Three Secrets That Make Journalists Better At PR

How To Deal With Media Scandals, Effectively

What do you do when a journalist threatens to expose your skeletons? How do you handle career-threatening questions from the media? How do you ensure that any form of mudslinging doesn’t stick on you?

Well, it depends on how innocent or guilty you are. Being honest with yourself is the first and best step to take. If you are guilty, you need to start by admitting that you are in deep shit because you are full of shit. This admission prepares your mind to take rational action. If you remain in denial, you will end up caught in a scandal.

The second step is to immediately get yourself a public relations specialist who knows everything there is to know about the media industry. Most leaders in business, government and religion often make the mistake of rushing to their lawyers for defense against the media. They think that newspapers are a court of law. They have no idea that powerful journalists work on facts (gathered) and they do not hesitate to prosecute a public figure in the court of public opinion.

While approaching your lawyers can work in some situations, it mostly falls flat in the faces of the scandal evaders. I’ve often watched big names rushing to obtain restraining orders against the publication of certain stories. Trust me, it hardly ever works. Courts respect members of the Fourth Estate. The judge will quickly examine the evidence in possession of the newspaper, and based on that, he or she will make a ruling, usually not in your favour.

As stated in an earlier post, there are hunter journalists and fisher journalists. The difference between the two has to do with the evidence obtained against the scandal target. If there is concrete evidence against you, it doesn’t matter if you hire every law firm in the country; they will not assist you. Scandal reporting is a territory only meant for the feet of public relations experts with experience in the media. If you are already guilty, you simply need someone who has the mind power to spin things in your favour, in as little time as possible. Such a person must have the sharp mind to spot the difference a hunting spree and a fishing expedition.

I remember about a year ago, I was hired as a media consultant to assist a particular head of department (HOD) facing the possible publication of a career-ending scandal. The HOD had received scathing questions from one of the respected newspapers in the country. I looked at the questions sent to the HOD and started laughing. Needless to say, the HOD was in panic mode. He had hired me via the help of a friend of his who knew that I had been a professional news writer and editor for a combined period of 15 years. He knew that I had spent about a decade of those years within the ambits of a newsroom. I was therefore familiar with media tactics, especially when it came to urgent cases.

“He is the Rambo of the media game. If this guy can’t help you, I don’t know who will,” said the HOD’s friend, when introducing me to him.

“I hope you brought all that Rambo power with you. I’m in trouble here, and I’m afraid my reputation will be damaged if this story sees the light of day,” he said.

In all fairness, our work does not come with any guarantees. We only do our best, and we are honest all the time. We tell you immediately when we can clearly see that no amount of spinning will work in your favour. Fortunately for me, in the HOD’s case, I was confident I was going to kick some corrupt journalist’s ass, Rambo-style.

As soon as I glanced over the questions, I knew this was a fishing expedition. The HOD had planned on not answering the questions. But from my experience, I could tell that silence would give the journalist an opportunity to go to print based on the HOD’s silence. I immediately started answering the questions, one by one, while laughing my ass off during the 30-minute process. I could tell that the questions were coming from a corrupt journalist. I could also tell that this corrupt journalist was not looking for money from the HOD, but was working for someone who had already paid him off to destroy the HOD’s reputation, based on unsubstantiated claims.

Luckily, I know a corrupt fisherman when I see one. I could tell that the journalist was desperate. He was not a hunter. He had nothing on the HOD. As a result, my client was home free. But the same cannot be said about many scandalised public figures who rush to speak when they should be silent or those who become silent when they should speak.

“This story is now dead,” I told the HOD as I took him through the answers. I knew that the fisherman was going home empty-handed. Indeed, weeks passed, and there was no story in the newspaper. Months passed, and no story in the paper. My client was so happy with my work he brought a few private clients my way.

Three Reasons Journos Are Better

Now, there are three reasons why it is better to use experienced journalists in tough PR situations. Besides the fact that we have been in a newsroom, our methods simply differ from PR companies that still rely on sending out press releases that tend to backfire. Experienced journalists have spent years handling press releases from communication companies. They know what works and what doesn’t. The difference between a journalist and a professional communication officer is that the latter usually specialises in promoting ideas and campaigns, which is not a bad thing. However, they usually don’t have the know-how on dealing with media scandals. We’ve watched them try, and at the end, we’ve watched their clients cry.

