In When the Headline Is You: An Insider’s Guide to Handling the Media, Jeff Ansell writes about how spokespeople must be prepared and proficient in handling media interviews and fielding questions from a reporters. To an outsider it would seem that just simply speaking the truth would be sufficient to building credibility and trust with reports, but history has shown that is rarely the case. As Ansell states, “It requires knowledge, training, and a keen understanding of how reporters write the news.”
Jeff Ansell has seen both sides of this relationship. He originally was an investigative journalist who revealed Nazi war criminals and posed undercover as a drug addict to expose doctors pushing drugs. He went on to form the PR firm Jeff Ansell and Associates where he counseled PG&E Corporation in the Erin Brockovich case and even media-trained White House spokespeople.
Ansell divides When the Headline Is You into seven sections in a manner that allows the reader to easily jump from chapter to chapter and extract the practical information that is relevant to them at the time. This style, in addition to a complete media toolkit with templates and worksheets, contextual sidebars and actual news stories and interview transcripts makes this book an invaluable resource that can be returned to over and over again.
In chapter one, Ansell provides an overview of how news is made, reported and interpreted. He identifies the key component, conflict, which makes news stories interesting and valuable to reporters. As the infamous saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Chapter two teaches the reader about how to manage the initial encounter with a journalist, how to avoid common interview traps and lastly how to align the organization’s image with positive values. It is important to be friendly with reporters, be aware of how you come across and to be sure to ask the reporter questions to determine their intentions. Chapter three explains the key principles for building trust with reporters and provides a simple, yet powerful formula, for crafting bad news messages. In short, be accessible, be amongst those most upset, and always know that facts will never win over emotion.
In chapter four, Ansell looks at the different types of media messages and lays out his template for creating compelling responses. He explains that simple words and short sentences reduce the risk of confusion, they sound sincere and they ensure you sound confident and assured. Chapter five discusses successful public speaking techniques in order to optimize message delivery. These techniques include being aware of body language, practicing several times and always remembering to take a breath and relax if feeling stressed. In chapter six, the reader is exposed to step by step strategies for dealing with difficult situations like surprise encounters. Ansell reiterates that it is always important to remain on message, but also to be heartfelt and genuine when owning up to mistakes. Lastly, in chapter seven, Ansell wraps up his book by presenting specific techniques for answering twenty of the most damaging questions that spokespeople commonly encounter.
I found this book to be immensely valuable. It quickly and clearly lays out specific techniques for handling common pitfalls and situations that every crisis communicator will encounter. This book is absolutely appropriate as supplemental reading for crisis communication courses and I would strongly recommend that it hold a position on every PR professional’s shelf.
David Coggins
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Jeff Ansell has seen both sides of this relationship. He originally was an investigative journalist who revealed Nazi war criminals and posed undercover as a drug addict to expose doctors pushing drugs. He went on to form the PR firm Jeff Ansell and Associates where he counseled PG&E Corporation in the Erin Brockovich case and even media-trained White House spokespeople.
Ansell divides When the Headline Is You into seven sections in a manner that allows the reader to easily jump from chapter to chapter and extract the practical information that is relevant to them at the time. This style, in addition to a complete media toolkit with templates and worksheets, contextual sidebars and actual news stories and interview transcripts makes this book an invaluable resource that can be returned to over and over again.
In chapter one, Ansell provides an overview of how news is made, reported and interpreted. He identifies the key component, conflict, which makes news stories interesting and valuable to reporters. As the infamous saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Chapter two teaches the reader about how to manage the initial encounter with a journalist, how to avoid common interview traps and lastly how to align the organization’s image with positive values. It is important to be friendly with reporters, be aware of how you come across and to be sure to ask the reporter questions to determine their intentions. Chapter three explains the key principles for building trust with reporters and provides a simple, yet powerful formula, for crafting bad news messages. In short, be accessible, be amongst those most upset, and always know that facts will never win over emotion.
In chapter four, Ansell looks at the different types of media messages and lays out his template for creating compelling responses. He explains that simple words and short sentences reduce the risk of confusion, they sound sincere and they ensure you sound confident and assured. Chapter five discusses successful public speaking techniques in order to optimize message delivery. These techniques include being aware of body language, practicing several times and always remembering to take a breath and relax if feeling stressed. In chapter six, the reader is exposed to step by step strategies for dealing with difficult situations like surprise encounters. Ansell reiterates that it is always important to remain on message, but also to be heartfelt and genuine when owning up to mistakes. Lastly, in chapter seven, Ansell wraps up his book by presenting specific techniques for answering twenty of the most damaging questions that spokespeople commonly encounter.
I found this book to be immensely valuable. It quickly and clearly lays out specific techniques for handling common pitfalls and situations that every crisis communicator will encounter. This book is absolutely appropriate as supplemental reading for crisis communication courses and I would strongly recommend that it hold a position on every PR professional’s shelf.
David Coggins
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill