Illustration - Joey Pfeifer, Semafor
In July, the online news site Semafor published a report on the transformation of Kamala Harris’s media strategy. The article chronicled the Harris/news media relationship from her days as a statewide office-holder in California, to her early days as vice president, to present day, where as of this writing, she is enjoying a news media honeymoon that might last beyond the scheduled August Democratic convention.
Many people in public life have tense relationships with the news media and some resort to disciplinary tactics to try to manage the press into a more flattering approach to coverage. Refusing comment, denying access, saying yes only to interviewers perceived as “friendly” are common decisions made in the ultimately wrong-headed effort to win only positive coverage.
There are two fundamental facts that should drive your interactions with the news media.
The news media exists to challenge you and to hold you accountable on behalf of the general public. This means the press will almost always treat subjects with skepticism. The job of a reporter is not to paint you in the best possible light, it is to get as close to the truth as possible.
When you interact with a reporter, you are interacting with the reporter’s audience. The audience you are reaching - and might not reach otherwise - is the target audience, not the reporter as an individual.
Understanding these two fundamentals can change, should change, your reluctance to interact with the news media and your expectations.
Bottom Line: You can try to win completely positive and flattering news coverage, but you will usually fail. Fair coverage is the “win” you should seek. Fair coverage means opposing views will share space with your views.
Relationships with individual reporters can be challenging at times on a personal level, but you should look past the personal and concentrate on the audience your reporter interaction delivers for you. Reaching that audience is also “the win.”