This is normally a staid, conservative, by-the-numbers blog. Tips. Lists. Real world examples.
This entry is a bit different.
I'm going to encourage you to think about how your story, your firm's story, your clients' story, fits into an existing myth.
Before you panic and assume I'm off my meds, let me explain.
People are attracted to stories. Story telling is among the oldest human art forms and one of the most effective forms of communication. Most people have an almost infinite capacity for digesting stories. Movies, TV, fiction, gossip.... People love stories and a significant portion of your fellow citizens consume almost no other form of information.
There is a certain class of stories, myths, that are especially effective vehicles for communicating information. Myths not only take ordinary human events and project them as larger than life so as to show them in greater detail, myths also plug into universal truths.
Again: I like examples. Here are some examples.
Is your story a 'Rags to Riches' story? Did your firm start from nothing and end up being the largest firm of its type in the city, or the state? Did you bootstrap yourself up from a deprived background through law school? Did your law partner overcome a handicap? Did your client beat incredible odds only to face an unfair accusation or fall victim to an avoidable tragedy?
Are you or your firm classic 'underdogs?' Maybe your story should spotlight that? Americans love underdogs who keep trying and never give up.
Or maybe you or your clients are 'rebels?' Are you different somehow? Did you succeed by ignoring the naysayers and bucking conventional wisdom?
By finding such universal stories and framing your media exposure in those terms you will find many advantages. Journalists will already 'know' how to write such a story. They know what a rebel is, or an underdog. There will be icons and symbols readily available for comparison. Your story will be more memorable. And perhaps most important, you will reduce the chance that your story will be misconstrued as a 'bad' story. If you can, for example, convincingly portray your firm as an 'underdog' you will have also necessarily painted your firm as plucky, persistent, likable, determined, hard-working and worthy of notice and admiration.
With such a frame your new, inexperienced firm can positively glow.
Without such a frame you might instead just come across as just new and inexperienced.
Think about your story. Think about how it might be plugged into a myth. Use those images and words to sell your story to the media.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
How not to deal with the media: example #467
I ran across this news story from New Mexico and could not help sharing it.
While this article concerns a public official --not an attorney-- sad to say I have heard stories of attorneys handling ambush journalists in this very fashion.
Don't you be the one to provide me with the next amusing 'bad example' story....
While this article concerns a public official --not an attorney-- sad to say I have heard stories of attorneys handling ambush journalists in this very fashion.
Don't you be the one to provide me with the next amusing 'bad example' story....
Journalists --show us your papers?
Michigan is playing with the idea of creating a 'registry' for journalists. The idea, according to bill sponsor State Senator Bruce Patterson, is to allow the public access to information on journalists' qualifications and experience.
Given the implosion of the traditional news media, and the rise of the stereotype of the know-nothing, basement-bound blogger,[present company excepted] the idea seems to have some merit. Wouldn't you like to know if the "reporter" who left you a voicemail about your big verdict has a degree and some experience on the legal beat, or is just some unemployed kid with an IP address?
"Your role is critically important to the actual success, perhaps even the survival, of our constitutional republic," Patterson told reporters this week while discussing his bill. "That's why the First Amendment is so important and it's given such elevated status. There are correlative duties and responsibilities if you get a right. And I just think we're squandering this."
But the media --old and new-- have risen up en mass to oppose it. Interesting to ponder why professional journalists would be so opposed to an idea that could separate the wheat from the chaff ... so to speak
Read more.
See the bill language.
Given the implosion of the traditional news media, and the rise of the stereotype of the know-nothing, basement-bound blogger,[present company excepted] the idea seems to have some merit. Wouldn't you like to know if the "reporter" who left you a voicemail about your big verdict has a degree and some experience on the legal beat, or is just some unemployed kid with an IP address?
"Your role is critically important to the actual success, perhaps even the survival, of our constitutional republic," Patterson told reporters this week while discussing his bill. "That's why the First Amendment is so important and it's given such elevated status. There are correlative duties and responsibilities if you get a right. And I just think we're squandering this."
But the media --old and new-- have risen up en mass to oppose it. Interesting to ponder why professional journalists would be so opposed to an idea that could separate the wheat from the chaff ... so to speak
Read more.
See the bill language.
The two faces of Facebook
Social media seems to be the hottest of media topics for attorneys, especially since so much of 'old media' is dying.
Sometimes it is best to let the stories do the talking. Compare and contrast:
1) Facebook --a winning tool?
2) Facebook -- despised and loathed?
Sometimes it is best to let the stories do the talking. Compare and contrast:
1) Facebook --a winning tool?
2) Facebook -- despised and loathed?
What's the story?
Journalists, editors and producers decide what the story is. You do not.
The job of the news media is to gather all of the facts that they think are important, highlight the ones they feel are most interesting, and then package them in the way they hope will be most enticing to listeners or readers. Their job is not to create a venue for you to tell the story you want to tell. News is a business, not a public service.
However, like most situations in life your interactions with the media can still be tweaked to your advantage.
Do respond promptly to news media inquiries with concise, well-thought-out talking points. Only about three. Write them down. If the journalist changes the subject, transition back to your talking points. Do not be rude, but be firm. