8- Ashley Burningham- Preparing for a Media Interview

 

Reference:

Lima, P. (2012). When the Reporter Comes Calling How to Prepare For Media Interviews. CMA Magazine (1926-4550), 86(1), 34-35.

 

Theme:

Preparing for an interview is crucial and will determine your success.

 

Summary:

·         You never know when a reporter may call. You need to be prepared to answer the questions.

·         Write down key messages, what you want to convey, and how you want to respond to questions.

·         Have 30 second speech prepared to provide background information about agency.

·         Prepare answers for questions you don't want to answer.

·         Don't dodge the question, but answer in a way that makes your agency look good.

·         Make sure you know what you can and cannot talk about. You still need to know how you will respond, even if you can't talk about it.

·         Determine your objectives and key messages and create answers with the two.

·         Make sure to monitor social media so that any rumors are dismissed. Make sure to include accurate information in your debunking.

·         You can't control questions, but you can control how you answer them.

·         Your answer can shape the way a story is reported.

 

Application to Lesson:

This week's lesson talked about preparing for media interviews. If you are in a position to be interviewed, you have to know how to prepare for such interview.

 

Application to Career:

Not every person in law enforcement will deal with media interviews, because this mostly lies on the shoulders of the PIO. However, any person may potentially be asked to interview. It is important that employees are familiar with the procedures for conducting interviews.