? How do I set up a press in a democratic society—and how they can work
conference? How do I combine a press office’s together to communicate information about gov-
need for a long-term communications strategy ernment to the citizenry and respond to their
with its responsibility for working with the press concerns.
on a daily basis? How friendly can and should
government spokespersons and journalists be?
One topic that this book does not include
but about which I’ve fielded many questions is Marguerite H. Sullivan
“sunshine laws”—or the Freedom of Information
Act and open meeting requirements—in the
United States. For information on this subject,
I would refer the reader to the booklets Transpar-
ency in Government and Democracy Paper #10:
The People’s Right to Know, prepared by the
U.S. Department of State, Office of International
Information Programs.

3
 Contents

[6] C H A P T E R O N E [ 28 ] C H A P T E R F O U R

What a Press Office Does The Communications Plan

What a press office is and is not The message starts with the leader
Journalists and government press Creating a communications plan
officials Working out a media campaign
The duty of dealing with the press

[ 32 ] C H A P T E R F I V E

[ 10 ] C H A P T E R T W O
Message Development
The Job of the Press Officer
Roles of the press spokesperson
Establishing the press officer job
Authority and coordination
[ 36 ] C H A P T E R S I X

Relationships with other press offices Tools of the Press Office

A credible spokesperson

[ 42 ] C H A P T E R S E V E N
[ 18 ] C H A P T E R T H R E E
Press Releases, Media Advisories,
The Press Office at Work and Fact Sheets: A Closer Look
Thinking long term and short term Press releases
Dividing up the work Media advisories
Day-to-day activities of the press office Fact sheets
Meetings
Press clipping and news monitoring
Phone calls
Putting workers where the work is
The need for coordination

4
[ 46 ] C H A P T E R E I G H T [ 64 ] C H A P T E R E L E V E N

Interviews: A Closer Look Event Planning

Assessing the interview request Planning for an inside event
Establishing ground rules Planning for an outside event
Once the interview is agreed to
During the interview
Staying focused
Being effective on television
[ 68 ] C H A P T E R T W E L V E

After the interview Ethics: Codes of Conduct

[ 54 ] C H A P T E R N I N E

Press Conferences In brief…

Before the press conference [ 16 ] Do’s and don’ts in dealing with
If the press conference is off site the media
During the press conference
[ 17 ] When there is an error or
After the press conference
bad news

[ 26 ] Organizational arrangements
[ 40 ] The media
[ 58 ] C H A P T E R T E N
[ 51 ] Photo shoot checklist
Crisis Communications
[ 53 ] Speaking on and off the record
Before a crisis [ 57 ] Press schedules and names
During a crisis
[ 63 ] Pool reporting
After a crisis
[ 67 ] The event location
[ 67 ] The briefing book
[ 72 ] On the Internet

5
 1 a responsible Press Office

6
 1 What a Press Office Does

“A popular government without popular information

or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a
farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both,” said the United
States’ fourth president, James Madison, in 1822.

“Let the people know the facts, and the country What a press office
will be safe,” said Abraham Lincoln, America’s is and is not
16th president, in 1864.
These U.S. presidents were talking about how “A government public affairs office is central
a democracy works. Their words hold true today. to the whole system of communicating with the
For people to exercise power, they must be people,” says Sheila Tate, who was press secre-
able to make informed choices and independent tary to U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan in the
judgments. This can happen only if they have early 1980s and to Vice President George Bush
factual, credible information. They get that from in his successful 1988 presidential campaign.
a free press. A free press serves as the citizen According to Tate: “The government press
watchdog over government. The media inform operation is the daily conduit through which
the public about governmental activity and spark the press gets information on the workings of
debate. They hold public officials to the highest the government.”
standards and report whether or not the govern- Explaining how government programs and
ment is maintaining the public trust. policies have an impact on citizens is the major
From the American Revolution in the 18th role of a government press office. This public
century came the idea that the government information effort conveys government officials’
should be accountable to the people and that the concerns and plans to the public, and it helps the
individuals who work in the government are public understand how various issues could affect
public servants. But serving the people is a two- their lives.
way venture. In a democracy, serving the people “Governments have so much information
is both the job of the press and the job of govern- that they need an effective way to distribute it to
ment officials. their citizens, and that’s where the government
As U.S. President John F. Kennedy said: spokesperson comes in,” says Mike McCurry,
“The flow of ideas, the capacity to make informed former press secretary to President Bill Clinton.
choices, the ability to criticize, all of the assump- “The spokesperson is like a reporter working
tions on which political democracy rests, depend inside government collecting information for
largely on communications.” the public. It is the spokesperson’s role to get as
much information to the public as possible.”
Government press officials, then, have two
roles. In dealing with the media, they are advo-

7
 cates for the government’s position, explaining “Yet the job is more than just disseminating
the merits of official action. They correct erroneous information,” says Joni Inman, president of the
information and try to improve the interpretation National Association of Government Communi-
and understanding of existing information. They cators (NAGC), a group representing U.S. public
also are advocates for the media within the gov- information officers in local, state, and the fed-
ernment, relaying reporters’ needs, such as the eral government. “We definitely are the link
desire to do a news story on a topic that govern- between our governments and the people, and the
ment officials may or may not be ready to dis- translators of information from government to
cuss. Spokespersons often do reporters’ work in the people, but we also have to know what is
a sense, gathering information for the press and coming our way, hear what is on the street, and
translating what government experts have to say translate it back to our government officials,”
for the media. says Inman, who is director of citizen relations
“The press secretary’s job is to present the for the city of Lakewood, Colorado.
president’s positions and thoughts in a manner But a government press officer is not a magi-
that helps him advance his agenda, while also cian who can transform a policy or program that
helping the press learn what the government is is not working into something that appears to be
doing,” says Ari Fleisher, White House press functioning well. As the National Governors Asso-
secretary to President George W. Bush. “It’s a ciation tells new U.S. state governors in its orien-
balancing act that requires careful judgment in tation material, public relations cannot substitute
service to two masters.” for effective programs or worthwhile ideas. A
The spokesperson’s job is both assertive— press secretary cannot create an image of honesty
trying to emphasize certain aspects of the news if government officials are not honest. He or she
—and reactive—responding to reporters’ ques- cannot portray a government that recognizes and
tions. For example, in the United States, every responds to problems if problems persist and lit-
day the White House usually puts out half-a- tle is done about them. A press office cannot con-
dozen press releases announcing new programs, vince the press to write about the openness of a
appointments, or activities of the president on government that is not open or the management
which it would like coverage. At the same time, skills of government officials who do not manage.
reporters covering the White House contact the Nor can a press office convey a government’s
press office with questions for stories that may objectives if the government leaders it serves are
or may not be those that White House officials not clear about those objectives.
want done.
Journalists and
government press
officials

G
overnment press officials should not
expect to be friends or foes of journal-
ists. Journalists should be neutral
observers of government and of its
actions and plans. In a democracy, press and
government cannot be partners. They are natural
adversaries with different functions. Each should
respect the role of the other and yet recognize
that a natural tension exists between the two.
On the one hand, at times it’s a relationship in
which officials try to tell their version of events or
avoid publicity altogether, and the press looks for
mistakes and pushes to get information released.

8
On the other hand, the relationship is reciprocal. For people to exercise
Journalists need government press officers to help
them understand the government’s actions and
power, they must
plans. Government press officers need journalists be able to make
to get information on the government’s actions informed choices and
and plans to the public.
Some government press officers expect that independent judgments.
a journalist who is a social friend will not write a This can happen only
story that is negative, but a professional journal-
if they have factual,
ist does not let a friendship with an official stand
in the way of a story. Being a journalist is a 24- credible information.
hour-a-day job, and a good journalist is never They get that from
off duty.
“Spokespersons must have cordial but pro-
a free press.
fessional relations with reporters,” says former
Clinton White House spokesman Mike McCurry.
“They, reporters, have jobs to do, and you, “A good press secretary should respond to
spokespersons, have jobs to do. You can be every request for information from legitimate
friends with a reporter, but you must remember news organizations, even if the response is a sim-
reporters are always on the job and so are you.” ple, ‘I have to get back to you,’ ” says Juleanna
In social situations, government officials Glover, press secretary to Vice President Dick
should clarify the ground rules under which they Cheney. “Common courtesy should be the rule.
are making their statements, such as “off the Although the press might be hostile at a given
record” or “for background only.” (See “Speak- moment, there always will be a time when you
ing On and Off the Record.”) A good rule is to need them to transmit a message. When that
never say or do anything you don’t want to see time comes, they’ll remember who was civil and
on the front page of the newspaper the next day. who was not.”
“Spokespersons can have a friendly profes- Some government officials have expressed
sional relationship with a journalist, but a per- surprise when during press conferences, journal-
sonal relationship can be difficult,” says NAGC’s ists ask questions that are not on the subject of
Joni Inman. “There will come a time when a re- the press briefing. This is normal. Journalists
porter needs to ask probing questions or write or may have little access to government officials,
air a story that you may not want. You can’t just and they ask questions, whether on the stated
rely on friendship. Something will suffer—either topic or not, when they get access. It is part of
the professional relationship or the friendship. having a free press.
But you need to have the professional relation- “Press offices could be considered not only as
ship. You need to be able to call up a reporter a government subsidy or a government efficiency
and say, ‘You really blew that story.’ ” but as an entitlement that flows from the nature
of a free society and the relationship of the state
The duty of dealing to the citizen,” writes presidential scholar Stephen
with the press Hess in The Government/Press Connection: Press
Officers and Their Offices. “What more natural

I
n addition, government spokespersons function of government is there in a democracy
should not stand in the way of a story. than for it to make available information about
Public servants don’t have the right to how it is governing?”
decide what is good for people to know In a democracy, Hess writes, dealing with the
and what is not good. Their job is to supply news press is a duty. u
material to all journalists, even those perceived as
less than friendly.

9
 2 a responsible Press Office

10
 2 The Job of the Press Officer

To be an effective spokesperson, the chief press officer

or press secretary should have a close relationship,
one of mutual respect, with the government official
for whom he or she works, whether prime minister,

president, minister, or agency head. The spokes- Roles of the press

person should be familiar with the official’s beliefs spokesperson
and should have direct access to him or her. The
spokesperson should be able to walk into meet- According to presidential scholar Stephen
ings and interrupt the official with pressing news Hess, on the federal level in the United States,
without going through a scheduler or other aide. responding to press questions takes up 50 percent
While this flexibility can disturb an orderly sched- of a typical press spokesperson’s time, keeping
ule, it results in a government that can respond informed and working on agency business 25
quickly to media issues. percent, and initiating materials and events
The press officer also should have a role in 25 percent.
decision-making so that those formulating policy But a closer look at these functions suggests
will understand the public relations ramifications that a press officer’s job can be broken down
of proposed actions. If, as spokesperson, the press into many roles:
officer has not participated in developing policy, ≈ Serving as the government spokesperson
he or she will have difficulty understanding the who conducts regular or special briefings.
context of the policies and explaining it to the ≈ Managing the day-to-day activities of the
media. press office.
“It is very important to have the communi- ≈ Assisting in developing government policies
cator as part of the strategy team,” says the and in developing strategies to convey them to
NAGC’s Joni Inman. “If a government official the media and the public.
is planning on taking an action, you need to ≈ Planning and managing media campaigns
know how it will be perceived. It is better to have to put out a consistent long-term message.
the communicator at the table, engaged in the ≈ Handling press inquiries.
discussion in the early formative stages, than to ≈ Setting up interviews and briefings for the
have to play catch up or be blindsided by nega- press with government officials.
tive public reaction because the communicator, ≈ Advising government officials and staff on
the person with the sense of public sentiments, press relations and potential media reaction
wasn’t there.” to proposed policies.
≈ Overseeing speech writing, or at least
reviewing speeches and their messages.

11
 ≈ Staging events such as news conferences. “To make the job work, the press secretary
≈ Preparing news releases, fact sheets, and has to be accessible to the press, has to be well
other materials. informed, and has to believe in the press’s
≈ Serving as a liaison with or supervisor of other function in a democracy,” says Dee Dee Myers,
government press offices. former press secretary to President Bill Clinton.
≈ Arranging transportation and hotel accommo- “You can’t have a democracy without a free press,
dations for the traveling press. and even though the press can seem intrusive at
≈ Issuing press credentials. times, it is essential. A press secretary needs to
≈ Supervising agency publications internally understand the mission of the press and work
and externally. with it.”
≈ Evaluating, after the fact, whether an event
had its wanted effect and determining how to do Authority and
better next time. coordination

T
Establishing the press he authority the press officer has with
officer job the rest of the government official’s
top staff is also important. Among the

I
n establishing the position of spokesperson, issues are:
the first responsibility lies with the govern- ≈ Is the press officer the initial point of contact
ment official whom he or she will represent. with the press, and does he or she have authority
That official must determine with the over the staff’s relationships with the press?
spokesperson how the press office will be organ- ≈ Are other offices authorized to answer ques-
ized and what its responsibilities will be. In doing tions, other than routine queries, without first
this, the official has to make three key decisions: consulting with the press office? For example, if a
≈ How available does he or she wish to be reporter calls the scheduling office with a simple
to the press? scheduling question, such as the time of an event,
≈ What will be the spokesperson’s relationship should it be routed to the press office or can the
with the rest of the official’s staff? scheduler answer it?
≈ What will be the relationship between the ≈ Who needs to review the press office’s news
press department and other ministries releases, speeches, and policy statements?
and departments? This is especially critical if the ≈ Must other top-level staff, such as the chief
official is head of the government or of a ministry of staff for the office, have sign-off authority
with subsections. on these public statements?
The government official also has to consider ≈ Will the spokesperson have access to the
more detailed issues: top-level staff in the office?
≈ How often will he or she be interviewed? In one recent case, a novice U.S. state gover-
≈ How often will he or she conduct press nor created chaos by ignoring the need for coor-
conferences? dination in his office. His chief of staff would give
≈ May the spokesperson speak on his/her one message on the governor’s goals to the press,
behalf? Or will only the government official do the chief of policy another, and the press secre-
press briefings? tary yet a third. The media reported on the
In the best of circumstances, the government resulting chaos, and the governor’s public
official is readily accessible to the press, does fre- approval ratings dropped precipitously. It was
quent press conferences, and also has a spokes- only when the press operation became integrated
person who can speak on his or her behalf. At the with the rest of the staff that a coherent message
White House, for example, the press secretary developed, press coverage improved, and the
holds a daily televised press briefing but steps public began to support the governor’s programs.
aside when the president appears to address the
press in person.

