New Rules of Media Training?
Do the new rules of social media apply to media training? Blogs and podcasts allow PR pros to communicate with target audiences in a transparent and conversational way. Should these principles also be applied to media training? Journalists are getting less tolerant of canned answers, and while bridging to key messages in an interview is important, it needs to be carefully done. Executives should not memorize answers, but think in terms of themes and keep the interview conversational.
In the recent Republican Debate, Mitt Romney did a great job. One criticism, however, was that his answers seemed too canned and rehearsed. The example cited was his answer to stem cell research which sounded very scientific and, according to The National Review, “somewhat over-educated”. However, it’s worth mentioning that The National Review praised Mitt’s performance in the debate: “And the winner is: Mitt the Good, the Perfect, the Gosh-Darned Smartest of Them All.” Mitt has recieved extensive media training, mainly from the PR firm Coltrin & Assoicates, during the 2002 Winter Olympics (I worked for Coltrin at the time). While his media training has obviously paid off, his messages still sound a bit rehearsed.
I’m at the end of a successful Boston/New York press and analyst tour. The client I was representing was Gary Kennedy of RemedyMD. Gary is the former President of Oracle USA, former CEO of Tenfold and PRC. Needless to say, an experienced and high-powered executive. During the tour we focused on keeping the interviews conversational while still delivering key messages and sound bites. The interviews went very well.
It’s no secret that new media is changing the way PR pros operate; delivering a strong message in an interview is no exception.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Great post Alex.