Speaking to the press can be a daunting experience. Horror stories abound of the journalist grilling the interviewee, ‘misquoting’ answers, and generally trying to create a different story to the one that you wanted to portray. These examples generally originate from interviews with the tabloid and national press, especially when the company is perceived to have behaved inappropriately.
While interviews with journalists and editors from the trade press are generally more pleasant, that doesn’t mean that you should be any less prepared than you would be for a meeting with national or broadcast press. Trade journalists are typically busy people and what they want is a good story that they know their readers will want to read. If you can give them that story, there is a good chance that you will be able to generate some good coverage for your company based upon your conversation. If you can’t – or if you are perceived to have wasted their time – at best you will get no coverage and at worst you could damage an important editorial relationship.
But how can you ensure that your interviews go well and you don’t end up being misrepresented? You could start by following the “Do’s and Don’t’s” outlined in our latest eBook.
