Posts Tagged ‘Arizona’

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Media Relations: Good Morning Arizona Interviews Our Client: See Steve’s Suit

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

Media Relations: Good Morning Arizona Interviews Our Client: See Steve’s Clothes

This is our client Steve.

See Steve’s Jacket:  I’ve seen TV guests wear jeans and polo shirts. Some appearances may justify such clothes. But Steve was discussing a very serious subject. This was not a moment to go without the jacket. Steve is on set, when TV anchors typically where jackets. So Steve doesn’t look underdressed. A less serious topic may lend itself to a sports coat without a tie.

See Steve’s Shirt:  He wore a mostly solid, blue shirt. Shirts with bold stripes don’t tend to look good on TV. Blue is a good color for most people.

See Steve’s Tie: I sometimes wore ties on TV that added nothing to my look. Steve’s yellow tie pops but doesn’t distract.

See Where Steve Looks:  He looks at the anchors. This is a conversation. Don’t try to find the correct camera and look into the lens.

See Steve’s Hands:  Using your hands when speaking is engaging. Do it but do it without directing traffic. When Steve listened to questions, his hands were not crossed, which symbolizes tension to some people. And Steve isn’t holding notes. Know your subject well enough without needing reminders.

See How Steve Sits:  Steve positions himself toward the anchors. I’ve seen guests position themselves toward the camera, offering us a view no one wants to see.

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Why The Media Gets Hot And Bothered Over Weather

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

Why The Media Gets Hot And Bothered Over Weather

When rain recently persuaded me to switch on my windshield wipers, I had forgotten how weather often impacted my life.

Reading this Tweet reminded me:  “Love that taking pictures of wet concrete constitutes news in Phoenix today.

Weather and I have often danced together in the rain, from the hurricanes I covered in North Carolina to standing in a strong Phoenix downpour because it made for a much better live shot.

Covering flooding several days straight in a small Arizona town showed my new co-workers when I started at a Phoenix television station the depth of my creativity for live shots and storytelling.

Weather persuaded me to perform an epic-long live shot as I walked from the very front to the very back of a mobile home, showing damage.

Weather led me, again in the cause for creativity, to walk across a bridge on live TV while traffic passed and snow fell.

Weather ruined a good pair of boots as I stood in knee-high water for a live shot from a flooded apartment parking lot.

After weeks of studying a political race and arriving at election headquarters, weather erased all, sent me to damage and landed me as the lead.

Weather, or a lack of it, led me to call a producer and explain the damage didn’t warrant a story. She ignored my advice and assigned me not one but two reports.

Potential weather sent me to the outskirts of town to cover two stories on snow that never arrived.

Weather that had passed led me to splash my foot in a puddle on TV, later forcing me to realize never again to deliver such a stupid live shot.

We can muddy the waters with philosophy, but broadcast media cover the weather first and foremost because it typically translates into top-notch ratings. The problem is too many TV stations don’t decipher between legitimate storms and a few swaying trees and often insist on drenching us with coverage no matter how many snowflakes settle on the ground. This is similar to the embarrassing relative who is loud and obnoxious no matter if he is in front of a few family members at home or whether he is in public where people stand and stare. He has no filter.

Kansas

“Weather is a huge part of news wherever you are located,” a Kansas photojournalist told me. “Tornadoes, heat, rain or lack of rain. To me, it’s the same by comparison. Yes, watched by viewers. Gets ratings for sure. They played the same piece on tornadoes four times here and when weather here happens, every reporter is on it.

Chicago

“Like the world is coming to an end,” said a former Chicago TV news supervisor when I asked him about coverage in his area.

California

“As for our weather coverage, we definitely focus on severe weather more than you might think for a place that gets a decent amount of rain,” said a former Phoenix reporter now in The Golden State. “But they don’t go nuts for a few drops like some folks at [my former station].

Michigan

I asked a Michigan photojournalist, “Do Michigan stations over cover the weather?” “Yes” is his final answer.