Scandals are a test of the target’s mind. They are a test of your thinking capacity and in cases where the story is out, a test of your tenacity. If your mind is weak, you will be destroyed. But if your mind is strong, you will emerge stronger.

Below are the three advantages that give journalists a better chance at winning spin wars as opposed to communication officials. These advantages are based on how journalists approach PR, or emergency media consultancy:

·         Anonymity is magnanimity

·         Privacy prevents stagnancy

·         “Big boys move in silence and violence”

Point 1: As I alluded earlier, the media game is not a judicial game. Yes, when it comes to legal cases, it is best to flex your legal muscles by publicly announcing the name of your top lawyer or top legal firm. This will definitely intimidate your opponents. However, when it comes to the media game, the more anonymous your consultants are, the more magnanimous you come back is. Journalists are not threatened by big names. They are attracted to them. The best way to beat them at their game is to hire one of their own to consult on a situation without them knowing about it. If you reveal your consultants, you run the danger of the journalist running an article about your consultant owing Eskom a hefty bill, or something that has to do with unpaid papgeld somewhere in Moletji. This goes back to the issue of Angelo Agrizzi burning his fingers trying to fight the media.

Point 2: Keeping your media consultants private also helps with the prevention of leaks. The more your employees, junior staff, or even business partners, know about your private consultant the easier it is for your enemies to defeat you. From my experience, the best media sources are found within the circumference of the scandal target. Our motto has always been “The best sources are the closest.” Sharing your next move with everybody can result in counter moves being made against you. You cannot afford to have open meetings with media consultants. You can’t even afford to hold meetings at restaurants or hotels. I remember back in our day as feisty journalists, we had waiters and waitresses who were our media sources at within top restaurants around Nelspruit. How else do you think we knew who met who, where, when and how many times? Since tapping is illegal, journalists do not tap people’s phones or cars, or houses. We get sources everywhere, which is not illegal. Hence, when working with clients, I prefer complete privacy.

Point 3: When Cassper Nyovest is about to host another Fill-Up event, he depends on noise to make the campaign a success. Whenever the African National Congress is facing elections, the top leaders need to make as much noise as possible about the services their government deployees have been delivering. Even delivering a mere four-roomed house requires their office to send out dozens of press releases and invitations for coverage. It might look and sound funny, but elections depend on noise. However, media consulting is different, especially when it is based on an emergency. In any emergency there is no time to make noise; it is only time to make moves. You need to make your enemies believe they are winning while your private team is busy spinning. When cornered, you simply request and confirm the 48-hour turn-around time before a story is published. You guarantee them, in writing, that you will be responding before the end of 48 hours. They have no choice but to wait when the request is clear. Then you go silent, until you emerge with a bomb, right on deadline. The farts in that newsroom!!! From that day on, journalists will respect you, knowing you are not a ball they can play with. I’ve seen this with my own eyes, both as a journalist and as a media consultant. That is why when it comes to spinning, I prefer to work behind the scenes, without the enemy knowing who is in charge of the game.

There is a fourth reason why privately hired journalists are better, but I am not able to share it on this public platform. This reason is only reserved for clients. As stated earlier, there is no denying that communication companies do a great job at promoting campaigns and events. However, when the shit hits the fan, you need a Rambo in your team.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: Corruption is a psychological disease. Until our minds are transformed, our society will continue to be corrupt to the bone. For that reason alone, we desperately need a taste of Mind Power Journalism - the kind of journalism that investigates psychological (internal) corruption, as opposed to material (external) corruption. For, a man is corrupt in his mind before he is corrupt in the world.

Regards,

Kgoshii Lerabela

Son of Detani Mulli

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[Kgoshii Lerabela is a Seasoned Journalist, A Public Relations Specialist, An Author, Publisher, Public Speaker, Media Trainer and Leader of the Network for Independent Street Political Analysts (NISPA). He is based in Mpumalanga, South Africa.]