12
 “Without coordination, the job can’t get done The spokesperson’s job
well,” says Susan King, former assistant secretary
for public affairs for the U.S. Departments of
requires balancing
Labor and of Housing and Urban Development. many relationships—
What will happen without it, King predicts, “is with government officials,
that a staff person will say, I represent my boss
—a subsection head—and not the head of the with other top-level
organization. Everyone down the line has to feel government staff,
they speak for the biggest boss, or there will be
with the press,
tension.”
It is best when the press secretary coordinates and with the permanent
all interaction the staff has with the media. At bureaucracy.
a minimum, a press secretary needs to know as
soon as possible whether or not a staff member
has had any interaction with the press and what
topics were discussed. If there are no clear pro- Through these calls, the Treasury Department’s
cedures, an administration could respond with central public affairs office can coordinate and
contradictory information, and the public would monitor the key communications issues that will
be left confused and ultimately mistrusting of come up during the coming weeks. The depart-
the government. ment also has a rapid response system in place
For a government official and his or her press so that its bureaus’ public affairs offices can alert
office, the rule should be: no surprises. Or at the central public affairs office when a controver-
least as few as possible. sial issue arises. If an issue is political in nature,
The “no surprises” rule is also of crucial a Treasury bureau staffed by career public affairs
importance in the relationship between the officers would alert the Treasury Secretary’s pub-
central government office and government lic affairs office, which is staffed by political
departments, as well as between a ministry and appointees, for response.
its subsections. It is important to determine how
cabinet-level activities fit into the overall govern- Relationships with other
ment media relations program and what role the press offices
spokesperson plays. Much of the agenda of a

A
government is carried out through cabinet offices mong the issues to consider when
and ministries, and ideally there is coordination setting up a central press office are:
among them. A key issue is the degree of control ≈ What will the relationship between
a central government official wants and can the main press office and any sub-
maintain over the public information efforts of ordinate public information offices be?
cabinet-level agencies. The issue is the same for ≈ How will information move between them?
a ministry’s direction over its subsections. Will they have weekly conference calls or meet-
Coordination is key in most U.S. government ings? Will they routinely share schedules of their
press offices. In the U.S. Department of the Treas- upcoming events?
ury, for example, the central public affairs office ≈ Should the overall press secretary have
of the Secretary of the Treasury has a weekly authority that extends to cabinet-level agencies?
telephone conference call with the public affairs ≈ Who will hire the spokespersons in the min-
offices of its bureaus by subject matter. One call istries and agencies? Will it be the top govern-
covers law enforcement and involves the five ment press official or each agency head? If the
U.S. Treasury enforcement bureaus; the second central press office does the hiring, the top gov-
weekly call involves the Treasury’s domestic ernment spokesperson has control over the mes-
finance bureaus. sages delivered, but this can prove very awk-

13
 and received less coverage; the governor
announced another program and received very
little coverage. The press office of each cabinet
official had made its own arrangements, even
though the governor had ultimate authority.
There had been no meetings among the press
staffs and no coordination of event calendars,
and the result was competing press announce-
ments that diminished each other’s impact.
Consequently, the governor’s press secretary
began having monthly meetings with the press
secretaries of the governor’s cabinet offices. Each
week he received their calendars with their
planned press announcements for the next month
and had a staff member make a master calendar
from them. When the press secretary found two
major announcements planned for the same day,
ward for the head of a ministry. In the best of he requested that one be postponed. If the gov-
circumstances, there is cooperation and coordina- ernor scheduled an announcement for a certain
tion. In these cases, the agency press secretaries day, no other cabinet official could hold a big
coordinate their efforts with the central spokes- press event on that day. Media messages were
person but have the authority to plan and exe- coordinated, and the governor stopped compet-
cute events in their own areas. ing with the cabinet for press attention.
≈ What news will the top government official At a minimum, a press secretary should be
announce on behalf of cabinet offices? informed by subordinate press officers in advance
≈ How do the subordinate offices fit into the of any potentially embarrassing problems or dis-
overall media strategy? closures. In the best of circumstances, the agen-
≈ What materials, such as press releases, cies will give the top government official or min-
interviews, and speaking engagements, need ister the chance to announce the positive news,
to be cleared by the central government press and they will announce the bad news.
office before being distributed, and how is the
review done? A credible spokesperson
≈ What upcoming events or situations might
hat characteristics make a good

W
impede the message a government official wants
to send out? What procedures have been set up press secretary?
to get information from the other agencies and According to former presidential
ministries? Sharing schedules among depart- spokesperson Mike McCurry,
ments, having regular meetings to discuss event press secretaries need “a sense of humor, enor-
calendars, and sharing messages on upcoming mous patience, an ability to speak and write
events can help. quickly, and an uncompromising attitude about
In one example of everything gone wrong, the truth.
a U.S. state governor’s press secretary did not “Credibility,” he says, “is the single most
appreciate the importance of coordinating mes- important asset of the spokesperson.”
sages the day that three state events occurred In The Government/Press Connection,
simultaneously: a state cabinet official announced Stephen Hess writes that press officers say they
a program and received major press coverage; a need stamina, curiosity, a helpful nature, good
second cabinet official announced a new project memory, civility, coolness under pressure, an
understanding of human psychology, and an
ability to predict and handle logistical details.

14
It also helps if a spokesperson learns facts quick- and with the permanent bureaucracy, particu-
ly. He or she should be able to handle the unpre- larly if he or she is a political appointee. The
dictable, manage many tasks simultaneously, spokesperson must also be visible for the boss
deal with constant interruptions, and be quick to when that would be helpful and in the back-
react. The spokesperson should be evenhanded ground when the boss has the press spotlight.
with reporters—that is, not play favorites. Above “The most important thing to remember,”
all, the spokesperson should be a person of high says former presidential spokesperson Dee Dee
personal ethics and integrity. Myers, “is that even though the job can be
It is vital that the spokesperson maintain his aggravating, difficult, and frustrating at times,
or her credibility and that of the boss. To be it is incumbent on government press offices to
effective, a press secretary must be believed by help the press get the story right. That goes to
the press; he or she won’t be believed if past the core of what a democracy is.
answers have proven misleading. “The govern- “The system works best when it provides
ment media effort doesn’t work when the spokes- a great degree of openness for the press,”
person is not trusted by the media or is frozen Myers says. “Openness is not something to
out from the information flow within the govern- be afraid of.” u
ment,” says former press secretary Sheila Tate.
In recent years, the role of the spokesperson
has become more and more difficult because of
the rapidity with which news breaks and its 24-
hour availability. Part of the job is knowing who
should talk under what circumstances.
“Sometimes you have to strategize what mes-
sage the people need to hear right now and who
the best person is to deliver it,” says NAGC’s Joni
Inman. As an example, she cites a triple homi-
cide. “The message that the people need to
hear,” she says, “is that they are safe and that
it will not happen to them. The most effective
person to deliver this message would not be the
public relations person but the police captain
in uniform. In any particular event, you have
to look at the most effective communicator.”
Besides giving information, spokespersons
should try to make reporters as comfortable as
possible.
“Remember that the physical demands of
reporting and the long hours make for cranky
reporters,” says Mike McCurry. “You should try
to take care of reporters’ basic needs. Make sure
they have access to food and drink, that their
physical working environment is conducive to
compiling and filing their stories, and that the
employees of the government press office are
helpful.”
In sum, the spokesperson’s job requires
balancing many relationships—with the govern-
ment official he or she represents, with the rest
of the top-level government staff, with the press,

15
 Do’s and Don’ts in Dealing With the Media

Do’s Don’ts

≈ Do tell the truth—A LWAY S . ≈ Don’t lie—E V E R.

≈ Do be honest and accurate. Your credibility ≈ Don’t say “No Comment”—E V E R.

and reputation depend on it.
≈ Don’t improvise, don’t speculate, and don’t
≈ Do admit it if you don’t know the answer guess. Good reporters check facts. If you are
to a question. Offer to get the answer, and do wrong, your credibility will be destroyed.
so as quickly as you can.
≈ Don’t try to put a comment “off the record”
≈ Do correct mistakes immediately. State after you have said it.
that you didn’t give an adequate answer, and
≈ Don’t be unresponsive.
you would like to clear up the confusion.
≈ Don’t make news until you have in hand
≈ Do avoid using jargon. Speak in plain
the information to go with it. Don’t make an
language.
announcement and then later prepare a press
≈ Do assume that everything you say is on release and fact sheets. If you have the
the record. material prepared before a press conference,
you can spend your time after an announce-
≈ Do be as open with the media as possible.
ment explaining it to the press.
≈ Do call reporters if a story appears that is
inaccurate. Politely point out what was wrong
and substantiate it.

≈ Do keep a list of accomplishments. Update

it frequently. Things happen so quickly that
you may forget what you, the official, and
your ministry or government have achieved.

≈ Do always return phone calls, or have an

aide return the calls, in time for reporters to
meet deadlines.

≈ Do try to get the information reporters

want even if it means an extra effort, such
as staying at work late or hand-delivering
material.

≈ Do have a sense of humor.

16
When There Is an Error or Bad News

Dealing with mistakes Dealing with bad news

If you are misquoted in a story or if misinfor- ≈ Don’t lie.

mation is given, act promptly. Speak to the
≈ Don’t cover up. If you lie or cover up,
reporter. Don’t make threats. Have facts, and
you lose your credibility.
expect everything you say in correcting the
mistake to be on the record. If you don’t get ≈ Don’t avoid reporters’ phone calls.
anywhere with the reporter, go to his or her
editor. ≈ Acknowledge the problem.
You can ask for a retraction or correction of ≈ Explain how it is being corrected.
an error, and many officials do this. But others
feel it only keeps the misinformation in the
news by dredging it up again. With the Inter-
net, however, incorrect news can be accessed
in perpetuity. For this reason, requesting a
correction is often the route to take. What you
actually do depends on the mistake and its
severity. But at a minimum, you should contact
the reporter and correct the misinformation or
misquotation.

“Fr ustration is
almost built into
the fabric of the job,”
says former vice
presidential spokesman
David Beckwith.
“Unless you have
a sense of humor,
it is a grim business
indeed.”

17
 3 a responsible Press Office

18
3 The Press Office at Work

In the United States, while the myriad government press

offices may be structured differently, they all have two
identical duties. They deal with the press, and they keep
their government colleagues informed on press interests.

Some handle only press relations; others manage “You can’t do the day-to-day spokesman
all communications, such as publications, speeches, work and provide the more strategic advice and
even legislative affairs. counsel, think through the policy, think through
Press offices are staffed in various ways. Many the message, recommend ways to deliver the
have the structure of a newspaper office. If the message,” Karen P. Hughes, counselor to Presi-
office has limited staff, as with a small newspaper dent George W. Bush for communications and
or news bureau, the division of labor is informal, speechwriting told the Washington Post.
and most of the employees are generalists. If it is It is difficult to think long term when you also
larger, as with a larger news bureau, there may must think short term. The daily crises always
be several press officers, and each may have a overtake the in-the-future scheme. Because of
“beat” or subject assignment. Other offices are the urgency of a crisis, the future plan often gets
arranged by media specialty, with some press put off and then never happens. That is why
officers handling only print media and others in high-visibility, fast-paced offices, usually one
managing only TV and radio. The size of the staff person thinks short term—daily press—and
also depends on the number of reporters with one long term—strategic message planning for
whom the office has to deal and the duties of the the future.
office—for example, does it handle just press or “If you are always reacting to questions, you
both press relations and speechwriting? most likely are not advancing your best argu-
ments,” says former White House spokesperson
Thinking long term Mike McCurry. “You must have a proactive plan
and short term to deliver your message to the citizens, and you
must communicate your message relentlessly.
There is a reactive approach to news, and there “In the White House, the job of delivering the
is a proactive approach. One entails thinking short news is different from the job of packaging the
term and dealing with daily crises and breaking news, and that is why we had a press secretary
news. The other requires thinking long term and and a communications director,” says McCurry.
strategizing about the future. A good government “You need to have people who craft the message,
press office performs both functions. Often, the prepare the best arguments to put forward, and
reactive and proactive jobs occur in the same you need people who can deliver those messages
office, and if large enough are performed by two over and over on a daily basis. The first job is
different people. that of the communications director, and the

19
 second is that of the press secretary. It is similar well or if the topic was of particular interest to
in business to having one person develop the him. He rarely traveled with the governor. The
product and one sell it.” press secretary, who reported to the communica-
During the administration of President George tions director, and her staff handled all media
Bush (1989–1993), Press Secretary Marlin Fitz- questions, spoke “on the record,” and traveled
water handled both the long-term and short-term with the governor. The press secretary, like the
jobs for nine months. He says that he found it to communications director, had direct access to the
be an impossible task. governor. Each kept the other informed when he
“As press secretary, you are involved in acute or she took on a media issue.
problems always on a daily news basis,” Fitzwa- Sometimes the press secretary runs the office,
ter says. “You have to get immediate answers to and the communications director reports to him
immediate problems, and you don’t have time to or her. At the White House, the jobs of press sec-
focus on long-term strategies. Even if you get the retary and communications director often have
time, it is hard to reorient your mind to think been split into two offices. The press secretary
where you want to be in two months.” handles the daily press operation. The commu-
Additionally, he says, the press views the press nications director manages long-range strategy,
secretary differently when the two roles are com- speech writing, and, often, out-of-town media.
bined. “They see the communications director as They have numerous meetings and coordinate
a propagandist making up the themes of the day, their efforts and the overall administration mes-
creating the lines, and the press interprets that sage not only between themselves but together
role as being one of less than candor.” But being with the other senior executives in the White
known for honesty and integrity is crucial to a House.
press secretary’s reputation and effectiveness, he “It works well when there is coordination
says. “You are compromised if you do both jobs.” between the two factors, when you are involved
For best coordination, the two roles are often in each other’s organization, and when both
housed within the same office. Typical duties teams know what the other is doing,” says
of the communications director (the long-term Marlin Fitzwater. To accomplish this coordi-
thinker) include strategizing, planning messages nation, Fitzwater included a communications
and themes, writing up a master schedule, moni- officer in all of his meetings and had a press
toring cabinet departments on their upcoming person from his office attend communications
press announcements, coordinating messages office meetings.
with them, planning out-of-town trips, super- A second crucial element, he says, is having
vising speech writing, and supervising research. personal compatibility between the two offices.
Sometimes, he or she also monitors the news “If either—the personal relationship or the
clipping office and handles communications with organizational relationship—is missing, then
out-of-town media. you will have failure.”
In contrast, the job of the press secretary (the
short-term thinker) includes handling press ques- Dividing up the work
tions on a daily basis, initiating media contacts,

W
talking to the press, and managing the news orking together is crucial. In
operation, from preparing press releases and fact one important ministry in a new
sheets to arranging press conferences and inter- government, communications
views with government officials. duties are split among several
Sometimes the communications director runs offices. The spokesperson to the minister has no
the office, and the press secretary reports to him staff, not even a secretary, does his own faxing,
or her. In the office of former Governor Christine answers his own phone, and speaks on behalf
Todd Whitman of New Jersey, the communica- of the minister, and therefore, the ministry. The
tions director was in charge. He occasionally press office is a separate operation with its own
handled press questions if he knew a reporter director reporting to a deputy minister. Its staff

