In the HBO series Veep’s second season, the episode “First Response” tackles how not to manage the media in the midst of a crisis. Drawing parallels from the current events of the time, Vice President Selina Meyer was in the middle of resolving both a foreign relations snafu and an ongoing government shutdown. But when a blog posted emails between her ex-husband and a colleague alluding to his ability to influence her decision making surfaced during the taping of a “puff piece” news segment, both Meyer’s and her team were sent scrambling to make sense of this alarming development. With the emotions of her advisors and staff on high, Meyer’s finds herself in a sink or swim situation that could have been avoided if her media relations team had made the necessary preparations for a flawless interaction with the press.
First, let us tackle what went wrong. The news producer knew the Vice President’s Public Relations team wanted a “puff piece.” But like any producer, he was motivated to get a deeper, more dynamic story. A story that would grab a wider audience. Had the media relations team given service to the producer and helped shaped the narrative, the two parties could have agreed on their terms of engagement. The producer could get the story he was looking for and the Public Relations team would get a piece that they could live with. Instead, the team made too many assumptions which left the Vice President clawing for her own survival. By media relations relinquishing control to the press through their poor planning, they opened the Vice President to a series of gotcha questions and uneasy exchanges.
A well-trained Public Relations department would approach all interactions with the press as a collaborative effort. You want your subject to have a dynamic story that serves the public’s interest. The media should be eager to share your story with the masses. Without a subject there is no story and without the media there is no voice. However, having a combative relationship with the press is not an effective way to positive earned media coverage. As a Public Relations professional, you have a greater ability to shape the narrative you would prefer to tell by maintaining a professional and respectful relationship with the press.