- Be prepared: Find out what the reporter wants to talk about before your interview. Most will give you a general idea, but be prepared for surprise questions. If needed, provide the reporter with any relevant background information before you meet. If possible, learn about the reporter's past work so you have a better understanding of his or her techniques and perspective.
- Anticipate questions: Know what questions are likely to be asked, prepare your responses and thoroughly rehearse your answers.
- Limit your messages: Generally, limit yourself to no more than three key message points. The more information you try to relay during an interview, the more likely you'll confuse the reporter or your audience. By limiting your messages, you'll make sure that your key points are included in the story. If you have too many messages, your most important points could be lost.
- Memorize message points and key soundbites: You don't want to script every answer to potential questions, so focus your preparation on remembering key points that can be articulated in a variety of ways. The goal is for the reporter to truly understand the issue. However, you want your printed quote to be memorable to those who hear or read it. The most effective speakers do this with preconceived soundbites. Soundbites are catchy phrases that people will remember. The idea is to explain your issue in detail to the reporter so that she understands it, but have your soundbite be the clip played on the air.
- Avoid "no comment:" Certainly there may be limited instances in which you have nothing to say to the media, but be very careful. "No comment" to most people is synonymous with "guilty as charged" – it sounds like you're hiding or afraid. Before granting an interview, decide what you can and cannot say. Tell a reporter matter-of-factly when you can't release information – but reassure him or her that you'll provide this information when it is available for public knowledge. Some information is obviously proprietary, but it helps if you can describe why you must withhold certain details.
- Be sympathetic to deadlines: Reporters work on tight schedules, so always try to accommodate them. Ask when they need information from you and always follow through. If you can't grant an interview, be sure to explain why. Being unavailable implies that you are hiding something. If you fail to return a reporter's phone call, if you stall or postpone interviews, or if you ignore requests for information, you may kill your side of what normally would be a balanced, two-sided story. At the same time, be sure you have time to prepare and rehearse before granting an interview. Don't be pushed into an interview without being prepared.
- Watch out for "exclusives": Avoid granting exclusive interviews or special articles. If you do grant an exclusive interview, don't give the same information to other stations or publications. If a reporter develops a story and comes to you for information, respect his or her rights to that story. If in doubt, ask yourself if the story or article is newsworthy enough so that everyone would cover it. If so, don't grant an exclusive. If two reporters seek the same information from you, tell each that the other is working on the story. This should prevent conflict and keep you from being caught in the middle.
- Establish and understand the ground rules before your interview: If you agree to speak "on the record," everything you say in the interview may be quoted and attributed to you. If you speak "not for attribution," you may be quoted, but the quote won't be attributed to you by name or title. If you speak "off the record" or "on background," the reporter will use your information without linking it to you with quotes or attribution.
- Prepare a "Press Packet": A great way to make sure that a reporter has all the relevant information in hand and has accurate quotes from you is to provide a press packet. In the packet, which is typically a folder with inside pockets, include any relevant background information in the form of a fact sheet, your contact information, contact information for other relevant spokespeople, and quotes from you in the form of a press release. Typically, staff will provide you with materials for a press packet.
See boxed text below for more on soundbites. If your soundbite is a good one, the reporter is sure to use it.
More on soundbites (from Spin Works!) A Soundbite is a short pithy, attention-getting quote that communicates the gist of your message. Most TV and radio broadcast "bites" last 8 to 10 seconds. In print, you will probably get one quote that fills up one short paragraph, maybe two if you're lucky. The best bites contain action words, puns, or verbal twists-even a touch of humor. Do not attempt to explain everything in your bite; that is a sound banquet that will be edited down to just one quick quote. Some good examples of soundbites: "The arts are the R and D of culture." (Peter Coyote speaking on behalf of an arts foundation NPR Morning edition, December 12, 2003) "They say Wall Street is whizzing, that stocks are up and the economy is good. It's whizzing all right, on you and me and other Americans that are working harder than ever for less and less." (Jim Hightower, Radio commentator and author) "You don't have to be straight to be in the military, you just have to shoot straight." (Barry Goldwater speaking in support of ending the ban on gays in the military) "We want to be shareholders, not sharecroppers." (Rev. Jesse Jackson, launching a new campaign to place minorities in positions of power in corporations)
On the record or off?
When talking to reporters assume everything you say is "on the record." This means anything you say could appear in quotes and be attributed to you. In other words, reporters never ask "can I quote you on that?" in real life the way they do on TV. If you want to provide information without being directly quoted, it is customary to answer a question with, "off the record I can say…" This means your quote may be used, but it will be not be attributed to you. Instead you may see something like "one citizen who asked not to be identified said…" Finally, you may offer to provide some background on the issue, but you don't feel the information should be quoted. Usually you would do this only with reporters you have a good working relationship with. Unless you know for certain whether a particular reporter can be trusted, it's always best to assume you're speaking "on the record."