20
of 12 handles research, press clippings, logistics, ing news might affect the government official,
and out-of-town press inquiries. A third commu- and the message of the day, week, or month.
nications office, with a staff of three, does long- Following this meeting, the spokesperson
range communications and reports to a third typically holds a second meeting with the press
deputy minister. The spokesperson, the director relations staff to debrief them on the critical
of press, and the communications manager meet issues of the day. This meeting follows the format
infrequently, and their staffs never do. of the senior staff meeting, with each member of
The chief of staff to the minister defends the the press staff commenting about what they are
arrangement because it means the minister’s working on, reviewing the government official’s
spokesperson can focus on the minister and not schedule, and discussing media messages and
be burdened with administrative work. However, topics that might be raised by reporters that day.
the spokesperson admits he feels overwhelmed The press secretary makes assignments, and the
and sometimes has a hard time getting informa- staff delegates questions to various cabinet offices
tion. Wouldn’t it be better coordinated if the min- for response. During the day, the staff may make
istry’s message were spoken in one focused voice, up a briefing or issues book with government
synchronized by the spokesperson to the minis- policies or positions on current, important topics.
ter? The spokesperson could still be spokesperson The press spokesperson can refer to this while
and have the press operation and the long-range preparing for a daily press briefing.
communications function report to him. He could At the White House, the press secretary usual-
hire an administrative manager to handle the ly includes the press officials to the first lady and
paperwork. the vice president in press staff meetings. Addi-
tionally, the press secretary or deputy press secre-
Day-to-day activities tary has a daily phone call with his or her coun-
of the press office terparts in the Departments of State and Defense
and the Office of National Security Affairs to for-

M
e e t i n g s . Frequent meetings may mulate a single message on foreign affairs issues.
sometimes seem to fill a day, leav- Top officials may have a weekly meeting to dis-
ing time for little else, but they can cuss politics and planning and how they relate to
be essential to a smoothly operating communications. The group looks at how event
system. Their goals are the sharing of informa- opportunities could be used to reinforce the pres-
tion, anticipation of news, and the preparation to ident’s agenda. Large departments with many
handle it. In the United States, regular meetings regional offices and many bureaus under them
between a spokesperson and government col- do the same thing. At the U.S. Department of
leagues who are not in press relations, and between Labor, for instance, the spokesperson usually
the spokesperson and the government press staff, has a conference call every two weeks with the
usually occur daily, often several times a day. directors of information in its 10 regions to cover
Many U.S. federal offices begin their days current and upcoming media issues.
with early morning meetings of senior staff, The press offices of many U.S. state governors
including the spokesperson. Typically the meet- are similar. The gubernatorial spokesperson may
ings last about 30 to 45 minutes, with the senior participate in a daily morning staff meeting with
staff member talking about the principal con- senior staff that the governor might attend or to
cerns of the day—the government official’s top which he or she might phone in to discuss the
issues, schedule, and meetings, for example. morning’s press and events for the day. In some
Each staff member might then briefly discuss smaller states, the meetings might be held more
upcoming issues, such as legislation, press inter- infrequently, such as weekly. Many press spokes-
views, budget questions, and newsworthy topics. persons to governors also routinely have meetings
The press secretary should provide information with the press secretaries for the various state
about press coverage that morning, what break- departments and agencies.

21
 agencies only do a compilation. In putting together
a daily clipping or press monitor package, the
first priority of the press spokesperson’s office
usually is tracking the news rather than sum-
marizing it. Often, making copies of the most
important articles—positive and negative—is
enough. Rewriting a news article, no matter how
brief, can consume much staff time.
In one new government, the most senior staff
in a press office daily clipped, pasted, and sum-
marized articles from newspapers and magazines
for the dozen top senior staff. Although 80 per-
cent of the news came from television, there was
no monitoring of TV as it was felt to be too
expensive. The staff also compiled a monthly
summary of news coverage. Might it have been
more effective if the staff had:
One newly elected government official chose ≈ Clipped and copied stories only?
his campaign press secretary to be his spokesper- ≈ Distributed these to more staff?
son. Although the spokesperson had known the ≈ Used equipment from the department’s TV
goal of the campaign—to win—since they had studio to monitor television news?
taken office he rarely had discussed the “current ≈ Stopped analyzing the news and hired a
message” or theme with the government official. private agency to do this monthly or quarterly?
The focus was on getting measures passed. There ≈ Moved senior staff, who were monitoring
were no meetings between the elected official and the news, into the press relations department
his press secretary and his senior staff to articu- to work with the mainstream media?
late and amend goals and assess progress. The ≈ Had junior staff cut and copy newspapers?
spokesperson was left on his own to talk to the P h o n e c a l l s . In the United States, the press
press. “How do you decide on your own what offices of the White House and the top-level
the message is?” the spokesperson asked. government departments have a duty officer
Press clipping and news monitoring. system so that a press officer is available most
Government press offices usually do some kind hours, including evenings and weekends, to
of daily—and often twice a day—press clipping answer questions from the media. A duty officer
or news monitoring to inform their bosses and system enables press offices to operate in the
staff about happenings that could have an 24-hour-a-day news cycle; because it is often
impact on their operations. In the United States, staffed by junior press officials, the main press
the press offices of most governors and federal secretary gets a break.
agencies include staff who read, clip, duplicate, Sometimes, when they are working on a big
and circulate news stories to top officials, and story, spokespersons give their cell or home
might also prepare a compilation of television phone numbers to the media—often getting the
stories. Typically, the clippings are a composite media representative’s number in exchange—so
of the most important stories—good and bad— questions can be answered after hours. If a press
followed by less important ones. Other press official has been working with a reporter on a
offices also subscribe to clipping services, which story, this would preclude bringing in a new
are private companies that track articles, often spokesperson who may be less knowledgeable
in smaller or regional publications. about the subject. “I would rather have a reporter
The White House summarizes as well as call me at home and get accurate and thorough
compiles news clippings, but many government information, as opposed to getting a sloppy story
because the on-duty spokesperson wasn’t as

22
familiar with the information,” says a public It is difficult
affairs officer with a U.S. military organization.
Exchanging after-hours phone numbers or to think long term
having a staff person on call after work hours is
especially important in countries with several
when you also
time zones. must think short
In some emerging democracies, government
spokespersons contend that giving out their cell term.
phone numbers means being accessible to the
The daily crises
press, but this is not necessarily true.
Having reporters call you on your cell phone always overtake the
eliminates the “filter” of a secretary or aide
answering the phone, finding out who is calling, in-the-future
and determining the subject of the call. And it
scheme.
puts the spokesperson at the mercy of the press
when he or she might not be prepared. Having
an aide screen the call allows the press officer to
be prepared. Also, having an aide answer the Tate, former spokesperson for First Lady Nancy
initial call means that someone is always able to Reagan, “You can say ‘you caught me at a bad
take the media’s questions, and it allows the time. What is your deadline? Let me get back
spokesperson to answer the most important call to you.’ ”
first and be ready with an informed response when
doing so. Putting workers where
It is essential, however, that a spokesperson the work is
call back a reporter promptly. And it is important

S
that a spokesperson keep the cell phone switched ometimes, handling media problems
on. Otherwise, the press will go elsewhere for effectively does not mean spending
information. more money, hiring more staff, or
“Spokespeople should always be available,” buying more equipment. It just means
says Juleanna Glover, press secretary to Vice shifting resources.
President Dick Cheney. “Giving out cell phone On paper, the media office in a ministry had
numbers wholesale is not advisable, but staff an enormous communications staff. But the
answering phones should always feel they can number of staff dealing with the press was minis-
transfer a reporter to your phone once that cule. Most of the employees worked on ministeri-
reporter has called on a landline.” al weekly or monthly publications that were for
In one European state, the press secretary to a sale. Ministry officials felt that this was the best
foreign minister was not aware that Yugoslavia’s way to communicate directly with citizens. Once,
Slobodan Milosevic had been charged with war after the fall of a previous communist regime, the
crimes by the International War Crimes Tribunal publications had filled a void for news, but this
at The Hague when a reporter called him directly was no longer the case. Plummeting sales to the
on his cell phone requesting a statement. Because public meant that the ministry’s newspapers and
the press secretary did not know about the war magazines had become, in essence, employee
crimes charges, “I appeared totally stupid,” he publications.
admitted later. Television dominated the country’s news. Yet
“You don’t have to answer a question imme- the ministry not only did not monitor television
diately,” says Joni Inman of the National Associa- news, but it had no one to deal with TV reporters.
tion of Government Communicators. “You have a The ministry’s small press staff had no access
right not to be ambushed. It is better to get back to the Internet or e-mail and had one computer
to a reporter than to misspeak.” Adds Sheila that was for word processing only. The bulk of

23
 the personnel and equipment were in the publica- Fourth, you might be surprised and embar-
tions and TV production sections of the ministry. rassed if others’ efforts are publicized by the
The spokespersons in the press section felt press and you don’t know about it. In one
overwhelmed with the number of media inquiries, instance, a cabinet official announced a major
and reporters complained about getting little initiative without clearing it with the White
information and having a slow response from the House. While the policy announcement received
press unit. The ministry would have been well much media attention, its reversal by the presi-
served to shift its resources—people and equipment dent received even more. The cabinet official was
—to where its citizens got their news: independ- left embarrassed and was portrayed as having
ent television and print media. been undermined in the press.
Finally, just exchanging the calendars of gov-
The need for coordination ernment officials is not enough. The press and
public affairs offices should coordinate their plans

A
ny successful public relations effort as well. When government agencies schedule
depends heavily on coordination major press conferences at the same time, jour-
with other departments within your nalists have complained loudly. “Which press
agency, with staff in your agency, conference are we supposed to pick?” one
and with departments outside your agency. reporter complained to a spokesperson. “Don’t
“It is really important that everyone within an make our job so hard.”
organization understand its priorities and mission The U.S. military, by contrast, emphasizes
so that they reflect the same agenda,” says Susan message coordination. Daily, near the conclusion
King, former assistant secretary for public affairs of the work day, U.S. Navy public affairs offices
at the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Housing around in the world e-mail to the Navy’s central
and Urban Development. “That does not mean public affairs office in Washington a rundown of
speaking in lockstep, but if people don’t understand major media inquiries and newsworthy events
the mission and priorities, they will not speak to for that day. The central office summarizes the
the public in a coordinated way, and the organi- major inquiries and issues, and e-mails this back
zation will be diminished as an effective force.” to the public affairs offices. The spokespersons
Why is coordination important? For one, it contact each other on common issues and coordi-
ensures that a program will get off to a good start. nate their answers.
Former White House press secretary Marlin Fitz- “This prevents the press from ‘double team-
water asked the communications directors of each ing’ by going to various parts of the Navy and
cabinet department to report all announcements trying to get us to say different things,” says one
they felt could make front page news. He did it spokesperson. “Very often I have found the same
with the idea that the president could announce reporter called a colleague in a different city with
some of each department’s major news and that similar questions. Knowing about all the major
he would know about any controversial news press activity allows me and my colleagues to
before it happened. coordinate our answers so we don’t appear in
Second, someone in another ministry or conflict, and it helps us understand what angle a
department could be working on the same pro- reporter may really be taking in a story.”
gram or issue and could be at cross-purposes. Officials in many coalition governments com-
The press could rightly ask: If a governmental plain that coordination is impossible because
leader can’t keep two ministries on the same there are representatives of widely different polit-
track on the same issue, and if two ministries ical parties in key positions throughout a govern-
can’t work together, just how good a leader or ment. This hurdle does not belie the fact that
minister is he or she? coordination is just as essential in a coalition gov-
Third, even when two government officials ernment as it is in a winner-take-all election. u
agree on an issue, combining their efforts will
make a message stronger.

24
The Press Office

5 Best Tips

≈ Have someone to think long term. Media

efforts should not be just short term and deal
only with crises.

≈ Have daily meetings both with the press

staff and with ministry senior staff so that all
are on board with the media message.

≈ To avoid surprises, coordinate with other

departments and ministries.

≈ Keep media monitoring manageable. Clip

and copy. Don’t just summarize the news.
Weekly or monthly analysts can check trends.

≈ Make the press agenda yours, not just the

media’s. Filter your phone calls, but call back
promptly with a well-thought-out answer.

Any successful
public relations effort
depends heavily
on coordination with
other departments
within your
agency, with staff
in your agency,
and with
departments outside
your agency.

25
 Organizational Arrangements

How do U.S. government departments handle the various

press office functions?

While every cabinet official can arrange the ≈ The office of strategic communication
office to his or her specifications, the follow- planning, which coordinates other offices,
ing paragraphs look at four arrangements. both within and outside the department, around
a certain strategic message.

Department of State Also reporting to the under secretary is an

assistant secretary for education and cultural
In the U.S. Department of State, the under
affairs, whose office oversees cultural and
secretary for public diplomacy and public
citizen exchanges, and a coordinator of the
affairs heads the department’s public affairs,
Office of International Information Programs,
media, and communications efforts. Under
which sends speakers overseas, puts out
this office is the assistant secretary for public
statements by U.S. officials, and produces
affairs, who speaks for the secretary of state
publications and Web sites for overseas use.
and oversees five offices. These are:

≈ T h e p r e s s o f f i c e , which daily prepares Department of Defense

the background material, media guidance, and
questions and answers that the assistant secre- At the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD),
tary uses to prepare for his or her daily press the assistant secretary for public affairs is
briefing. the senior public affairs official in the depart-
ment and serves as the spokesperson for the
≈ T h e o f f i c e o f m e d i a o u t r e a c h , which secretary of defense. The spokesperson also
schedules regional interview appointments manages several sections:
within the United States with TV, radio, and
print outlets for State Department officials. ≈ M e d i a r e l a t i o n s , which responds to
questions from the media. Desk officers in this
≈ The office of public liaison and section are subject-matter experts for issues
intergovernmental liaison, which arranges with which the department deals on a regular
speaking engagements and meetings around basis.
the United States for State Department offi-
cials, handles liaison with state and local gov- ≈ A p l a n n i n g s e c t i o n that is responsible
ernment officials, and sets up briefings in the for long-range communications efforts by
department for visiting groups. topic and by region of the world.

≈ The office of electronic infor mation ≈ C o m m u n i t y r e l a t i o n s , which evaluates,

a n d b r o a d c a s t s e r v i c e s , which runs the coordinates, and approves requests for DoD
department’s Web site and digital video con- cooperation in public events and community
ferencing. It also produces interactive televi- activities.
sion via satellite.
≈ C o m m a n d i n f o r m a t i o n , which is an
internal armed forces information service for
military personnel.

26
Each section of the Defense Department and
armed services has a similar structure, with
a top spokesperson at the head and the sub-
section structure under him or her. The chair-
man of the joint chiefs of staff, the president’s
principal military adviser, for example, has a
public affairs chief who oversees media relations,
planning, community relations, and command
information sections. While the public affairs
chief is the official for whom they work, the
section spokespersons also look to the public
affairs office of the Defense secretary for
guidance.