Washington

A former Phoenix reporter now further north told me, “Not quite as aggressive. But when it snows, we do go bat s—t crazy.”

Phoenix

“It’s about the same. [My station] is less obnoxious,” told me a Phoenix reporter who has worked at more than one station in the market.

TV stations cover so much weather, people often advise reporters not to include their awesome weather live shots on their resume tapes. Most reporters have an awesome weather live shot and it won’t usually help distinguish them from the other candidates for a job opening. (I included one anyway. It was really awesome!)

The morning that reminded me of all this, the FOX, NBC and CBS stations each led their noon newscasts with weather, when their live shots showed it was no longer raining.

FOX, my former station, called the morning’s rain a “quick and intense downpour.” Their coverage included a reporter’s live shot, video from a department of transportation camera, additional video of a freeway and a report from the weather forecaster.

The NBC station displayed toward the bottom of the screen a banner “Summer Storms” and checked in with its weather person.

The CBS station took us to a live reporter, where the reporter said there was still a “bit of overcast.” Their banner read “Valley Rain” and also took us to their weather forecaster.

The next time you search for an umbrella and worry how the rain impacts your hair and clothes, remember how rain and its cousins of precipitation make some people go “bat s—t crazy.”

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Politics And Media Relations: Was Romney A Ramblin’ Man?

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

After the U.S. Supreme Court released its ruling on Arizona’s SB1070, some members of the media complained presidential candidate Mitt Romney wasn’t staking a clear position about the decision. Watch this interaction between CNN and a Romney representative. Romney’s supporters may chalk up this criticism to what they consider to be a never-satisfied liberal media. His detractors may argue he is trying to walk a tightrope:  He doesn’t want to lose the support of Tea Party members or Latino voters especially in battleground states.

However you feel about how Romney’s campaign handled the issue, my advice is this to politicians and public figures:  Be decisive.  Clearly reveal your opinion. Don’t muddy the waters. Let the media question your position. But don’t let the media portray you as someone not taking a position. Don’t let journalists question your resolve.

We knew the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling was coming. In cases such as this, those responsible for crafting statements have time to prepare and strategize for various scenarios. Don’t be caught off guard. You can try to offer statements offering you loopholes and escape hatches if the political environment changes. But most members of the media, especially those who pride themselves on getting straight answers, are well-trained to spot non-answers. Critics blasted John Kerry, during his presidential campaign, for what they considered confusing and unclear statements about the Iraq war. You can fool some media, who will simply air or print statements without much analysis. But particularly in today’s environment of partisan journalists and talk show hosts, you’re gamblin’ if you start ramblin’ with weak words.

Don’t be the bait. Take a stand. Let your critics take issue with your opinion. Don’t let them argue you didn’t offer one.

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SB1070: How The Media Faired Under A Full-Court Press Of Pressure

Monday, June 25th, 2012

SB1070: How The Media Faired Under A Full-Court Press Of Pressure

A few months after arriving as a TV reporter in Phoenix, I was working the nightshift when the U.S. Supreme Court announced in the evening its decision on Bush v. Gore. Someone assigned me to do a newsroom live shot explaining one of the country’s biggest judicial decisions ever. I’m proud of my education, but I am not a legal scholar. I spent the first few months at the station covering crime and weather. My prior assignments there involved stories such as chasing dust storms or pointing live on TV to trees swaying in the weather. Those reports did not help prepare me for this story.

Before my live shot, I watched national correspondents discuss the ruling and read the AP wire. I needed to hear their insight to ensure I said something logical when I hit the air with my own assessment. I learned this:  The experts on the national level were even struggling to properly discern the court’s ruling on such short notice.

I once remember watching a reporter on national television fumbling through a court’s decision in her hands, trying to report its meaning before anyone gave her a chance to significantly look through it. The problem is this:  When the U.S. Supreme Court releases a landmark decision, few media outlets are going to report “The Court has released its decision. We will report that decision once we have a moment to make heads or tails of it.”  Media are eager to report the Court either upheld or struck down the law. And as the Supreme Court’s decision on Arizona’s SB 1070 again reminded us, rulings are not sports games. Decisions don’t always offer a clear winner or loser.

