Last week, we discussed how to decline and end an interview. In this, the concluding installment, let's talk about how to handle the interview process.

Before the Interview

Try to establish and maintain a good working relationship with the media before an emergency brings you together. Whenever possible, try to educate reporters about the fundamentals of your industry. Help them understand how things work.

Review your media relations plan carefully from time to time and especially when an emergency occurs. Know what you intend to do and say when reporters arrive.

Keep your priorities straight. Remember that your primary responsibility is to handle the emergency. Interviews are a secondary concern. But they are still important. Your community will want and need information about the incident.

Never try to push the media away. At the very least give reporters the name of someone who might be able to help them.

Once you have agreed to an interview, you have a say as to where it is held. If safety is a concern or if activity in the background reflects badly on the company for some reason, you may gently but firmly guide the reporter to another location nearby. Give a plausible reason for doing so. If at any point you decide not to comment, give a reason why you cannot or will not respond.

During the Interview

Here are some tips for handling interviews:

• Be prepared for odd or "dumb" questions. Reporters know little or nothing about your business.
• Answer questions clearly and patiently, with as little technical jargon as possible.
• Talk about the present and what you are doing right now to bring the situation under control. Don't talk about what your company might do in the future or what it did in response to previous incidents.
• If you don't know the answer to a question, say so. Do not guess or speculate. If possible, promise to get the information for the reporter or suggest the name of someone who can.
• Never discuss the exact cause of an accident, even if you think you know what it is. Explain that an investigation will pinpoint the reason for the accident, and that it would be premature to speculate as to cause.
• Do not discuss who may have been at fault in an accident. Reporters will try to determine very early who is to blame, but you should not take the bait. Point out that it would be inappropriate to speculate until the investigation is complete.
• Avoid colorful descriptions such as "huge explosion" or "massive gas cloud." Also avoid emotionally charged words such as "disaster" or "catastrophe." If lives have been lost, however, it is entirely appropriate to refer to the incident as a tragedy, because that is exactly what it is.
• Do not give out names or conditions of victims. Only hospitals and law enforcement officers should do this, and then only if the families have been notified. Once deaths have been confirmed, you should refer to them as fatalities.
• Do not repeat hearsay, even if the information comes from a reliable source. If the information turns out to be wrong, you will be blamed for giving it out.
• Assume that everything you say and do is being recorded. Do not try to go "off the record." If you don't want to see it on television, then don't say it.
• Avoid answering hypothetical questions. Such questions make a story sound more sensational or controversial than it already is.
• Avoid giving personal opinions about anything. Don't forget that when you are being interviewed as a company representative, you are your company and anything you say will be taken as your company's official position.
• Do not drink, smoke, or chew anything during the interview.
• Avoid making jokes or clever remarks during an interview. Cocky or insolent remarks are unprofessional and are especially inappropriate when injuries are involved.

Above all, treat reporters with courtesy and respect, regardless of how they seem to be treating you. Remember that your community is watching, and you may be the only picture of your company your community has ever seen. Make it a good one!

After the Interview

Keep a record of the names and affiliations of the reporters who interview you. This information is extremely valuable to your home office. Keep in close touch with your company headquarters and keep your supervisor briefed on who contacted you and why.

If possible, arrange to videotape television newscasts and clip newspaper stories about the incident. At the very least, monitor local radio and television stations to determine what they are saying about you and the incident.

If a story contains factual errors, you or someone else in your company should contact the appropriate station or newspaper to provide the correct information. Do not complain about the "tone" or "slant" of a story and never ask for a retraction.

In the rare cases where coverage is heavy-handed or unfair, wait a day or two before contacting the offending news organization. Suggest a meeting where you can talk face to face. Take documentation of the facts and the story. Diplomatically point out that your company works very hard to be a good corporate citizen, and express your puzzlement over the seemingly negative feel of the story. Ask how you can be of help to the reporter in the future.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that a reporter's real job is to attract and hold an audience, without which his employer would go out of business. With only the rarest of exceptions, reporters are not out to "get" you or your company. They are out to get a story, of which you are but a part. Reporters typically are not thinking about the effects of their stories on an individual.

In the world of the reporter, a story that is controversial, sensational, sexy, violent or emotional is far more compelling than a story about a company donating parkland to the city. This is why parkland stories are buried in the newscast, and explosion stories are the lead.

Reporters are not bad people. They just have a job to do, just like you and me. Keeping this in mind and being prepared for what reporters throw at you should enable you to handle the media effectively when crises occur.

HOME SAFETY

Pre-Holiday Safety Checklist

By Catherine Jones

Share this checklist with your employees as they prepare their homes for the holidays.

• Test your home's multipurpose fire extinguisher.
• Test the batteries in your smoke alarm.
• Put all flammable liquids in a safe container outside the home.
• Clear clutter out of escape routes from your home.
• If toddlers will be visiting, install safety gates at the tops and bottoms of stairs.
• Check throw rugs for non-slip backings.
• Put nightlights in hallways.
• Prevent fall hazards by installing window guards on high windows (be sure they have emergency release mechanisms).
• Test ground fault circuit interrupters, indoors and outdoors.

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