Department of
t h e Tr e a s u r y
Department of Education
At the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the
assistant secretary for public affairs is the top At the U.S. Department of Education, a
communications official. He or she serves as director of communications oversees news
the press secretary for the secretary of the media relations, publications, internal and
treasury, manages the office, and prepares external communications, and public inquiries.
long-range communications strategy for the The director is the long-term communications
department. The assistant secretary also strategist and talks to the press only on rare
supervises an office of public education, which occasions. Under the communications director
handles campaigns designed to inform the is a press secretary, who speaks for the sec-
public about new occurrences. retary of education and manages the press
A deputy assistant secretary for public affairs office. The press office operates on a beat
reports to the assistant secretary, speaks for system, with one media specialist dealing
the department’s deputy secretary, and backs with the press on elementary and secondary
up the assistant secretary. The third official education, another on vocational and adult
in the office is the director of the office of education, another on special education, and
public affairs, who manages press area spe- so on. There is also a speechwriting unit and
cialists, the department’s photographers, and an office of public affairs managed by a
the personnel who prepare news clippings. The deputy communications director.
director also backs up the deputy assistant
secretary. The director supervises four press
officers, all dedicated to different policy areas
under the department’s jurisdiction: interna-
tional offices, enforcement offices, taxation
and economic policy offices, and domestic
financial offices.

27
 4 a responsible Press Office

28
4 The Communications Plan

The first step in successfully communicating with the

public is developing a plan for getting out your message.
Your message is your theme with an objective, such as to
persuade someone to do something or to support something.

It is capturing your ideas in a way that can be reach your destination; the media campaign
understood and accepted by others. For example, represents the roads to get there.
if you want citizens to pay lower taxes, your mes-
sage might be about cutting taxes to stimulate The message starts
the economy. with the leader
Why not just throw out this message to the
public and let it take its course? Because, chances The government public affairs/press office plans
are you won’t get anywhere if you do. and implements a media campaign, but that can
You wouldn’t get into your car and drive with- be done only when the government leader is on
out knowing where you were going, what roads board and has presented clear goals. Developing
you were going to take, what you were going to goals and themes does not rest with the press
do when you got there, and whom you wanted to office. Ideally, the top official, working with his
see when you arrived. That would be a waste of press secretary and senior staff, has articulated
time, effort, and gasoline. You need to plan where three to five objectives or themes that he or she
you are headed and how you will get there—and would like to accomplish long term—say, by the
even what will happen if you have an accident in end of the year or the end of his or her term in
your car or a mishap in your plan. office. (More than five major themes can be too
This is also true in developing a message, much for the public to absorb.) As an example,
putting it into a communications plan, devising these are five that one recently democratized
a media campaign to carry it out, and assessing state considered: advance European Union
the strategy as you implement it. If you don’t reforms, achieve military reforms to get closer to
know how to get to where you want to go, you NATO membership, achieve civil service reforms,
won’t get there. achieve privatization goals, push through agricul-
If you want to make economic changes in the tural reforms.
way the government is run, for instance, you need The themes should be articulated repeatedly
to communicate why you are proposing what you and made a focal point of the administration. As
want to do, what effect it will have and on whom, much as possible, every action the official takes
how much it will cost or how much it will save, —from delivering a speech, to giving a television
how you will know whether or not the program interview, to supporting legislation—should cen-
reaches its goals, and how long it will take to do ter around these long-term objectives. Certainly,
so. The communications plan is your map to the official will have to develop short-term mes-

29
 sages to deal with immediate crises as they crop to determine their views. By evaluating the two
up, but the overall goals should constantly be perceptions, it is possible to write up a public
repeated and returned to. relations “balance sheet” of strengths and
A consistent message is most useful when a new weaknesses and then develop a plan on how to
issue requires acceptance by the public. Misunder- capitalize on the strengths and deal with the
standings often stem from a lack of basic infor- weaknesses.
mation and discussion. Thus, the government must A communications plan can also be written
provide clear, repeated, and open communication without an audit. Begin with themes. Decide
on the issue in order to earn public understand- what you want to achieve at the end of a year
ing and acceptance for its objectives. or legislative period, or at the end of a term in
Governmental leaders sometimes learn this office. Develop a focused and clear message. Ask
the hard way: when they are not re-elected to yourself these questions:
office. Surveys in one recently democratized ≈ Is there a statement of principles?
state showed that the citizens knew they had to ≈ What goals do I want to achieve? Pick a real-
suffer some difficult economic times to get to an istic number—no more than five a year—on
improved economy, but they did not know that which to focus, and then break them down into
was also the plan of the governmental leaders. what you would like to achieve this year, next
The government articulated no message. Gov- year, and so forth.
ernment officials had said they wanted a stronger ≈ What do I want the media to communicate?
economy, but they had never spelled out what ≈ What messages are needed for women, for
steps were being taken to get there, why certain students, for the elderly, for military personnel,
measures had to be taken, how their plan would for other audiences?
work, when better times could be expected, who ≈ What media strategy will communicate each
would be affected and how, and where the biggest message? You might decide to emphasize a
impact would be felt. Instead, they focused their theme a week. You could have subthemes with-
attention on the legislature and let the press set in an overall theme. For example, if improving
the agenda. To the public, they appeared to be education were a theme, subthemes might be
lurching from crisis to crisis. improving teacher education, involving parents
more in the educational system, lengthening the
Creating a school day or year, and so forth.
communications Beginning with this kind of analysis, you can
plan formulate a media campaign that you can use to
educate people, influence public opinion, persuade

O
nce the message is decided upon and opinion leaders, generate debate, and get people
the goals are identified, the government to take an action.
press office writes up a plan to move the “To communicate effectively, you must iden-
leader’s vision into reality. A first step is tify a need; prioritize what is most important;
research, often by the long-term communications decide what you want to communicate; have it
staff, into how the goals can be achieved and be relevant to your audience; and then repeat
what it will mean in the interim and long terms. it,” says former White House spokesperson Dee
With the goals and research in hand, the press Dee Myers. “You can’t say everything. You have
staff can do a public relations audit. This is an to decide what is most important to say, focus on
assessment of how the action and goals are whom you are saying it to, and say it in terms
viewed by those within the organization and that make sense to them. Then you have to
those outside. It involves talking to government repeat the message over and over, because people
executives to gain their views on the strengths are busy and have a lot of information coming at
and weaknesses of the organization or a specific them in a 24-hour news cycle.”
program or a plan, and talking to the public

30
 Wo r k i n g o u t a m e d i a ≈ Answer the who, what, when, where, why,
campaign and how of typical news stories to help move
your vision into a message that can be readily

I
n working out a media campaign, you understood.
would: In regard to this last point, it is important
≈ Devise a plan on how to reach your to be prepared to tell the public:
goals. ≈ What the program is and what it is not.
≈ Break the plan down by assignments. ≈ Why it is needed.
≈ Write out a schedule of who does what and ≈ How it will affect them.
by what date, and update it frequently. ≈ What will happen in the short term.
≈ Appoint a supervisor to monitor the assign- ≈ What will happen in the long term.
ments to make sure work is on schedule. ≈ How this is different from what is already
≈ Change goals and deadlines as needed. happening.
≈ Meet regularly with those involved in the ≈ What the government’s responsibility in
plan—everyone from press secretary to the the new program is.
chief of staff, the scheduler, the speechwriter, ≈ What the timeline is and when changes will
and the legislative aide. take effect.
≈ Approve the plan with the group. ≈ What will happen if it doesn’t work.
≈ Implement the plan. ≈ How the public will know if it has been
≈ Use events to reinforce the themes. successful.
≈ Put the goals into legislation. ≈ What action the public is being asked to take.
≈ Focus on the goals in speeches. One way to keep your good story going, says
≈ Target various subtexts of your message to former White House press secretary Marlin Fitz-
your different audiences. water, is to talk about what you are going to say,
≈ Have surrogates or outside experts give the then say it, and then talk about what you said. u
same message on your goals as you do.

Communications Plan

5 Best Tips

≈ Work with the leader and senior staff to ≈ Plan how to assess the program and its
have clear goals. Have frequent meetings to success or failure.
develop and reassess them.
≈ Work the message into everything the
≈ Have a statement of principles and goals. responsible government official does.
Draw up a media plan on how to reach them.

≈ Answer who, what, where, when, why, and

how in developing a message for the public.

31
 5 a responsible Press Office

32
 5 Message Development

Once you have decided on goals, themes, and an overall

communications plan, success or failure will depend on
your ability to carry it out in an orderly, detailed way. Here
are some approaches that have proved useful at this stage.

A n n u a l c a l e n d a r. Look at your annual Select and develop a message for

calendar—month by month—and fill in major e a c h t h e m e . For example, if the theme for the
recurring events. In the United States, for exam- second week in January is agricultural reform,
ple, the president gives a “State of the Union” you would develop a message relating to that
address to the country, usually in January, at the theme. Each theme would likely have several
time the annual budget is released; there are the subthemes. For example, one subtheme for agri-
Group of Seven and Group of Eight meetings in cultural reform might be the government’s
the summer; and the United Nations session changing agricultural subsidies; another might
opens in the fall. These significant recurring be new methods for increasing farmers’ pro-
events are linchpins in the White House media ductivity. During the second week of January,
calendar in terms of repeating key themes. when the theme is agricultural reform, you
Your own major themes might fit into similar might emphasize the subtheme of changing
recurring events. If privatization is a goal, agricultural subsidies. You would fill the other
for instance, that could be a major topic in an weeks in January with your other main themes.
annual budget address. Then, you would return to the agricultural theme
P i c k a p e r i o d i c t h e m e . After you fill in February, perhaps emphasizing the subtheme
in the “must do” events on the calendar, pick a of increasing farmers’ productivity. In March,
theme for certain time periods, such as a week you would again emphasize an agricultural sub-
or a month, relating to one of the five goals to theme—perhaps returning to changing agricul-
allow you to alternate the “must do” events with tural subsidies.
your themes. One week, the theme might be When you pick a theme, know whether or
agricultural reform, and you would schedule not it relates to legislation or government action.
different events that are agriculturally focused. For instance, if the government plans to consider
The next week, the theme might be civil service agricultural reforms this year, you would stress
reform, and events would be undertaken to fit that theme before any votes on agriculture are
that theme. made in the legislature.
M a k e a m a s t e r c a l e n d a r . Write the Make sure that your message is simple, clear,
theme for each week on a calendar for at least and direct. Think about how you would like a
six months ahead. The calendar will need to be headline to be written about it and how you
updated frequently because unplanned events would like a first paragraph of a story to read.
will arise and you will need to react. This will help you refine your message.

33
 For the message of reducing government ≈ Feature news (the farm family) for a second-
agricultural subsidies, for example, you could day story.
pick three points to emphasize. Having more than ≈ An editorial page article for the third or
three could create confusion and result in their fourth day.
being forgotten. Your points would be repeated A hard-news story transmits a basic set of
over and over throughout the week. For example, facts to the reader as quickly as possible. This
you could say that cutting government subsidies doesn’t happen with a feature story. With a fea-
would: (1) allow more government funds to be ture, the purpose of the lead or beginning of a
spent on other needed programs, (2) open up story is to attract attention. With a hard-news
more foreign investment in farming, (3) increase story the lead imparts who, what, when, where,
private investment and make agriculture more why, and how. A feature story enhances the basic
profitable and efficient. facts with details and descriptions so that the
Identify audiences, media outlets, reader sees a more complete picture of an event
a n d l o c a t i o n s . Ask these questions: Whom do or person. While the news story might say “desk,”
you want to hear your message? Maybe you a feature story might say “light cherry desk.”
have several audiences, such as the elderly, When you want your message repeated,
students, or women, and each needs a differently getting it into different news sections in different
focused message. What media outlets are there to forms is often useful. For example, when the U.S.
deliver your messages? Are there respected third National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
party allies who can reinforce your message? If undertook a campaign on the testing of college
your message is about agriculture, which farmers’ students and their knowledge of history and lit-
groups would you like to reach? To which erature, it staged its media campaign so that the
media do they pay the most attention? news would appear in different sections of the
Select a site with good visual impact to deliver newspaper one day after the other. It mailed its
the message. Don’t just deliver the message from press materials to the hard-news reporters first
an office. Make the message visual and relative and to feature and editorial writers second. The
to what you have to say. If agriculture is your latter got the material the day that the hard-news
theme for the week, you might deliver your mes- story appeared. The first-day story was a hard
sage from a farmers’ cooperative on Monday, news story about the results of the test. The
visit a farmer’s family on Tuesday, give a speech second-day story was a feature on the test that
to the legislature on cutting subsidies on Wed- included the full text of the test, so readers could
nesday, visit a fertilizer factory on Thursday, take it, and a story on how much college students
and address foreign farming investors on Friday. knew when reporters went to local college cam-
Invite the press to cover all of these events. puses to quiz them. On the third day, the editori-
L i s t t h e m e d i a . Look through your media al pages ran editorials on the NEH findings. The
list to determine who would be most interested in result was massive coverage favorable to the NEH.
your story. If your story is agricultural in nature, H o w t o d e v e l o p a c a l e n d a r. Decide
plan to contact both those who cover agriculture what material you want to release—press release
as well as political reporters. Don’t overlook the or media package, for example—on the day you
specialized press, such as agricultural trade jour- announce your message.
nals and magazines read by farmers. Know the ≈ Work backwards to fill in the calendar and
reporters and know whether they are reporting make assignments. For instance, if you need 50
on your story positively or negatively. press releases on the day of an announcement,
You might think in stages to ensure that the how many days ahead of time do they need to
message is repeated in the newspapers one day be prepared? How long will it take to get them
after another. In a newspaper campaign, for printed? List that on the calendar and then
example, you might focus on: assign the writing of the press release and estab-
≈ Hard news for a first-day story. lish a deadline by which it must be written, a
deadline for its review by a superior, a deadline

34
for it to be printed, and a deadline for it to be Emphasize agriculture, for example, with a local
inserted into a press package with other materials. radio station in a key agricultural city. If possible,
≈ Also write down the deadline for completion have statistics available showing how the reforms
of the targeted press list and identify who will will affect farmers and consumers in that area.
compile the list. Write down the deadline for fin- E x p e r t s . Develop messages that others can
ishing the official’s remarks and when his/her make on your behalf. Prepare talking points from
statement must be reviewed and by whom. which supporters who are opinion-makers can
≈ Write down any other task that needs to be make statements on the same theme. For exam-
done. Assign each task to someone to complete, ple, in the United States, if the presidential
and give them a deadline. administration is advocating changes related
≈ Constantly review the calendar to be sure that to health care, it might encourage a prominent
deadlines are being met. doctor who agrees with its policies to do televi-
W r i t t e n m a t e r i a l . Have written material sion interviews favorable to its position. Experts
ready in advance for the media. This could who can give interviews and speeches, appear
include: on TV and radio, and write opinion pieces in
≈ Fact sheet containing economic information support of your theme can influence public opin-
on farming. ion. Develop a way to stay in touch with this group
≈ Fact sheet on your goals in farm reform— as the issue progresses, perhaps through an e-mail
spelling out what you want to do and how it will list of Web sites.
affect farmers and consumers in the short and C o o r d i n a t i o n . Coordinate your message
long terms. with others in the government to ensure that
≈ Fact sheet on why reform is needed for the the public does not receive conflicting messages.
country’s future economic well-being. The media often report on conflicts, and having
S p e c i a l i n t e r v i e w s . Set up media inter- opposing opinions within a government makes
views between government officials and reporters a good story. If the press focuses on this sort of
on this topic. Use radio call-in shows to push the controversy, it will get in the way of your mes-
issue. In the United States, the president often sage. Additionally, it is easier to get support for a
focuses his weekly Saturday radio address to the program if you have all groups involved aligned
nation on issues that will be prominent the follow- with you.
ing week. A s s e s s m e n t . After each “theme week”
L o c a l i n t e r v i e w s . Schedule local inter- concludes, assess how you did and alter the
views on your theme around the country. schedule, message, and calendar as needed. u

Message Development

5 Best Tips

≈ Map out your year. Focus first on the ≈ Pick the audiences and media for each
major recurrent events. theme.

