Tips for Working With the Media

Do your homework

• keep up with your topics
• read the publication
• watch the program for which you will be interviewed

Don't take cold calls

• get information and call back within the reporter's deadline.

Whether to interview:

• Don't do an interview outside of your range of knowledge.
• Don't do an interview if you haven't rehearsed.

Preparing for the interview:

• Create 3 to 5 talking points.
• Anticipate the questions, and practice the answers.
• Practice being brief, think "sound bites". Figure on less than 30 seconds for radio/television.
• Prepare a fact sheet on your topic and fax it to the reporter before your interview, alerting the reporter to complicated but important points.
• Never go off the record. There is no such thing.

The interview:

• State your key talking points during the interview.
• Use transitional bridges to keep your message on track:
  • "What's important here is"
  • "The bottom line is"
  • "The real issue is"
  • "Let me explain something"
  • "Let's get back to the data"
  • "That's a good question, but what is really important is..."
  • "I'd like to make this point before I continue."
  • "Let me give you the latest information on…that is really interesting."
• Be concise in your responses to prevent being misquoted.
  • Don't volunteer negatives.
  • Don't repeat inaccurate information.
  • Don't speculate or answer hypotheticals.
  • Don't be afraid to say "I don't know."
• Avoid jargon.
• If being quoted, request to have quotes read back to you.
• Correct misinformation.