12 tips for executives and middle managers tasked with working with the news media.

1. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
WORKING WITH THE MEDIA
12 FACTSAND TIPSFOR SUCCESS
J. Michael Moore
Marketing and Communications
Goizueta Business School
UPDATED: Oct. 24, 2014

2. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
You should have a relationship with the
media before a crisis.
12 FACTS ANDTIPS FOR SUCCESS
2
3 Because you think it’s a story, doesn’t make it
worthy of acknowledgement or coverage.
1 All media outlets are under-staffed. People
are over-worked and pushed to produce.

3. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL12 FACTS ANDTIPS FOR SUCCESS
Research and prepare. Know the facts. Know
the reporters. Know the public sentiment.
Define your place in the crisis.
5
You may be speaking with the media, but
you’re really talking to the public. Speak
truth. Be human and humble.
6
4 Craft a concise message. Stick to it.
Distribute it on your website and social
media.

4. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
You don’t control the question, but you do
control the answer. Stay with your message.
12 FACTS ANDTIPS FOR SUCCESS
7
It may feel personal, but – most of the time –
it isn’t. Don’t make yourself the story.8
Expect the unexpected. Nonsense questions
aren’t nonsense to the person asking. Put on
your x-ray vision.
9

5. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
Beware follow-up questions. They can
frustrate but always keep composure.
TIPS FOR WORKINGWITHTHEMEDIA
10
11 Appoint a spokesperson. Communicate
always. Over communicate when possible.
12 Coverage in the media never comes out exactly how
you’d like it. Ask for correctionswhen necessary.*

6. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
QUESTIONS?
J. Michael Moore
j.michael.moore@emory.edu
@emorybusiness
http://www.emorybusiness.com

7. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OL
APPENDIX

8. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OLPETRINORESIGNATION
By J. Michael Moore,
AtlantaFalcons.com Managing Editor
Wednesday – 12/12/07, 08:04PM
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Falcons Owner and CEO Arthur Blank used
a visual aid when he spoke with the media Wednesday afternoon
about Bobby Petrino’s abrupt resignation as the team’s head coach after
just 13 games on the sideline.
The owner, speaking in the team meeting room with President and
General Manager Rich McKay, pointed to a list of values hanging on the
wall to his right. Petrino had the board installed at the beginning of his
tenure. It includes motivational words linked directly to football — four
points for four quarters tied together by a one key word at the bottom.

9. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OLPETRINORESIGNATION
By J. Michael Moore,
AtlantaFalcons.com Managing Editor
Wednesday – 12/12/07, 08:04PM
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Falcons Owner and CEO Arthur Blank used
a visual aid when he spoke with the media Wednesday afternoon
about Bobby Petrino’s abrupt resignation as the team’s head coach after
just 13 games on the sideline.
The owner, speaking in the team meeting room with President and
General Manager Rich McKay, pointed to a list of values hanging on the
wall to his right. Petrino had the board installed at the beginning of his
tenure. It includes motivational words linked directly to football — four
points for four quarters tied together by a one key word at the bottom.

10. G O IZU ETA BU SINESS S CHO OLPETRINORESIGNATION
“Finish.”
Thumping his hand on the podium with each point, Blank made it clear
that Petrino did not “finish” what he started with the Falcons. The owner
said the coach showed poor timing in the move and that he assured him
as late as Monday afternoon that he would be the coach of the Falcons
heading into next season.
“I think the best way to describe it is that we feel betrayed and let down,”
Blank said in front of 16 cameras from various news sources and more
than two dozen reporters.