≈ Fill in the calendar with themes; one theme ≈ Work backwards on your calendar from
a week works well. the final event and determine who does what,
where, by when, and how. Make assignments.
≈ Develop a message for each theme and
subtheme.

35
 6 a responsible Press Office

36
6 Tools of the Press Office

“We handed out papers on everything,” says former White

House press secretary Dee Dee Myers. During President
Bill Clinton’s first term, she says, the White House press
office distributed to reporters not only texts of speeches,

proclamations, and press conferences, but also tions over and over because the basic information
press releases, fact sheets, background informa- has been provided.
tion on policies, media advisories of upcoming ≈ It stimulates more thoughtful, fact-based
events, summaries of points made in speeches questions from the media.
and policy documents, analyses of the most ≈ It increases the chances the story will come
important points in a document, and so forth. out with the emphasis you want.
“Reporters are busy, especially those covering Handing out summaries and analyses with a
heads of state and other government leaders,” statement or speech also enables the press office
she says. “The breadth of material they are to restate its interpretation of the news.
expected to cover is daunting.” Putting material In the United States, written communications
in writing for the media helps. take many forms. Additionally, press offices have
Summarizing the material and distributing a number of other tools—visual and oral—to
it in written form or on-line means not having communicate with the public through the press.
to rely on someone’s hearing it correctly in a Among the common communication tools are:
speech or statement. It also allows a press Press release, which is written like a news
spokesperson another chance at restating the article and is sometimes used as the text of news
major points, Myers says. articles by some publications. A press release is
In the United States, as much as possible, an account of your story told in one or two pages.
press offices write and distribute to the press, on It should tell who, what, where, when, why, and
paper and on the Internet, statements, policies, how in the first paragraph, just as in a news story.
actions, and plans. Writing them and distributing The press release should follow an inverted pyra-
them in written form achieves several goals: mid style, with information appearing in its order
≈ It helps government officials and press officers of importance so that editors can easily identify
clearly think out what they want to say and to key facts. The key information is presented at
refine their message. the top, and the pyramid declines to a point at
≈ It increases the odds that the media will the bottom with the least important news. (See
understand the information correctly and cuts the following chapter for more information.)
down on misinterpretation. Media advisory, which is similar to a press
≈ It provides something reporters can refer back release, but is prepared to announce an upcom-
to when writing their stories. ing event so that the media can quickly assess
≈ It obviates having to answer the same ques- the event and decide whether or not to report

37
 on it. A media advisory should also include who, ≈ A folder bearing the logo of the featured
what, when, where, why, and how. It should be school on the cover, with inside flaps holding
only one page in length. (See the following chap- press materials.
ter for more information.) ≈ A media advisory that gives details on the
Fact sheet or backgrounder, which is an dedication time, site, and significance.
expanded press release that provides detailed ≈ A press release that specifies the details of the
information on a subject. It uses facts and statis- dedication service, contains general information
tics, but usually not quotations, and typically is about the school, and includes quotes from top
distributed with a press release. Running up to officials about the school.
four or five pages, the fact sheet or backgrounder ≈ A media backgrounder that presents detailed
should be in easily readable form, using techniques facts and statistics, such as specifics on construc-
such as bullets or bold type for each new fact. tion, how many students will attend the school,
(See the following chapter for more information.) and so forth.
Visuals, such as pictures, graphs, charts, and ≈ Biographies of the speakers at the event.
maps that accompany press releases. ≈ Visuals, such as pictures of the school.
Biography, which is given out with a press “Pitch letter” or telephone call, which
release. A biography briefly provides the profes- summarizes a story idea in one paragraph and
sional record and accomplishments of a person explains why readers—or viewers—will be
being appointed to a new job, giving a speech, or attracted to it. The pitch letter or phone call
participating in an event. provides details, gives names, describes photo
A list of experts who will reinforce your opportunities, and summarizes the story concept.
message. The list should include names and tele- Video and audio news releases, which
phone numbers. have the who, what, when, where, why, and how
Other texts, which can include all kinds of of a written press release but are presented as a
material. At the White House, for example, tran- radio or television story. Broadcasters may use
scripts of the president’s remarks and of the daily all or part of the material in a radio or television
press briefing by the press secretary and other news story and identify the material as coming
officials are given out to the media soon after the from a public relations source. The video news
events. Proclamations, statements, announcements release should be presented on split audio tracks,
of personnel appointments and nominations, let- with the narrator on one track and sound bites
ters supporting proposed legislation by experts and natural sounds on another. This makes it
or professional associations, and other correspon- easier for the sound to be rearranged in editing.
dence to and from the president are also distrib- Satellite technology, which allows news-
uted to the press daily. makers to hold a meeting or do an interview and
Clippings, which show primarily “good” then transmit the feed or news to television stations
stories that have been printed. Officials often across country. It offers a media tour without the
make attractive copies of news articles that are investment of travel and time. Typically, public
favorable to them and put them into media kits information specialists tape an event and then
or press packets with other materials. purchase satellite time to transmit it via satellite
Questions, which are sometimes given by feed. To do this properly, you need a studio that
officials to reporters to spark their interest in can transmit live pictures and sound and can
a topic. In some instances, you might write up give television reporters the opportunity to ask
questions that interviewers could ask an official. questions over the phone while taping the official
Imaginative questions create curiosity. answering the questions. Stations need to be
Press packets or media kits, which contain notified when the satellite feed will be available
several items on a single topic. The items are and how to access it.
inserted into a folder with two internal pockets Radio actuality, which is an audio recording
to hold them. For the dedication of a new school, of the government official making a short state-
for example, a media packet might include: ment as if it were an actual interview. Some U.S.

38
politicians do radio actualities every day at regu- Media tours, which move beyond the capital
lar times. Either they transmit them directly to city and reach out to the media regionally. Media
reporters or give them a phone number to an tours should give regional press news targeted to
answering machine that contains the statement. their regions and explain how their citizens will
To do this properly, a high-quality tape recorder be affected by government policies.
is needed with an attachment that connects a Features, which tell a story in a non-hard-
telephone to the tape recorder. The material also news fashion. Public information specialists don’t
can be posted on the World Wide Web for down- rely only on hard news sections of print publica-
loading. tions when telling their stories, but use feature
Separate phone line, which can be used and other sections, too.
to record the government official’s daily schedule The Internet, which provides a venue to
for media reference. communicate directly with the public without
Press conferences, at which officials the filter of the media. It also provides for quick
announce news on an issue. To be effective and communication with reporters. Additionally, the
credible, the news should be timely and substan- Internet offers the capability for back-and-forth
tive. (See chapter 9 for more information.) communication between government officials
Interviews, which give officials a chance to and the public. Press offices can establish their
talk, usually one on one, with a reporter and get own local electronic bulletin boards. The Inter-
their ideas across in a more in-depth manner net has it all: text, pictures, video, and sound.
than at a press conference. (See chapter 8 for Government press offices also use the Internet
more information.) to direct users to vast amounts of original docu-
Editorial boards, which are meetings ments on-line. To be effective, the Web site needs
between the newsmaker and the editor of a to be updated frequently.
newspaper’s editorial page, editorial and opinion E-mail, which includes group e-mail
writers, and reporters from the news sections to addresses so that with one keyboard command,
discuss a topic. Major television and cable net- information can be transmitted easily to numer-
works also have similar meetings. The editorial ous interested people.
board can give a government official an oppor- Photo opportunities, or “photo ops,”
tunity to explain his or her ideas in depth, which which allow an official to have his/her picture
can lead the media to a deeper understanding of taken with constituents, such as award recipients,
the government’s policies and often results in to be sent to the recipients’ hometown newspapers
news stories and editorials. for publicity. When a photograph is taken and
Off-the-record meetings, at which officials then mailed, be sure to identify the people in the
meet with reporters to provide background or photo and the meeting.
context on topics of news interest. News materials might be of interest to only
Op-eds, opinion pieces, and columns, some reporters. In the White House press room,
which are used by newsmakers to express opin- for example, a journalist often will pick up a
ions. Some politicians write a weekly column in press release, read it, and put it back because it
an effort to get their opinions directly to the people. does not pertain to what he covers. But it is
Speeches, which are used to promote policies, important that it’s available to those who do
unveil new programs, explain positions, and want and need it. u
build consensus. Advance copies of speeches are
often given to the press, and copies are sent to
interested journalists who cannot attend a media
event. Putting speeches on the Internet is also
effective. If possible, when distributing a speech,
begin with a summary of the material to give
reporters a synopsis of the main theme. Always
keep a list of the media to whom material was sent.

39
 The Media

Even though many journalists report on a daily or even hourly basis,

they need time to research, interview, and write stories.

They also like to know about news events in is at 5 p.m., the intervening time would give
advance—a week or two ahead, at least—so morning newspaper reporters time to put
they can approve a story idea with their edi- together their stories, camera operators and
tors, schedule a photographer, and do addi- photographers time to deliver their visuals,
tional research. and editors time to edit for final production.
Similarly, weekly newspapers have deadlines
When there is a breaking news story, such as
on certain days.
a sudden political controversy or crisis, a
reporter may have to cover the story with lit- Newspapers run all types of news: hard news,
tle background, making the task of writing a features, profiles, analyses, editorials, opinion
well-informed article harder. Consequently, the pieces (typically on the editorial pages), and
more information and research that can be letters to the editor. Other media have these
made available to reporters the better. It also types of news, too, but newspapers often have
is important to learn the lead times and needs the broadest range of formats.
for each type of media. They vary a good deal.
Similarly there are different kinds of news-
N e w s p a p e r s . Newspapers provide in-depth papers:
coverage of stories and can be good at reach-
≈ National newspapers with broad interests
ing the public and those in decision-making
and a definite national focus.
positions. Newspaper reporters typically have
≈ Regional newspapers, which are focused
“beats” or specialized areas on which they
on regional concerns.
write, making them experts on certain issues
≈ Local papers and weeklies, with a strong
such as economics or politics.
local focus.
All reporters like detailed written documen- ≈ Trade publications with specialized audi-
tation—facts, figures, anecdotes, graphics, ences, such as an energy newspaper for petro-
and examples, such as press releases or media leum executives or a magazine for mothers of
backgrounders—to bolster a story. The mate- young children. Called “niche” publications,
rial needs to be able to be substantiated, and these include newspapers, magazines, and on-
with sources given. Giving reporters written line sites for every kind of occupation, job
material such as quotes and fact sheets specialty, leisure activity, and interest.
increases the likelihood that a quote or fact
N e w s l e t t e r s . Newsletters are trade publica-
will be reported accurately.
tions that can be in a magazine or a newspa-
Newspaper reporters answer to an editor who per format. They are usually geared to very
assigns stories and edits their writing. They specialized audiences.
operate on tight deadlines. Morning newspa-
W i r e S e r v i c e s . Wire services put out
pers have late afternoon deadlines; afternoon
articles that are used by all media either for
newspapers have late morning and early after-
direct reprinting or for story ideas. A news-
noon deadlines. If a news conference is at
paper editor, for instance, might ask for a
11 a.m., for example, and the news deadline

40
feature story with local interest after seeing a depth of print reporters, and complex stories
wire service hard-news story. The Associated are often reduced to short news segments.
Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse are TV is a visual medium, and reporters and
among the best known of the news services. assignment editors prefer stories that can
be told with pictures. TV news deadlines are
M a g a z i n e s . Like newspapers, magazines
tight.
range from those with a general news focus
to very specialized publications covering, for O n - l i n e n e w s . On-line news is the newest
example, economics or foreign affairs. Typical- medium. Like radio and television, news appear-
ly, magazine writers have more time to develop ing on Internet Web sites has immediate dis-
a story in depth than do newspaper reporters. semination, as well as offering—through talk
Magazines often have editorial calendars radio shows, for example—the ability to have
mapping out topics they will cover throughout a two-way dialogue. There are all types of on-
the year. These are useful to government and line news, from newspapers and magazines to
other public relations offices in developing chat rooms, plus e-mail to targeted audiences.
story ideas around particular magazine issues.
Given the varying deadlines of different media,
Ra d i o a n d T V. Radio and television carry a a press official should be fair. That is, he or
variety of programs—national shows, local or she should take the various deadlines into con-
regional shows, straight news, human interest sideration and not always favor the deadline
programs, talk shows, documentaries, and of one medium over another when scheduling
interview programs. Radio and television events such as press conferences. Scheduling
reporters and assignment editors often get should also occur so that broadcasters can
their story ideas from newspapers and news cover events and have time to produce their
wire services. Unlike newspaper reporters, news segments.
some radio and television journalists, particu-
larly at smaller stations, are more generalists
than specialists on particular topics because
of the wide variety of their assignments. TV
reporters usually cannot report an issue in the

Tools of the Press Office

5 Best Tips

≈ Have as much written material as possible ≈ Initiate. Don’t wait for the press to come
to distribute—not so much that the press is to you. Get your message out by writing op-eds,
overwhelmed, but enough that your story will doing editorial boards with newspapers and
not be misinterpreted. television systems, and getting the story also
told in a newspaper’s feature section.
≈ Use visuals.
≈ Use the Internet.
≈ Use video, audio, and satellites whenever
possible so as to enhance the telling of your
message.

41
 7 a responsible Press Office

42
7 Press Releases, Media Advisories,
and Fact Sheets: A Closer Look

Preparing and disseminating press releases, fact sheets,

and media advisories or backgrounders make up the nuts
and bolts of most government press operations. In different
countries, these tools of the trade go by different names,

but their purpose is the same: to tell a story, it happening? Why is the information important?
announce an event, and give facts and figures. How is this of significance? All of these should
“Press releases are good disciplinary tools appear in the first paragraph.
because they encourage you to try to create the The sentences and paragraphs in a press
story you would like to see,” says David Beckwith, release should be short so they can be quickly
former press secretary to Vice President Dan reviewed by an assignment editor or a reporter,
Quayle. “If done clearly and simply, press releases and they should contain no jargon, abbreviations,
improve accuracy. It is hard to misquote a press unexplained details, or cliches. Quotations may
release.” be used, but it is more usual to find these in the
What follows are the universally recognized second or third paragraph; they are always
standards and conventions for these basic press attributed.
relations materials. Press releases that read like a news story,
without a lot of inflammatory adjectives, are
Press releases more likely to be picked up by the press.
Typically, press releases in the United States
Press releases are a summary of facts about a follow a formula that includes:
program or issue on which you want media ≈ Double spacing.
attention. They are presented in a standardized ≈ Plain stationery, preferably with the organi-
format. The main criterion for a press release is zation’s name and address printed at the top.
that it must contain news. ≈ Wide margins—at least one inch (2.54 centi-
Similar to a straight news article, a press meters) around—providing for ease in reading
release is written in an inverted pyramid style. and allowing editors and reporters to make notes
The first paragraph is the “lead,” and it contains in them.
the most important information; subsequent ≈ Typed on only one side of the paper.
paragraphs expand on that information and give The standard press release contains the
more detail in decreasing order of importance. following information at the top of the release:
The least important information is at the end. ≈ The date the release is being put out.
Like a good news story, the good press release ≈ A contact name, phone number, fax number,
answers who, what, when, where, why, and how. and e-mail address. Sometimes, cell phone num-
Who is the subject of the story? What is the story bers of after-hours contact persons are listed,
about? When is or was the event? Where is or was

43
 closed doors all night to develop a new economic
plan. They concluded at 7 a.m. and alerted the
media to an important press conference at 10
a.m. The ministers announced the new economic
policies, and then the press staff began writing
the press materials. Because the staff was so
occupied with writing the press announcement,
they did not have time to properly explain the
new policies. For hours, the press had no written
materials to work from in preparing what was a
major and complicated story, and many got some
of the details wrong. The government press office
had to work for weeks attempting to correct the
misinformation.

