Oct

21

I've found over my career when involved with matters that garnered news coverage (15 minutes) is that you have to manage the press and use them as your tool to further your agenda. You cannot let them control the dialog or agenda. To that end, press releases and limited information leaks are one of the tools to manage the press. Having an inside shill in the news system is also very helpful to feed the pack and keep them away from ripping out your throat which is the tendency. They are basically lazy and if you provide them with an easy to regurgitate package, they will tend to run with it. Managing public opinion is another matter altogether and it's extremely difficult. Both the news and the public crave simplicity, easy answers, and they follow the first knee jerk.

Andrew Goodwin writes:

The tactic the good journalists used, the limited times I had something, was to call and tell me that they had a story deadline in an hour. The story was to be printed with or without my input and their editor would not relent. Did I wish to make a comment?

That guerilla tactic usually forces unscripted replies. It was taught as basic field craft at Columbia Journalism School when I took classes there.

Having given it some thought, the counter to this maneuver works if you are a repeated source of information. The source should offer to give a scoop at some point if the reporter holds off until he/she can issue a statement. (Then the source has time to carefully prepare statements)

You also want the press to hear indirectly that you keep a favored and hostile list of journalists depending on how their coverage goes.

Nixon figured out how to get the last word when he was under fire during the Watergate reportage. The secret was to hold late evening news conferences that ended just before most people would go to bed. That way the news consumers would shut off their TV's before the hostile commentary could begin. That's a strong tactic still in use today. 


Comments

WordPress database error: [Table './dailyspeculations_com_@002d_dailywordpress/wp_comments' is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed]
SELECT * FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_post_ID = '10713' AND comment_approved = '1' ORDER BY comment_date

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

Archives

Resources & Links

Search