How to Talk to the Media
Hugo, the producer of Firewall, asked me to start writing up tips on different things that I do. He actually meant side hustles. But I took it in a different direction for my first post. I’m focusing on a topic that relates to my day job: working with the media. If your job involves the media, I hope this post is useful. You can also listen to this week’s Firewall where I discuss these 10 points a little more in depth.
Have real things to say to reporters. Don’t bullshit them. 99% of the time, the best spin is no spin. A lot of PR professionals claim the opposite – that their narrative and spin is so brilliant that they can fool everyone all of the time. That’s purely self serving for them and almost never true. Candor is best.
Reporters operate on a tight timeframe. You can’t slow the process down with lawyers and comms staffers and everyone who wants to cover their ass before you do the call. The more red tape you add to the process, the less reporters will want to talk to you (and talking to reporters may not be a priority for you anyway but it is for us; for example, when we created Tusk Venture Partners, we had the advantage of creating a new niche in venture capital – a fund that solves its portfolio companies’ regulatory issues – but because nothing like it existed before, we had to create the market for it; since we didn’t have dollars to put behind paid advertising or marketing, it all had to come through earned media and that means working well with reporters).
Reporters will respect being off the record but you need to be really clear you’re off the record. I learned this the hard way in 2021. I was on the phone with Ben Smith, who was then a columnist for the Times. I thought we were off the record. He thought we were on the record. We were talking about the Andrew Yang mayoral campaign. I called Andrew an empty vessel, meaning that if we won, he wouldn’t come to City Hall encumbered with the positions and needs of dozens of different special interests. Ben interpreted it differently, used it on the record and it was a mess. I’m sure Ben genuinely believed we were on the record but ever since, even if I know a reporter well, I clarify that I’m off the record repeatedly.
Don’t try to sound too smart. Don’t speak in jargon. Use real English that people can understand.
If reporters ask a question or they ask if you’ve heard about something and you don’t know, you don’t know. That’s fine. It’s good to be helpful but you don’t have to do their jobs for them and you certainly shouldn’t just make stuff up. And once you establish a baseline with reporters that you’re transparent and candid, if you say you don’t know something, they’ll accept that and move on (and if you want to be helpful, you can try to connect them to someone who does).
Sometimes you need to just talk to a reporter and help them out without any tangible benefit to you, meaning you might not be quoted, even if you want to be. That’s how it goes sometimes. If you keep giving a reporter lots of time and they never repay the favor, then it’s like any bad relationship. But until then, understand that it’s mainly transactional but not completely.
For tv, producers like guests they can rely on. Be on time (or early) for the set. Be prepared. Do not be a pain in the ass. The easier they think you are to deal with, the more opportunities you’ll get. Keep in mind, the hosts are important and bantering with them well is helpful but the producers are really important.
For podcasts especially, be transparent. Be open. Be vulnerable. That’s how you connect with the host and the audience. Also, revealing your weaknesses is a strength. Additionally, podcasts can form a unique bond between the listener and the guest/ host. AOC very intelligently went on every single podcast she could during her first campaign because she understood this and it helped.
If you’re holding a press conference or speaking at an event and taking questions, treat the questioner like a normal human being. Don’t patronize them by being overly friendly or empathic and don’t treat them like the enemy (if someone asks you a hostile question and your response is hostile, they’ve already won).
Recognize that you’re building relationships and most reporters, in my experience, are decent human beings. Some are dishonest. Some will only take and never give. Once you realize that about a reporter, cut them off. But in general, while the media polls about as well as ambulance chasers, dentists and used car salesmen, most of them aren’t that bad.