What to Do When the Media Comes Calling: Your Media Preparedness Plan
You’ve seen it a hundred times on promos for the evening news; a hungry, local reporter who has dubbed himself a “fraud buster” or claims to be “on your side,” pushing his way through the doors of some unsuspecting local business, firing off questions all to the complete surprise of the business owner or salesman.
Every time I see this, I cringe. While there are people out there who take advantage of consumers, the vast majority of these stories are based on facts gathered from one side only and are aired, not to seek the truth, but to get ratings.
The truth is, these reporters don’t care about the truth; they don’t care about the facts; and they don’t care about your business. All they care about are ratings and how to get to that next network job in the bigger market.
You will have unhappy customers and some of them will be tempted to go to the media. Therefore, you, and your employees, must be prepared to handle the invasion. Read these rules and use them to establish your own Media Preparedness Plan.
Remember while reading this article and formulating your plan, there are two phases you will be preparing for: 1) dealing with the media and the immediate public relations impact a story might have; and, 2) preparing for and protecting yourself from any lawsuit that might result.
Rule 1: Be Prepared
Have your Media Preparedness Plan ready. Do not wait until you get that call or someone comes knocking on your door. You need to know in advance what you and your organization are going to do. You never know when this could happen. Read these rules, make your Media Preparedness Plan and make sure that everyone in your organization knows what they are to do.
Rule 2: Have One Spokesperson
Make sure that everyone in your organization knows who the one person is speaking on behalf of your organization. Make sure this person is prepared and knows the plan inside and out. This is an essential element. You don’t want multiple people sending out multiple messages. This would be a ripe opportunity for a reporter to use even slightly inconsistent comments to his or her advantage.
Rule 3: Don’t Be an Ostrich
If you are contacted by the media, it is okay to take a message and tell them you will call them back, but make sure you ask what their deadline is. If you are going to make a statement, you want to make sure you get it to them in a timely manner.
Rule 4: Nothing is Off the Record!
No matter what they say, you must assume that nothing is off the record. Their job is to get quotes and get stories. If there is something that you think is important enough to be off the record; it’s important enough to keep to yourself!
Rule 5: Call Your Counsel!
If you have an attorney who is experienced in handling these kinds of cases it is advisable to give them a call. Their experience and objectivity can be enormously beneficial in emotionally charged situations such as these. Remember, if the media comes calling, you not only have to deal with them, but the allegations they will be heaving at you, most likely about how you or your staff acted unprofessionally. These are never easy allegations to hear and having an objective counsel to help you navigate this mind field can be incredibly helpful.
Additionally, there are protections that can be afforded from privileges that attach to the attorney-client relationship and attorney work-product that can be extremely beneficial should your current situation turn into a lawsuit someday.
Rule 6: Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You.
You will never hear as a lead in for the evening news: “Tonight, live at 5! Our exclusive story of how one local company did exactly what they were supposed to do and acted as a shining example of professionalism and a local family was just difficult and impossible to please.” The story is you messing up, and those are the facts that they are trying to gather. They will edit tape, twist words and flat out make things up to get the story they want. So just be aware that they will attempt to use anything you say to make their story the way they want it.
Rule 7: Prepare a Statement, No Live Interviews.
It is easy to read this rule and follow its recommendation to prepare a statement and not provide live interviews. However, the tricky part is the statement itself.
There is no single right answer on what to say. Every case and every circumstance is different. When in doubt, default to Rule 5!
The spectrum of what you could say runs from: “Out of respect for the family, we are unable to make any comment at this time” (this gives you an out where you can appear considerate and having discretion), to a full disclosure and explanation of the facts and circumstances.
I tend to be more conservative and recommend that more is less. However, there are circumstances where a brief statement highlighted by a few key facts can be beneficial.
You need to carefully consider what you are going to say, do your best to make sure it can’t be twisted against you and make sure it won’t compromise you should the matter turn into litigation. Also, remember that at the time you prepare the statement, you may not have all the facts and making a statement that is factually incorrect, even if done so with all intent to be honest, can be devastating.
A few other pointers to remember: never attack the family; it will always make you look bad. Remember, a situation where a company did right and the family was the bad actors will never make a story. And just never simply say, “No comment.” It looks as if you really are trying to hide something.
Rule 8: It’s Okay to Say “No, thank you.”
There are certain areas you need to be firm on. Do not let them film on your premises. You do not want to put the other families you serve and your employees in the line of fire. Tell them they are more than free to take any video they need from public areas such as sidewalks or roads. You can also ask them to refrain from taping any other families or services or names on markers out of respect for them. Most of the time, they will abide by this.
Do not let them snoop around or talk to other employees or families. You can restrict this by limiting access.
Do not allow them access to your files or records.
Rule 9: Be Ready for Other Families You Serve to Come Calling
Whether you are a funeral home, a cemetery or a crematory, if your business is on the news, you will have the families you have served in the past calling and stopping in inquiring about whether whatever was on the local news happened to them too.
Like it or not, the presumption will be made; because it happened once, it will happen again, or already has. So while you cannot talk to other families about the family or circumstances involved in the news report, you can take the opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the family that has called or come in to inquire.
I recommend to my clients a response like:
I’m sorry, but out of respect for the privacy of that family, I can’t discuss the services we have provided them. (See how I avoided saying “incident” or “situation”) But I would be more than happy to address any of the questions or concerns you have about the services we have provided to your family.
This is an opportunity to educate and further develop the relationship you have with that family. Often times after these meetings, the families are more comfortable with their decision to come to your facility, because they know you have nothing to hide about how you handled their loved one and are willing to take the time to sit down and discuss it with them. This, in turn, can lead to a continuing relationship with that family and can also help your public image, as often those family members will go into the community and share their experience with your facility.
Rule 10: Be Patient, This Too Shall Pass
It is just an unfair fact that the media has the power and there is very little you can do once they decide to go with a particular angle on a story. You just need to be patient, stick to your plan and do the best you can to address the concerns of the other families that come to you.
I have seen these types of stories many times and almost every time, as long as it is handled correctly, my clients end up feeling that, in the end, there wasn’t as much impact on their business as they feared. FBA
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Chris Farmer is General Counsel for the Cremation Association of North America and Of Counsel at Sheehy, Ware and Pappas where he is a member of the firm’s Death Care Law, labor and employment, commercial litigation, and general litigation sections. He was formerly Corporate Litigation Counsel for Service Corporation International where he handled its litigation internationally.