I followed news of the decision on Twitter:

At 7:22am, A Tweet from The Associated Press stated the court “strikes down most of the crackdown on illegal immigrants.”

At 7:26am, the Los Angeles Times referred to it as a “split decision.”

At 7:27am, the BBC Tweeted the Court “upholds some” of the law.

At 7:30am, a local reporter wrote the Court “upholds key portion …”

At 8:30am, a Tweet from The New York Times’ stated “High Court Rejects Part of Arizona Immigration Law.”

You always can quibble with wording. Tweets using words such as “strikes down” and “rejects” probably led some of the law’s critics to believe the Court agreed with them. Tweets using the words “uphold” likely led some of the law’s supporters to assume the Court agreed with them. But overall, credit these media outlets, or in some cases these individual reporters, with realizing under strict deadlines that this decision is not a slam-dunk victory for either side. I’m sure someone can find examples of poor reporting I’m unaware of. But the rush to cover other big stories in the past has left behind bad examples of making factual or misleading mistakes in a quest to make the news first.

In this case, much of the media, in how they initially portrayed the ruling, appear to have made the right decision about the decision.

What do you think of that story’s reporting? Did you see errors I didn’t?

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Journalists Should Follow Their Dreams. And I Mean It!

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Journalists Should Follow Their Dreams. And I Mean It!

 

A fellow reporter introduced us to “his” intern from Arizona State University. The intern walked into a cesspool of cynical people sitting in their seats. As if fathers warning their sons, several people surrounding me warned the intern to re-direct his career path away from broadcast journalism.

When the reporter introduced the intern to me, I told him to “follow his dreams.” The group exploded in laughter. I unintentionally tried to inspire the college student with words said in a deadpan fashion. I portrayed myself as a beaten man giving one last thumbs up before my head disappeared into quicksand. Until the day I left the TV station, co-workers randomly told me to “follow my dreams.”

I genuinely meant, “follow your dreams.” I know firsthand broadcast journalism isn’t always glowing in the glory of Walter Cronkite. Instead of regularly saying thank you for your contributions, some stations simply hope you appreciate being employed. Instead of handing you a company credit card for out-of-town stories, some stations will want you to pay up front and ask you, if you forgot to obtain an itemized receipt, to call the restaurant and request someone to fax the necessary documentation related to your meal. (The restaurant may hesitate to help you because the station required you to give the nice waitress a tip you consider to be low.) While some stations are happy to try to meet your vacation requests, others will ask you to calculate every day off a year in advance. While some stations will congratulate you on a new job and notify the public of your part in the company’s success, other stations will view anyone who leaves as a cousin of Benedict Arnold. While some stations will watch your time with James Bond technology, other stations will define your efforts by quality not quantity. And some stations simply pay better.

Young journalists shouldn’t walk into any job as if they landed on a new planet of shiny, happy, perfect people. But young journalists also should follow their dreams and never let a disgruntled news veteran discourage them. Most of my college classmates in broadcast journalism never tried for their first job after hearing the salary and the small city they might initially live in. I, on the other hand, rented an apartment in North Carolina, drove about an hour each way to work and smiled like a young fool filled with passion.

Follow your dreams. I mean it. And if a station inexplicably takes months to reimburse your out-of-town expenses after you light up the airwaves with a series of awesome live shots, don’t worry. You’ll eventually get your money … I think.

