- Excerpt
MEDIA RELATIONS HANDBOOK
for Agencies, Associations,
Nonprofits and Congress
by Brad Fitch
INTRODUCTION
Brad Fitch is the Deputy Director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Congressional
Management Foundation. Media Relations Handbook, his magnum
opus, is written for press secretaries on Capitol Hill, public affairs
officers in federal agencies, spin doctors in political campaigns, PR
professionals in nonprofit organizations, lobbyists, and anyone whose
job involves garnering media coverage in a town where ink is gold and
airtime is platinum.
One of the joys of reading a book
written by a master spin doctor is that every page contains a clever
turn of phrase. We've compiled the best of these "Fitchisms" into one
document, below, including commentary on press relations, communications
strategy, policy vs. PR, and crisis communications.
More information about Media Relations Handbook and author
Brad Fitch follows the soundbites. Enjoy!
"Fitchisms"
Commentary on Public Affairs Press Relations
by Brad Fitch
On Media Relations
"The press list is the pure definition of your target audience." (p.
13)
"A press secretary's worst fear is a slow reporter and a fast deadline." (p.81)
"[Reporters] consider it their constitutional right and responsibility
to ask, probe, question, sneak up on, criticize, cajole, press, and sometimes
annoy the public figures they are assigned to cover." (p. 89)
"Many public relations professionals view their principals like a product
-- and why not? We package them like soap, market them like soap, sell
them like soap...." (p. 161)
"Barely a week goes by in Washington
when The Washington Post or Roll
Call doesn't fillet some flack or staffer who wrote a dumb memo,
misspelled an important person's name in a letter, or had a typo in a
press release." (p. 24)
"Many people feel they don't need any media training because they have
watched countless television interviews. This is the equivalent of saying
you can be a major league pitcher because you've watched Roger Clemens
pitch on television." (p 175)
On "The Message"
"It is much more persuasive to connect with an audience member on an
emotional level, as opposed to a practical one, and emotions are evoked
by touching our values." (p. 57)
"[The Message] must be a clear, concise, value-based image or statement
that connects with a targeted audience in a meaningful way." (p. 50)
"Make sure everyone is singing from the same hymnal." (p.
239)
"An op-ed should be a seamless flow, like a casual ride the reader climbs
aboard for the three-to-five minutes it takes to read the piece." (p. 33)
"The ultimate thrill of a public relations professional is to see your
words in print attributed to someone else." (p. 31)
On Policy vs. PR
"Public policy is too important to leave to policy experts." (p.
187)
"Policy experts seem to have a natural suspicion of public relations types.
They often view the profession with skepticism, fearing that some flack
will rip apart and dumb down their carefully woven policy just to grab
a one-day headline (which, to be fair, we sometimes do)." (p. 183)
"Nothing more riles an over-educated, masters-degree toting, bespectacled
policy wonk during a strategy meeting than some brash spin doctor chiming
in, 'Maybe we could do it another way that could get us more press.' But,
in spite of the hateful stares and lost lunch invitations, that's part
of your job." (p. 8)
On Communications Technology
"In the world of public affairs, the most valuable thing someone can
give to you today, other than a financial contribution, is her email
address." (p. 132)
"With the assistance of someone who understands the office computer system
and knows how to make it sing, you can exponentially increase your reach." (p.
12)
"People like dealing with the government online. A web site is the first
choice of both the public and reporters who are seeking government information." (p.
213)
On Crisis Press Relations
"In court, all accused have a right to face their accuser; this principle
does not exist in public relations." (p. 84)
"If you're standing before a judge in a courtroom, would you want a press
secretary defending you? Similarly, if you're standing before the court
of public opinion, get someone versed in the rules of that court... more
often than not, that's not a lawyer." (p. 190)
"Reporters are absolutely relentless when they think a public official
has something to hide... They will hunt down any cloaked detail with a
gusto that is unmatched in the professional world." (p. 188)
"In an image crisis, the worst-case scenario is the one most likely to
occur." (p. 246)
"It is especially important to make experts available in any crisis when
the public safety or health is at stake. People just don't believe flacks
in such situations." (p. 231)
"Many leaders want an entire army of public relations writers to respond
to one letter to the editor in a small paper, yet will scoff at the idea
of devoting necessary resources to defusing a genuine communications time
bomb." (p. 233)
"An organization in a communications crisis without a plan is like a blind
man trying to feel his way out of a burning building." (p. 246)
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