Media advisories

T
particularly if the press office deals with reporters ypically, media advisories are used to
in several time zones. announce an upcoming event on which
≈ A release time. Often, news releases are you would like press coverage. They are
sent in advance of an event but cannot be used similar to press releases in answering
until a specific time so that reporters have time who, what, when, where, why, and how, but
to read the material and process the information, they are shorter, intended to entice reporters
particularly if it is a complicated story. If this is to come to the event. Some press offices even
done, write “EMBARGOED UNTIL ” and the date list this information in bold type followed by
and specific time the news can be released. If the details in order to attract attention for the
the information can be used immediately, write upcoming event.
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .” Media advisories are in the same style as
≈ A headline, summarizing the news of the a news release, with the date, contact names,
release, that is attention getting and capitalized. phone numbers, and “FOR IMMEDIATE
≈ A dateline, capitalized, beginning the first RELEASE ” or “E M B A R G O E D U N T I L ” at the

paragraph that states where the news originated. top, and with #### or –30– to indicate
In the United States, press releases typically the end of the release.
run one to two pages. If there is more than one
page, type “more” at the end of the first page. Fa c t s h e e t s
At the end of the release, type –30– or ####
to indicate the end. Be sure to check for spelling The fact sheet, or backgrounder, gives more
errors, typos, incorrect punctuation, and poor detail than the press release by using facts and
writing. figures, but not quotations, to embellish on a
Press releases can be sent to the attention of press release. The fact sheet is presented in as
an editor, an assignment editor, or a reporter. readable a form as possible. It often has subtitles
Follow up on the press release with a phone call. in bold type and is highlighted with bullets.
Ask if the intended recipient got your release and Like media advisories, fact sheets follow the
would like additional information. format of a news release with “E M B A R G O E D
U N T I L ” or “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ,”
Press materials, such as press releases and fact
sheets, should always be written and distributed contact names and numbers, and –30– or
before a news event such as a press conference, #### indicating an ending.
and not afterwards. One new government found
that out the hard way. Ministers stayed behind

44
 Officials in one government media office Press releases are
observed that the members of the press would
come to a press conference, take materials, and
a summar y of facts
leave before the press conference began. The about a program or issue
press spokesman decided to distribute the mate- on which you want
rials after the press briefing in order to keep
journalists there. This didn’t work. A number of media attention.
journalists stayed for only part of the briefing, They are presented
left early, and wrote stories from their notes.
in a standardized format.
Sometimes, the press officers felt the reporters
got it wrong. If the reporters had had the written The main criterion
material with the basic facts to pick up before for a press release is
the press conference, they likely would not have
misinterpreted issues.
that it must
Journalists usually have a number of events contain news.
to cover, and a spokesperson should not assume
that if reporters stay for only part of a briefing
they are not interested or will not write a story.
Many may want to write stories, but their sched-
ules may preclude them from staying for the entire
press briefing, particularly if a briefing runs for
more than an hour, as this press office’s did. If
the reporters had had the written materials,
chances are they would have referred to them
while writing their stories. u

Press Releases

5 Best Tips

Before you do a press release for an event, ≈ What research is there to back up the
answer these questions. information? Can it be checked easily if
reporters ask to do so?
≈ Why is this important and how does this
make news? ≈ Who can be quoted as an authority on
the topic?
≈ What are the main points?
≈ Is a fact sheet needed for additional
information?

45
 8 a responsible Press Office

46
8 Interviews: A Closer Look

As much as possible, interviews of government officials

should be part of any media strategy. Before agreeing to
do an interview, a government official should thoroughly
plan what he or she would like to achieve and identify who

the audience will be. Writing a headline that you ≈ What kind of a story is it? A news story?
would like to see on the story of your hypotheti- A profile story? A feature? A question-and-
cal interview will help you focus on the message answer format?
to get across. ≈ Is anyone else being interviewed for the story?
“An interview request should be viewed from ≈ What are the characteristics of the media
the prism of ‘will this forward my principal’s outlet and the reporter?
agenda?’ ” says Juleanna Glover, press secretary It is useful to find out:
to Vice President Dick Cheney. “Each request ≈ If the media outlet has an apparent point
should be researched to establish an author’s of view on the subject.
style or biases, and the parameters for discussion ≈ How much the reporter knows about
should be set.” the topic.
≈ If the reporter or media outlet has done
Assessing the anything on the topic in the past. Check press
interview request clippings.
≈ How friendly or antagonistic the reporter is.
When an interview request comes in, getting ≈ What the audience of the news outlet is.
answers to certain questions will help you assess Other questions to ask regarding a radio
the request. These include: or TV interview include:
≈ What is the topic or news angle of the ≈ Will it be a live broadcast?
interview? ≈ Will the interview be conducted in a studio,
≈ What was the impetus for the story? by phone, in the government official’s office,
≈ Which publication—or TV or radio system— or in some other location?
wants to do the interview? ≈ Will it be by remote, with the interviewer
≈ Who will the interviewer be? not physically present but asking questions
≈ When and where do they want the interview? from another site while connected by satellite
≈ How much time is the reporter requesting transmission?
for the interview? ≈ Is the interview being taped for uncut airing,
≈ What is the story deadline? or is it being taped for excerpting?
≈ When will the interview be published or ≈ Will the broadcast include call-ins or e-mails
broadcast on air? from viewers, listeners, or an on-line audience?
≈ How long will the broadcast last?

47
 period of time. If the request is for a “remote”
hook up, you could request that it be in person.
If you have a choice, it is often better to have
the interview in person. An in-person interview
is more intimate and conversational. You can see
the other person’s body language. You don’t
require a sound piece in your ear that could fall
off or have sound that is interrupted.
In the United States, interview subjects gen-
erally don’t have the opportunity to review their
interviews or quotes before they are published or
the segment is shown on radio or TV, although
this is sometimes done in some countries. If you
want to review the interview in advance, estab-
lish that ahead of time.

Once the interview

≈ What is the show’s format? A panel? is agreed to
One interviewer and one guest? Two interviewers

I
and one guest? Two guests debating? t is important that the person being inter-
≈ If there are other guests, in what order will viewed have three points to make in the
they speak? interview. This will keep the interview
≈ Will it be before an audience? How will the focused. More than three major points is
audience be selected? too much for the audience to absorb.
≈ Can visual props be used? It is the role of the press office to develop this
≈ Will film clips or videotape inserts be used? information. Before the interview determine:
If so, will the press office have an opportunity ≈ What three points the interview subject
to review them and prepare comments or would like to make.
responses? ≈ For each point, write down supporting
Other questions for a print interview include: information—examples, stories, anecdotes.
≈ In which section of the publication will the These help the reader, listener, or viewer better
article appear? understand the points. For example, if one point
≈ Will a photographer accompany the reporter is advocacy of a new economic policy, write
and take pictures? down reasons why the current policy is being
≈ Will photos be taken before, during, or after changed, what the changes mean, and how the
the interview? public will be affected.
≈ Write down the questions you think will be
Establishing asked during the interview and the responses
ground rules that you think should be given. Address more
topics than the three key issues, however.

F
or any interview, you want to establish Reporters often move from the intended inter-
ground rules—regarding, for example, view topic to other issues.
whether you are speaking on or off the ≈ Review important topics in the news to
record, whether the interview is live or help you think of potential questions.
taped, and the length of the interview—before In developing questions and responses,
the interview occurs. Don’t attempt to do so answer these questions:
during or afterwards; then, it’s too late. For
instance, if the reporter requests a half an hour
for an interview, you can limit it to a shorter

48
≈ What is the most controversial issue that ≈ Stay on message and return to the three key
could be raised and the most delicate topic that points frequently during the interview. Relate all
could be addressed? questions back to them.
≈ What would be the hardest question to ≈ State your conclusions and most quotable
answer and why? lines first to get your main points across; then
≈ To help you shape a story, think of a good back them up with facts.
quote, or “sound bite,” to give during the inter- ≈ Use positive, descriptive word images that
view. A sound bite is a short, pithy statement people can understand.
regarding a larger issue that appears to be spon- ≈ Give proof. Use facts, statistics, examples,
taneous but in most cases is prepared. Often, it anecdotes, quotes, and stories. People remember
is repeated in the story, particularly by the radio what affects them, what motivates them, and
and TV media. what others’ experiences are. Word pictures, such
≈ Decide whether you will tape the interview as “as big as a pick-up truck” rather than just
in addition to the reporter’s taping it. Taping “big,” are what people recall.
often is a good idea both to verify the statements ≈ Don’t assume that the facts speak for them-
that have been made and to inform key staff selves. Explain your answers clearly and suc-
members who did not hear the interview. cinctly. Not every reporter or reader or listener
≈ Practice answering possible questions. will know as much about a subject as you do.
≈ Arrange a quick update on hot issues just ≈ Stay positive. If you are asked a negative
before the interview. The briefer, typically the question, get back to your main points.
press secretary, should update the government ≈ Correct any misinformation quickly.
official with last-minute news. Don’t let the ≈ Never say anything that you don’t want to
official be caught off guard. see in print or hear broadcast.
≈ Provide the reporter with information in ≈ Avoid making statements that can be taken
advance of the interview that might be helpful to out of context or be misconstrued if the reporter
your issues. These could be items such as biogra- or editor chooses to use only that part of your
phies, fact sheets, articles, photographs, and statement and not what came before or after.
reports. ≈ Never say “no comment.” You can, and
≈ Don’t be afraid to suggest questions and sometimes should, avoid comment by saying
topics for the interviewer to ask. something like, “I’m not prepared to discuss that

During the interview

M
ake the interview yours. Much more Always
than you may think, you can control
the interview. Just because you are tr y to make
asked questions does not mean you the inter view yours.
can’t control what you say. As one U.S. president
As former
once said: “There are no such things as bad
questions, only bad answers.” U.S. Secretar y of State
Do the following: Henr y Kissinger
≈ Establish the ground rules of attribution
before beginning the interview. Typically, the
once quipped at
interviewee speaks on the record. If that is not a press conference:
already clear, make it clear before beginning. “Does anyone
≈ Be concise; don’t bury important points in
long answers with too many details. Speak in have any questions
short, clear, declarative sentences. for my answers?”
≈ Speak in sound bites.

49
 ≈ “I’m not sure about that, but what I do
know is …”
≈ “Let me put this into perspective…”
≈ “That reminds me of…”
≈ “Let me emphasize that…”
≈ “I’m glad you asked me that. People may
have that misconception, but the truth is…”
Always try to make the interview yours. As
former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
once quipped at a press conference: “Does any-
one have any questions for my answers?”

Being effective
on television

L
ook directly at the interviewer if the
interview is in person. Look at the cam-
today” or “It would be inappropriate for me to era if the interview is by remote and the
discuss that at this point.” interviewer is elsewhere. The camera
≈ Don’t use jargon. becomes the person to whom you are talking.
≈ Be clear. Don’t leave it up to the media to ≈ Be enthusiastic and energetic; television can
interpret what you mean. They might get it flatten and make a person appear bland.
wrong. ≈ Wear solid colors, light but not white or total
≈ Always tell the truth. If you don’t know the black. Mid-range colors are the best. Do not
answer to a question, say so. Get back to the wear browns, plaids, stripes, or loud prints. Do
interviewer with the answer later. not wear flashy, shiny fabrics.
≈ For women, do not overaccessorize your
Staying focused clothes, such as wearing obtrusive earrings that
could detract from your message.

U
se bridging phrases or words to get ≈ For men, do not wear a shirt darker than
back to your three points, such as: your tie.
≈ “The real issue is…” ≈ Sit forward. Lean into the camera.
≈ “Let me add…” ≈ Use natural hand gestures so you don’t
≈ “It is important to emphasize…” appear stiff or uncomfortable.
≈ “It is important not to overlook…” ≈ Don’t give monosyllabic answers.
≈ “What’s more important is…” ≈ Don’t use trade or technical jargon or
≈ “The most important point to remember is…” acronyms that are not familiar to the average
≈ “Along those lines, another question I’m often citizen.
asked is…” ≈ Jump into the conversation if you want to
≈ “That deals with one aspect of a larger clarify a point or add to the conversation. Don’t
issue…” wait for the host to recognize you, but don’t
≈ “Yes, and in addition to that…” behave rudely.
≈ “No, let me clarify…” ≈ Avoid using too many numbers. They bypass
≈ “It’s a bit too early to talk about that until the audience. When you must use numbers,
all the facts are in, but I can tell you…” round them off so they are more easily absorbed.
For example, instead of saying “four-hundred-
and-forty-four thousand,” say “almost half a
million.”

50
 After the interview

≈ If you promised additional information to

the reporter, follow up immediately.
≈ Debrief the media staff so they know what
to expect.
≈ Evaluate the interview. Note for your file:
What went well in the interview? What could
have gone better? Keep the notes for the next For any inter view,
interview or press conference. you want to establish
≈ Get the name of the reporter, producer, and
sound technician conducting the interview and ground r ules—
update your media list. regarding, for example,
≈ File the news clipping or tape from the inter-
view in a permanent archive. u
whether you are speaking
on or off the record,
whether the inter view
is live or taped,
and the length of
the inter view—
before the inter view
occurs.

Photo Shoot Checklist

Pictures, like words, tell a story. In using pictures:

≈ Decide what you want the photo to do.

≈ Draw what you are looking for as guidance.
≈ Take Polaroids of each shot or look
through the camera’s viewfinder before the
pictures are taken.

51
 The Interview

5 Best Tips x Three

Assessing the Interview During the Interview

≈ What is the medium and who is the ≈ Stay on message with your three points.
interviewer?
≈ Be concise and clear.
≈ How much time is requested; what is the
≈ Give anecdotes, facts, examples.
deadline?
≈ Never say “no comment.”
≈ When will the interview be printed or
aired, and what kind of story is it? ≈ Tell the truth; don’t be afraid to say you
don’t know an answer if you don’t.
≈ What is the media type? For TV, will it
be live, taped for uncut airing, or taped for
excerpting? And for print, what section of the
newspaper or magazine will it be in, and will
there be photographs?

≈ May the interviewee provide visuals?

Once the Interview

I s A g r e e d To

≈ Have three points to make in the inter-

view and have examples, anecdotes, and sound
bites to support them.

≈ Have practice questions and answers.

≈ Practice!

≈ Get an update on the news before giving

the interview.

≈ Set ground rules before the interview.

52
Speaking On and Off the Record

Speaking on the record is the preferred way to speak to the media.

Since you want the information about your program, your idea, or

your message to reach the public, why not ≈ O n d e e p b a c k g r o u n d . When you estab-
have your name attached to it? lish before an interview that you are speaking
“The safest course of action is to assume that only on deep background, a reporter may use
all you say to a reporter will end up in the the information but without giving any attri-
newspaper, especially in the beginning before bution. Anything said in the interview is
you know the reporters you are working with usable but not in direct quotation and not for
and are confident in who will accept the terms attribution.
of the agreement,” says former White House ≈ O f f t h e r e c o r d . When you speak off the
spokesperson Dee Dee Myers. record, you give a reporter information that is
As you develop a relationship with a reporter, for his or her knowledge only and that cannot
you learn to whom you can speak freely. be used, printed, or made public in any way.
“Then you can use ‘background’ as a way to A reporter should not take the information to
explain more complex subjects without having another source in the hopes of getting official
to risk being taken out of context,” she says. confirmation.
“But in emerging democracies, where rules Sometimes, spokespersons use an off-the-
aren’t clear, you can get burned talking off record briefing to provide context for an issue
the record.” when a reporter appears to be off the mark on
The ground rules of how you are speaking a story and privacy laws prevent putting the
MUST be established before you speak. Not information on the record. Knowing the back-
afterwards. Here is what the terms mean. ground can give a fuller picture of the story.

≈ O n t h e r e c o r d . When you speak on the “Getting a story killed can be an achieve-

record, everything you say to a reporter may ment,” says one government spokesperson,
be used and attributed to you by name. “and it can lead reporters or editors to back
off an inaccurate account they may be ready
≈ O n b a c k g r o u n d . When you tell a journal-
to publish. Sometimes, the best successes in
ist you are speaking on background, he or she
this business are when you have precisely
may publish what you say but cannot attribute
nothing to show for all your hard work and
it to you by name or title. Rather, the reporter
efforts. You killed a story that would have
attributes your statements to a previously
been wrong if it ran.”
agreed upon identification, such as “a well-
informed source” or “an expert” or “a gov-
ernment official.”

53
 9 a responsible Press Office

54
 9 Press Conferences

Press conferences bring together members of the media

and the public and one or more government officials in a
question-and-answer session, usually at a location selected
by the government official. Press conferences offer a chance

for citizens—through the press—to question ≈ Decide if a press conference is really necessary,
government officials and a chance for the gov- or if reporters can write an accurate, thorough
ernment officials to take their message to the story with a press release, a fact sheet, and a
people through the media. follow-up telephone conversation.
“When you have press conferences on a regular ≈ Decide what the government official will say
basis, they allow for steam to be released,” says in his or her opening statement.
David Beckwith, former vice presidential spokes- ≈ Write talking points for the government offi-
man. What that means, he says, is that, over time, cial for the opening statement. Just as in doing
an aggressive sort of pressure builds up in reporters an interview, focus on making only three points.
who have questions they want answered, and More than that is too much.
that pressure is released in a press conference. ≈ Identify possible questions that might be
“Having a press conference is a good idea when asked and appropriate responses to each ques-
you have something to announce or something tion. These need to go beyond the intended sub-
positive to say,” Beckwith says. “Think of why ject of the press conference since reporters may
you are doing it and what will come out of it.” ask questions on other issues. Some press offices
keep a list of topics on their computers to be fre-
Before the press quently updated so the material does not have
conference to be newly written each time.
≈ Stage a mock press conference the day before
The first step in setting up a press conference is the actual conference, especially if the government
to be sure there is news. For the head of a country, official is uncomfortable responding to potential
this is rarely a problem. For the head of a small questions. Have the press office staff pretend to
government agency, attracting the press could be reporters and ask questions of the official.
be more difficult. Reporters don’t like spending This allows both official and staff to become
time at what they consider a non-event when aware of potential gaps in their responses.
they have other news competing for their atten- ≈ Pick the date for the press conference care-
tion. Among the steps to take in setting up a fully. Check the event against the long-term
press conference: calendar of other government offices to ensure
≈ Determine the topic of the conference and there are no conflicts with other news events
whether there is news to be made. that day.
≈ Pick the time for the press conference.

55
 The first step ≈ Send a fax or e-mail to out-of-town press
who may be interested in the topic but are unable
in setting up a to attend the press conference.
press conference is ≈ Allow time for the writing, printing, assem-
to be sure there is news. bling, and transportation of any press materials,
such as press kits, press releases, backgrounders,
For the head of a countr y, biographies, and photographs.
this is rarely a problem. ≈ Decide if credentialing the press is necessary.
That is, will only certain reporters be invited.
For the head of a
≈ Manage all the technical requirements of the
small government agency, press. Arrange for lighting platforms, special
attracting the press power, translation, and mult-boxes (audio equip-
ment that has a single input and multiple outputs
could be that go to recording devices). Make certain that
more difficult. anything that will be used works.
≈ Assign a staff member to manage the logistics
of the conference. On the day of the event, he or
Mid-morning or early afternoon is often the best she should be at the site well in advance and
for the various news deadlines. should be prepared to handle unexpected logisti-
≈ Choose a location that is accessible and can cal problems, such as outside noise and bad
meet the technical requirements of the media. weather if it is an outdoor event.
The site should also be visually attractive and
enhancing to your message. For instance, if agri- If the press conference
culture is the topic, pick a farm as a backdrop. is off site
If it is education, perhaps a school library.
≈ Determine whether to use visual aids. Is there ≈ Decide if you need a holding room or hospi-
a good visual, such as a big chart, that the gov- tality suite for the government official.
ernment official can show during the press con- ≈ Have adequate space that meets the technical
ference? Have it next to the official so that televi- needs of reporters.
sion cameras can include it. Also, have the visual ≈ Have the names, phone numbers, and cell
printed and put in a press packet so reporters phone numbers of key people at the site, such
can refer to it as they write their stories and have as the head of security, the maintenance superin-
it printed in the newspaper or shown on tape. tendent, and public relations staff.
≈ Decide who, if anyone, will introduce the gov- Although you are a guest at another location,
ernment official at the press conference and who planning all the aspects of out-of-town events is
will conclude it. as important as planning events on your home
≈ Notify reporters. Besides those who cover the turf. Things can and do go wrong. For example,
official regularly, you might expand the list of one government official traveled several hours
reporters, depending on the topic. For instance, to dedicate a new hospital facility. He and his
if the intended story is on the environment, you press secretary knew he would take press ques-
might also notify environmental reporters. tions after the dedication, but they neglected to
≈ Telephone reporters a day or two before the arrange for a place where this could occur. The
event to remind them of it. Try to get an idea of official wound up giving a press conference for
who is coming and who is not. You may need to 15 reporters in a hospital hallway, with a school
get a larger or smaller room. band playing so loudly that reporters could not
≈ Put the announcement of the press conference hear, and in a space so narrow that TV camera
on a news wire service calendar. operators could not get a good picture.
At least a week before the event, the spokes-
person should have asked the hospital for a room

56
to hold the press conference, notified the media ≈ Allow time for questions.
as to its availability and time, and had the press ≈ Tape the remarks made by the government
aide traveling with him go to the room in advance official so that they can be transcribed for a per-
—even an hour ahead of time—to check it. manent record.
Instead, the reporters were frustrated, and the ≈ Get responses to unanswered questions. If an
government official missed the opportunity of a official is asked a question that he or she cannot
good-news story. answer, he should admit it but promise to get
back to the reporter later that day—before his or
During the press her deadline—with the information.
conference
After the press conference
≈ Have a sign-in sheet for the press and any
visitors so you know who was there. ≈ Put a transcript of the press conference on
≈ Tell reporters at the beginning of the press your Web page as soon as possible to make it
conference how much time the speaker has, and widely available.
be prepared to cut off questions at that time. ≈ Send hand-out materials and a transcript to
≈ Keep the press conference and statements any media who could not attend but have an
short. The press will be more receptive to an offi- interest in the story.
cial who makes a short statement and takes ≈ Fulfill all promises for additional materials or
questions as opposed to one who gives a half- responses to unanswered questions within dead-
hour speech. line times.
≈ Critique each step of operation, and write up
your notes for the next conference. u

Press Schedules and Names

So you can quickly respond to breaking news and target your media when
you have a story to tell, maintain up-to-date lists of media contacts.

≈ List the names of reporters, their affilia- ≈ Know each reporter’s deadline and don’t
tions, their beats or special interests, addresses call during deadline times.
at work and at home, cell phone numbers, ≈ Find out who in the various media decides
beeper and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. what news will be covered and at what time of
Also keep separate lists of reporters by beat the day, week, or month story decisions are
or interest and by geographic region. made. Learn how far in advance of an event a
≈ Make sure the lists are kept up to date. media outlet wants to be notified.
≈ Know how each contact wants to receive
news—by fax, phone, e-mail.

57
10 a responsible Press Office

58
10 Crisis Communications

A crisis is an event that occurs suddenly, often unexpect-

edly, and demands a quick response. A crisis interferes
with normal routines and creates uncertainty and stress.
A crisis can be a natural event, such as an earthquake or

a hurricane, or it can be man-made, such as an than you know, don’t freelance what you think,
explosion, a scandal, or a conflict. Ultimately, it and constantly update reporters,” says Susan
can threaten the reputation of a top official and King, spokesperson at two federal departments
an organization. A well-managed crisis, however, during the Clinton administration. “Reporters
can not only preserve reputations and credibility have to get information, and if you don’t give
but can also enhance them. them anything, they will report rumors.”
The key to effective crisis communication is
to be prepared before a crisis occurs. Once an Before a crisis
emergency happens, there is little time to think
much less to plan. Without a crisis plan, you can ≈ Maintain trustworthy, credible relationships
be overwhelmed by events. with the media all of the time. If you do, the
“Good crisis communications is based on a media will be less suspicious and more cooper-
system already in place,” says former White ative in the midst of a crisis.
House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater. “When ≈ Select someone to be the crisis manager.
there is a crisis, you just tighten it up and make ≈ Have the crisis manager collect information
it better. If you routinely had a daily press brief- on potentially troublesome issues and trends.
ing, you would tighten it up and make it three Evaluate them, gather data on them, and develop
times a day. A crisis is no time to design a new communications strategies to prevent or redirect
system.” their course.
In a crisis, the best course of action is to be ≈ Identify members of a possible crisis manage-
forthcoming and honest and to do what it takes ment team. Have in place their roles, actions to
to facilitate stories. The media are going to write be taken, and possible scenarios. Have a list of
and air stories with or without your help. It’s in their office, home, and cell or mobile phone
your best interest to participate in a story—even numbers. Also have copies of their biographies.
a negative one—in order to have your position In a crisis, the press may want to know the back-
correctly represented. The alternative is for the grounds of those dealing with it.
media to write that a government official “would ≈ Give designated spokespersons training in
not respond to our inquiries,” which only fuels dealing with the media.
suspicions and rumors. ≈ Determine the message, target, and media
“In a crisis, bring all the key players into a outlets that could be used in various crisis plans.
room and get the facts straight. Never tell more

59
 other plans. People want to see the leader, not just
the public affairs staff. Having top management
in front of the press during a crisis lends credibility
and shows that the organization is not treating
the situation lightly.
≈ Inform your internal audiences—the staff and
other government offices—at the same time you
inform the press. If the press is the only source of
information for the staff, morale can be damaged
and employees can become confused and hurt,
especially if the incident is reported inaccurately
in the press. Because of where they work, the staff
will be viewed as sources of information, and they
can be the origin of leaks and rumors. Be sure
they have it right.
≈ Communicate with your internal audiences
by e-mail, if available, or through press releases
≈ Have a list of the office, home, and cell or and statements delivered to each office. If the staff
mobile phone numbers and deadlines of reporters is small enough, call a meeting at which members
who might cover your organization in a crisis. of the crisis team are available to answer staff
≈ Have a plan for setting up a media crisis cen- questions.
ter. This should cover such items as desks, chairs, ≈ Maintain a calm, gracious, and helpful pres-
phones, parking, electrical outlets, placement of ence. Avoid appearing flustered or overwhelmed.
satellite trucks, copy machines, even coffee. You ≈ Pre-empt negative publicity and communicate
also need to think about how to keep an office the actions being taken to solve the crisis. Verify
secure, particularly for your own staff. news before releasing it.
≈ Arrange for media access to the scene of
During a crisis the crisis, if at all possible. TV wants pictures.
If there are space constraints, use press pool
≈ When a crisis hits, immediately get the word reports, with a representative of each type of
to the press. Otherwise, the media will get their media—wire service, newspaper, TV, radio,
information through other means. magazine, and photography—at the scene,
≈ Set up a 24-hour crisis and media center at a writing up a report and taking pictures for
central place from which news is released, rumors their colleagues. No one may use these reports,
dealt with, facts gathered, and briefings held. including those in the pool, until they have been
≈ Immediately “go public” with a trained distributed to everyone.
spokesperson at the scene to conduct press brief- ≈ Take care of the practical needs of the press,
ings. Let the media—and therefore the public— such as parking, phones, electrical outlets, desks,
know that you are dealing with the situation. and chairs.
≈ Say what you know and only what you know. ≈ Keep a log of reporters who have called, what
Don’t speculate. Don’t be bullied into saying they asked, their deadlines, what you promised,
anything based on rumor. If you don’t know and to whom it was delegated.
something, admit it. Saying “the matter is under ≈ Always return phone calls. If you don’t,
investigation” may be the best response. reporters will look elsewhere for information.
≈ Gather information as quickly as possible. They will write a story with or without your help.
Determine the basic who, what, when, where, Being nonresponsive takes control of a story
and how. You might not get the “why” until later. away from you.
≈ Get the government or agency leader and ≈ Simple sympathetic gestures can help rebuild
other top management to the crisis center. Cancel the public’s confidence. Offer reassurance. Tell

60
what actions are being taken to solve the prob- The key to effective
lem, to help those affected, and to return things
to normal. But first make sure you are doing
crisis communication
what you say you are doing. is to be prepared
≈ Make sure the press spokesperson is involved before a crisis occurs.
with senior management in every decision and
policy made. Every decision has a public ramifi- Once an emergency
cation, whether management recognizes it or not. happens, there is little
≈ Avoid fixing blame. That can be done after
time to think much
an investigation.
≈ Appeal to third-party endorsements for your less to plan.
efforts. Get credible people who have been Without a crisis plan,
through similar experiences and command the
public’s attention to speak on your behalf.
you can be over whelmed
≈ Update information frequently and regularly. by events.
Announce when your next update will be.
≈ Monitor media reports and correct errors
immediately.
≈ Establish a Web site to inform people about
the status of the situation. Put all news releases,
statements, fact sheets, and links to other infor-
mation on the site.
≈ Establish an assessment group to study the
problem and to prevent future occurrences. This
is not for show; they should have real power.
≈ Remember: openness and responsiveness dur-
ing a crisis enhances your respect and credibility
with the media. It can help you in the long run.

