useful rules for press meetings - napier pr

Useful Rules for Press Meetings

Research the journalist: Are they technical? What have they written recently?

How do they run briefings?

Know what headline you want and use this as the ‘anchor’ for the meeting

Decide on 2-3 of the most important key points you want to get across, and focus on them…

Repeat the headline & key points several times throughout the meeting to emphasise the point

and ensure the journalist knows the most important information

Ask the journalist how long they have and how much they know about your company and the industry sector, as this helps you determine how much detail to go into…

Be honest & admit if you don’t know something, and tell them you’ll follow up with the answer later that day

Never discuss confidential information, and don’t expect conversations to be

“off the record” or “background” – any journalist can make a mistake and publish confidential information by

accident…

Don’t be afraid to say that “we have not made any public

announcement on this issue and therefore I cannot comment”

No matter what context, or how light-hearted the comment is, never knock a competitor, it never sounds good!

Discuss markets and market trends, but make sure it is all

referenced to your company and not to competitors!

Chat with the journalist, be friendly and tell them something about yourself that they will remember

Always use positive language, and if you are asked a question which would require a negative

response, try and put a positive spin on it!

Don’t treat it as a customer meeting, as the journalist probably won’t want a huge amount of detail and is unlikely to be an expert. Instead focus on the news!