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Media Relations: Reasons You May Want To Pitch Your Story Idea A Different Day

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Media Relations: Reasons You May Want To Pitch Your Story Idea A Different Day

 

No matter how strong your story pitch to the media, you may get pushed aside if there’s:

  • Breaking News:  Local media outlets are machines built to cover breaking news. You might argue your story idea impacts more readers and viewers, but breaking news, even if it involves a small fire in an area you couldn’t find with your GPS, is king. Media outlets will let you know when they first hear of breaking news, when they’re heading that way, when they arrive, when there’s an update, when it’s over and, on the following day, what else you need to know. Trying to weave your client or your business into the news when the media is dashing after breaking news is usually as exasperating as writing your pitch on an old fashioned typewriter.
  • Big Event:  The gigantic story in Phoenix on the day I wrote this was the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Arizona’s SB1070, the contentious immigration law. Media outlets sent journalists to Washington, D.C. Those who didn’t make the trip Tweeted questions about the law to generate discussion. Other journalists covered demonstrations or interviewed experts for insight. On days such as this, the media covers other news, but not as much as normal and they may likely squeeze out your great story idea. The good news:  We’re not talking breaking news here. We’re talking big events most people know are approaching. Keep up with current events and don’t pitch on big news days.
  • Scary And Bizarre News: On the same day Arizona media covered SB1070, the story I heard about second most was teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk. That’s scary and strange. You can’t usually compete with that. It’s not you. It’s the media. Don’t take it personally.
  • Self Promotion:  Once upon a time, TV shows were simply TV shows. Now some media outlets portray TV shows as news. You expect this from entertainment news shows. But, for example, Fox stations might cover local tie-ins to American Idol and ABC stations might cover local tie-ins to Dancing With The Stars. We can debate for days whether these TV shows should truly fall under the category of news. (What’s clear is local TV stations rarely recognize the newsworthiness of a show on a competing station.) The bottom line is this:  On the nights of these shows, the journalist you want covering your story may instead cover a successful, local contestant on a reality program. Consult your TV directory when deciding when to pitch your story.
  • Cute Pictures and Video of Animals:  And the story I heard about third most:  the dog who ended up in the cactus. Most people love animals especially when they’re acting cute or facing adversity. I once watched my former newsroom captivated by the live coverage by a national network of rescue workers in another state trying to rescue a dog from water. And, on another day, when a traffic camera showed us live pictures of a dog trying to safely maneuver through highway traffic, all eyes were glued to the TV screens. Your story idea will live for another day. Follow up!

 

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Crisis Communications: The Fish Must Play A Long-Term Game Plan

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Crisis Communications: The Fish Must Play Long-Term Game Plan

 

I grew up in South Florida and cheer for the Miami Marlins. I haven’t met another Marlins fan here in Arizona. Friends mock the Marlins’ low attendance in the past. I clarify we fans are an exclusive club and only allow in a certain number of people.

The Marlins this baseball season started by pitching lights out in terms of publicity. The team constructed a new stadium, hired new players, changed its name and brought aboard a World Series-winning manager named Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie then made remarks about Fidel Castro leading to demonstrations, his apology and a five-game suspension.

When I conduct media training and the client’s concern is crisis communications, I often infer people at the table are maneuvering on how to contain a brewing fire in the short term. Perhaps a certain event is approaching and the client hopes to endure mostly intact. Perhaps the idea is “If we can only get through these few weeks, the hoopla will blow over.”

When Ozzie returned from his suspension, his Fish swept the Cubs and reports indicated no big protests outside the stadium. But I sense from afar Ozzie and the Marlins are only a strike away from losing further on this controversy. Some fans will never forgive Ozzie. What if ownership sees a steady drop in turnout and revenue? What if sponsors walk off the field?

Ozzie and the Marlins, to steal another baseball cliché, must stay ahead of the pitch. They simply can’t assume they got out of a jam because furious voices calmed down and the sports media discovered new headlines somewhere else. The team must go the distance with this crisis communications and play a long-term game plan. Ozzie must stay humble and remorseful. He must continue to reach out to the community he deeply offended. He should outdo anticipations and continue to make efforts to make this right even when journalists are not calling and protestors are not calling for his job. This is the wrong time to play by the old PR rules, which are say nothing unless asked or forced to.