After a crisis

≈ Evaluate the effectiveness of the crisis plan

and how people responded.
≈ Correct problems so they don’t happen again. u

61
 Crisis Communications

5 ≈
Best Tips

Have a crisis plan.

≈ In a time of crisis, go public immediately,

but only with what you know.

≈ Get top management to the crisis site.

≈ Inform your internal publics.

≈ Update frequently and regularly.

In a crisis,
the best course
of action
is to be forthcoming
and honest
and to do what it takes
to facilitate stories.
The media are
going to write and
air stories
with or without
your help.

62
Pool Reporting

Pool reporting is used when the site for an event or press conference
is not large enough to accommodate all the reporters interested in

covering a story. For example, in the United ≈ A “pool” can be even smaller. When
States, it is used frequently at the White House, President Bill Clinton attended a funeral
where the space in the president’s office and at the U.S. Naval Academy, the size of the
other areas is limited. chapel and protocol for the event dictated the
≈ Pool reporting involves representatives use of a pool report. One camera was allowed
of each type of media “pooling together” to in the chapel. Reporters and other cameras
cover an event; they write a report on or tape were in the basement receiving a live trans-
the event and make their materials available mission of the event, and they prepared their
to their colleagues in the press or broadcast reports from the transmission.
media. The material is given to everyone at
the same time, no one can use the material
until everyone has it.
≈ A typical “pool” consists of a wire service
reporter, a print reporter, a magazine reporter,
a broadcast reporter, a camera person, a sound
person, and a still photographer. Sometimes,
it might involve just a single camera filming
the event for transmission to reporters in a
nearby room.

63
 11 a responsible Press Office

64
11 Event Planning

A government press office is called upon to deal with many

kinds of public events. There are “media events”—events
to which the press is invited—and there are other events,
some of which the media attend and some they do not.

A press spokesperson should be able to manage ≈ By what date should requests for materials
participation in any event, media or not, whether —platforms, chairs, tents, power cables, and
you are hosting it or attending it as the guest of phones—be made?
someone else. ≈ By what dates are approvals needed?
Think of these events as theater or ballet. ≈ By what date should invitations be sent?
Everything should be planned and scripted, and ≈ Have regular meetings with those involved
everything should relate to the overall theme of in the event to make sure that assignments are
the play or the ballet. Every detail and each per- being carried out. Make a site visit at least one
son’s role is well thought out. There should be a day in advance to check on arrangements. The
director—from your staff—on site to make sure bigger the event, the further in advance the site
that things are carried out as planned. visit should occur—for a state visit, probably
weeks in advance; for a half-hour meeting
Planning for an between ministers, an hour in advance. But
inside event always have someone from your staff at the site
several hours before the event so that they can
Thorough planning is needed for every event manage any last-minute changes.
in which a press spokesperson participates, but ≈ Prepare a briefing book for the event that
especially for events such as the visit of a head includes the schedule, list of participants, talk-
of state or a meeting of several foreign ministers. ing points or speech, biographies of important
≈ As a first step, appoint a manager to oversee people at the event, a summary of political and
the entire event. He might handle everything, or other key issues, and newspaper articles that
she might have to supervise several other people are related to the issues.
who are handling different tasks. ≈ Write thank you notes after the event to those
≈ Then, decide on the theme of the event: involved, such as the key attendees and staff.
≈ What is its purpose? ≈ Hold a follow-up meeting with your own staff
≈ What goals do you want to achieve? and write a short report on what went well and
≈ What impact do you want to have? what did not so as to improve future events.
≈ Establish deadlines for the various components A general theory in the United States is that
of the event. about 5 to 10 hours of planning are required for
≈ By what date must a speech be completed? each hour an event will last.

65
 Thorough planning “Our policy here is to have invitations in writing.
Please mail, fax, or e-mail a request with the fol-
is needed for ever y lowing information:”
event in which ≈ The title of the event.
a press spokesperson ≈ Its purpose.
≈ The date and time(s). In this regard, it’s good
participates, but to find out if there is any flexibility. For instance,
especially for events if a conference is being held over several days
and an official is invited for one specific day on
such as the visit of
which he/she is engaged elsewhere, can another
a head of state date be substituted?
or a meeting of several ≈ The location.
≈ The number of people expected to attend.
foreign ministers. ≈ Whether there will be other participants, and
who they will be.
≈ Whether there’s a tradition of having a par-
ticular guest speak at the event. Is that person
Planning for an
the official for whom you work—for example, in
outside event
his/her capacity as governor of a state.
≈ What the official’s role will be—to give the

E
ven if it’s someone else’s event at which
your government official has been invited main address, to be the sole speaker, to be one
to speak, review anything related to of several speakers, to speak on a certain topic,
the official’s participation, including the and so forth.
invitation and press materials in which the official ≈ Whether the event is open or closed to the press.
is mentioned. ≈ If this is an annual or repeat event, how the
Always have someone from your staff at the media have covered it in the past.
site in advance of the event. That way he or she You can then review the written invitation
can advocate on your behalf, learn if there are and change what you like and don’t like, nego-
changes to the program, and alert your official. tiating from what has been written. And you can
Without this, you will have no control over the respond in writing as to what you want to accept
official’s participation. and what will be your participation. u
An important part of outside event planning
is assessing the invitation. Consider this: a gov-
ernment official traveled several hours to give a
Event Check List
speech to an audience he thought would be sup-
porters. But once there, he found he was on stage ≈ Get a request in writing.
with opponents, whom he was expected to debate ≈ Find out when and where the event
in front of an unfriendly audience. No staff had is and if there is flexibility to change dates
checked the arrangements in advance, so no one and times.
knew that the actual event deviated from the invi- ≈ Clarify the purpose of the event and
tation, which had been given orally. the role requested of the official.
To prevent surprises, many politicians request ≈ Determine whether the press will be
that all invitations be put in writing. That way there.
they know exactly what is being requested and ≈ Ask for the number of guests and
can negotiate their participation according to other participants.
what is written. Many then respond in writing
stating what their participation will be.
When an invitation comes in over the phone,
the press spokesperson or scheduler might say:

66
The Event Location

Once you’ve decided on the “message” for an event, you should determine
the best place to hold it to get across the message to the public.

For example, if an event concerns an ≈ What visual picture do I want to present;

announcement about education, the best spot what backdrop best achieves that and fits the
could be an educational setting such as a message?
school. Once you’ve selected a school, consider ≈ Who else should be there to help develop
the following: the message? For example, are there teachers,
≈ What is the best classroom for the event? school administrators, perhaps the minister
≈ Should older or younger children be of education, who should be included either
involved? as speakers or as guests? Decide when they
should be invited, who should invite them, and
what role, if any, they should play.

The Briefing Book

In the United States, when a top official such as a state governor,

a cabinet member, and certainly the president and vice president

participate in an event, they receive a briefing ≈ The major political issues of concern in the
book in advance. This book is prepared by the area where the event is being held. The brief-
staff of the person staging the event. The book ing book might include copies of supporting
is intended to maximize everyone’s participa- newspaper articles.
tion…and to avoid surprises. ≈ The names of the participants, their titles
Typically, a briefing book addresses the and affiliations, and a summary of what they
following: will be doing or saying at the event. Provide
≈ The purpose of the event. biographies if appropriate, along with correct
pronunciations of names if they are unusual.
≈ The attire, or dress—casual, business,
formal. ≈ A minute-by-minute agenda or schedule
for the event.
≈ The weather forecast for the day of the
event. ≈ What questions are likely from the press
or audience, along with possible answers.
≈ The size of the audience.
≈ A list of issues to be addressed and those
≈ Whether the press will be there. Whether
to be avoided.
cameras are expected.
≈ The names of any people the official should
≈ The location for the event.
recognize from the podium.
≈ The name of the staff coordinator for the
≈ A diagram of the staging area, including
event, along with telephone, cell phone, and
where the official sits and stands, and next
beeper numbers.
to whom.

67
 12 a responsible Press Office

68
12 Ethics: Codes of Conduct

The government press office exists in two realms at once.

You represent the government’s position to the public, but
in a sense you also stand for the interests of the press and
the people inside the government. This dual role will put

you in some difficult moral positions on occasion. The trust of the media in a spokesperson is
As a press spokesperson, what do you do if hard earned, achieved only over time through
your boss tells you to withhold from the press highly professional and ethical performance.
information that is not classified? What do you Thus, the first goal of an ethical communicator
do if your boss lies to the media, and you know it? is to truthfully communicate the reality of an
Government press officials have to deal with event, an issue, a policy, or a plan.
these questions in every country, including in the While it might seem that the government and
United States. To help them do this, many have the press should be adversarial in their codes of
developed codes of ethics. behavior, in a democracy their codes have many
Those value systems, by which a person principles in common. In the United States, for
determines what is right or wrong, fair or unfair, example, government communicators and press
just or unjust, set acceptable norms of behavior codes of behavior all mandate that a professional
for working professionals and employees. They be responsible, truthful, and accurate; not have
are the conscience of a profession. Equally conflicting interests; work in the public interest;
important, a well-recognized code of ethics can be fair; and be a steward of the public’s trust.
give an employer a clear understanding of the On the subject of truth and accuracy, the
standards of behavior that his or her employees American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE),
will follow. in its code of conduct, states: “Good faith with
Government spokespersons must make the reader is the foundation of good journalism.
decisions that satisfy the public interest and their Every effort must be made to assure that the
employer, as well as their personal values and news content is accurate, free from bias and in
professional standards. Because these values can context, and that all sides are presented fairly.”
be in conflict, codes of conduct are, ultimately, a It goes on to say that significant errors of fact,
measure of correct behavior. In essence, credibil- as well as errors of omission, should be corrected
ity is critically important to a press spokesperson. promptly and prominently.
Although it is important to show loyalty to an Similarly, in its code of ethics, the National
employer, anything less than total honesty with the Association of Government Communicators
media will destroy a spokesperson’s credibility, (NAGC) says that government communicators
and ultimately destroy that person’s value to an will “intentionally communicate no false or mis-
employer as well. leading information and will act promptly to cor-
rect false or misleading information or rumors.”

69
 ≈ Enhance educational programs for those who
want to go into press relations.
≈ For those already in the profession, encourage
training both in country and out of country.
Seeing how others perform offers the opportunity
to pick up best practices.
≈ Establish publications, newsletters, and Web
sites to exchange information on dealing with
similar problems.
The following provides the key sections from
the ethical code of the National Association of
Government Communicators.
“Members of the National Association of
Government Communicators pledge and profess
dedication to the goals of better communication,
understanding, and cooperation among all people.
“We believe that truth is inviolable and
Both ethics codes say that their professionals sacred; that providing public information is an
will serve the general welfare, not themselves, essential civil service; and that the public-at-
and that they will be responsible for the work large and each citizen therein has a right to equal,
they produce. Regarding public interest and full, understandable, and timely facts about their
public trust, the ASNE code states that freedom government. Members will:
of the press belongs to the people. “It must be ≈ Conduct themselves professionally, with
defended against encroachment or assault from truth, accuracy, fairness, responsibility, account-
any quarter, public or private. Journalists must ability to the public, and adherence to generally
be constantly alert to see that the public’s busi- accepted standards of good taste.
ness is conducted in public. They must be vigi- ≈ Conduct their professional lives in accord
lant against all who would exploit the press for with the public interest, in recognition that each
selfish purposes.” The NAGC code says that gov- of us is a steward of the public’s trust.
ernment spokespersons must “conduct their pro- ≈ Convey the truth to their own agencies’
fessional lives in accord with the public interest, management, engaging in no practice which
in recognition that each of us is a steward of the could corrupt the integrity of channels of com-
public’s trust.” munication or the processes of government.
The ideals expressed in these codes provide ≈ Intentionally communicate no false or
a guide, but how can ethical issues be tackled in misleading information and will act promptly
places where they might not have been thoroughly to correct false or misleading information or
thought out? Public information practitioners rumors.
could consider the following: ≈ Identify publicly the names and titles of
≈ Write up codes of ethics for government individuals involved in making policy decisions,
spokespersons and circulate them widely both the details of decision-making processes, and
to those in the profession and to the employers how interested citizens can participate.
as well. ≈ Represent no conflicting or competing
≈ Have meetings of government spokespersons. interests and will fully comply with all statutes,
Form professional associations and clubs. Peer executive orders, and regulations pertaining to
pressure to perform to certain levels of behavior personal disclosure of such interests.
can be a counterweight to unethical actions. And ≈ Avoid the possibility of any improper use
talking about frustrations, common interests, and of information by an ‘insider’ or third party
conflicts may help reduce them. and never use inside information for personal
gain.

70
≈ Guarantee or promise the achievement of Although it is
no specified result beyond the member’s direct
control.
important to show
≈ Accept no fees, commissions, gifts, promises loyalty to an employer,
of future consideration, or any other material or anything less than total
intangible valuable that is, or could be perceived
to be, connected with public service employment honesty with the
or activities. media will destroy
≈ Safeguard the confidence of both present and
a spokesperson’s
former employees, and of information acquired
in meetings and documents, as required by law, credibility, and ultimately
regulation, and prudent good sense. destroy that person’s
≈ Not wrongly injure the professional reputation
or practice of another person, private organiza-
value to an employer
tion, or government agency. as well.
≈ Participate in no activity designed to manip-
ulate the price of a company’s securities.
“When a member has evidence or suspicion
that another has committed an unethical, illegal,
or unfair practice, including violation of this state-
ment, the member shall present the information
promptly to a proper authority, who may include
the president of NAGC or the chairperson of the
NAGC Ethics Committee. Members found to be
in violation of the organization’s Code of Ethics
may be asked to leave the NAGC.” u

71
 On the Internet

Any national government agency in the United States—and most

state, local, and regional agencies as well—can take their messages
to the public via the World Wide Web.

The media home pages of the principal Department of Housing and Urban
federal departments might include a schedule Development
or calendar for their key officials covering http://www.hud.gov/news/index.cfm
both home and satellite events; copies of
news releases, speeches, and testimony; fact Department of the Interior
sheets and media advisories; photos and http://www.doi.gov/doipress/
slides; special reports and publications; even
a radio news broadcast service…all available Department of Justice
from a single source. http://www.usdoj.gov/03press/index.html

To get an idea of the depth and breadth of Department of Labor

coverage that the press offices of the United http://www.dol.gov/dol/public/media/main.htm
States’ 14 cabinet departments offer on the
Internet, check out one or more of the Web Department of State
addresses listed below. You can also link to the http://www.state.gov/press/
on-line media offices of more than 60 special-
ized independent agencies and corporations Department of Transportation
of the U.S. government at http://www. http://www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm
firstgov.gov/us_gov/establishments.html.
Department of the Treasury
http://www.ustreas.gov/headlines.html
Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/newsroom.html Department of Veterans Affairs
http://www.va.gov/opa/
Department of Commerce
http://www2.osec.doc.gov/

Department of Defense
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/

Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

Department of Energy
http://www.energy.gov/press/index.html

Department of Health and Human Services

http://www.hhs.gov/news/

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