Media Training Interview Prep In An Era Of No Privacy 4 Steps To Avoid Becoming Media Roadkill

Writen by Lou Hampton

"Privacy?There is no privacy. Get over it!" That comment just a few years ago by Scott McNeely, then CEO of Sun Microsystems, stated a condition that most people did not want to hear. A truth they did not want to believe. And a situation most people refused to deal with.

But in the ensuing years it has become increasingly harder for people to keep their heads in the sand, especially if you are about to undergo media training for an interview with any investigative journalist. You should assume the reporter has details of your private life as well as your private business dealings. This is especially true if the issue your are being interviewed about has been involved in any civil or criminal litigation.

It used to be that only shows like 60 Minutes, 20/20, or Dateline, or select print journalists (Robert Woodward, and the late Jack Anderson, for example) created great discomfort, if not outright panic. on the part of subjects of their investigations. These reporters had the staff resources to do extensive and often time-consuming research to get the goods on an interviewee. They also often had the help of whistleblowers inside an organization to leak them negative information.

That exclusivity has changed. Now the internet has made access to "private" records available, easily and often at little cost. (A Wall Street Journal article, quoting Breit, Drescher & Imprevento PC, gave these figures: credit card transactions-$75; full list of assets-$295; list of brokerage accounts-$350.) It has also made public records easier to access. And practice of disaffected insiders to leak confidential memos and emails seems to continue to gain popularity. With these increased sources of information, even the lone freelancer can now become an investigative reporter with clout.

So how do you identify what issues you need to prepare for during media training?

1. Find out what has already been said about you and your organization in the media. List the concerns and questions you will need to address. Here the internet works to your advantage; search engines make it easy to find this information.
2. If you have already been interviewed on this or a related topic, list your quotes the reporters have used.
3. Identify all reports, studies, internal memos (including emails), etc., that contain comments or recommendations contrary to your current position or that contain inflammatory, threatening, or pejorative words or phrases about the opponents. Even when supposedly said in jest, such language creates fodder for tough questions. And even though they were private, assume that the juiciest will be leaked.
4. List any personal information (personal or business relationships, financial transactions, investments, contributions, memberships, etc.) that might be embarrassing or cause guilt by association.

Now, in conjunction with your media trainer and pubic relations counsel (and legal counsel if the issue is or likely will be litigated), go through the list and determine how you will respond to each issue. The aim is to be able to diffuse the issue so you can maintain your credibility, stay on message, and avoid becoming media roadkill.

Lou Hampton, the Media Training Guru, is president of The Hampton Group, Inc., a Washington, DC firm specializing in media training, speech coaching, and message development. To get our free report, "Staying On Message Using a 400-Year-Old Concept" go to www.hamptongroup.com/prcontact