Crisis communications is not simply taking action when your team is losing in the bottom of the ninth. Crisis communications also is about building a solid, well-conditioned lineup that prevents future jams from repeating themselves.

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Speech To Video

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

Shooting a speech more than an hour and 40 minutes long is a great leg exercise.

 

Shooting video of a speech

Shooting video of a speech

Shooting video of a speech

Shooting video of a speech

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Some journalists are superheroes

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

 

I wore the hat you see in the picture during the Arizona summer of my last year as a TV reporter. While other broadcast journalists found ways to remain fashionable behind the scenes in 115 degrees, I figured all that mattered is I cleared my face of sweat and redness before going on air. The hat combined with slacks and a dress shirt likely looked ridiculous. But some people labeled me with a nickname playing off Indiana Jones. The name did not offend me. It made the newsroom laugh. The nickname was in good fun and the hat was the closest I came to dressing as a hero while working as a journalist.

Last night I watched the movie The Green Hornet, a character I was mostly unfamiliar with before seeing the film. The Green Hornet is the son of a newspaper publisher. The next day, while Loren and I analyzed the realism of this fine film, something struck me: The Green Hornet is the son of a newspaper publisher. Superman is a newspaper reporter. Spider-Man is a newspaper photographer. Is this simply a coincidence?

I’ve heard references to reporters who can fly, but that was flying in the form of a vulture. No one ever called me a superhero. Have I not considered the connection between the media and super masked men? A former Chicago newsroom assignment editor explained to me the connection with super characters is not a coincidence. He boasts a big comic book collection and describes himself as a big time Superman geek.

“Because how better to know where crime and criminals are then to be working for the place that reports in that stuff,” he texted me. “All great superheroes either work for a media outlet or they’re filthy rich billionaires. See Batman, Green Arrow or Iron Man.”

I’m not clear if some superheroes are actually passionate about journalism or simply see it as a convenient career to gather the latest crime reports.

“My guess would be the latter,” texted the former Windy City newsman.

In today’s world, superheroes wouldn’t need to report the news. Technology makes the news so accessible, you would only need a super smartphone with a few, strategic apps. And the last thing today’s TV newsrooms need is a bunch of egomaniacs wearing capes and masks. Plus many TV journalists would purposely let their secret slip out on Twitter. But I wouldn’t have minded a co-worker with some super powers for all those days I worked my cape off and watched it all disappear due to a broken down live truck. My Indiana hat never helped with that.

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The Flip Side of the pitch: spreading the news to employees

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

 

 

Companies often spend so much time focusing on getting the attention of the media, they often ignore the value of sharing the news with their most important stakeholders:  employees. As brand ambassadors of a company, employees represent a huge opportunity to spread the word about new products, services and other company news.

Employees shouldn’t have to find out about company information from an external source or by watching and reading the news. They should hear the news first from the company. This builds trust and sends employees a message that the company sees them as a valued stakeholder who should be armed with important information.

The carefully crafted news release and media pitch should have an “equal and opposite” pitch for employees. Big budgets are often allocated toward PR campaigns that don’t always guarantee results while few resources are allocated toward employee communications that have a proven direct and positive influence on the bottom line.

The external communications folks working on the PR campaigns, press releases and pitches should partner with the employee communications folks. Here’s how:

  • Integrate. PR plans should have an employee communications component. How do they fit together?
  • Educate. What do employees need to know about the news topic? How does it fit into the big picture? How does it relate to employees? If they interact with customers, what key messages should they have in their hip pockets?
  • Collaborate. Ask employees for newsworthy or creative ideas related to the PR campaign.
  • Elaborate. Make news and PR efforts a regular part of department meetings and conversations. These are great opportunities to arm leaders with information to share with employees as well as for show and tell. Send links to TV news stories to leaders to show at their team meetings. Share articles on the intranet or in the employee newsletter. This is also a great way to spark conversations and perhaps even more newsworthy ideas.

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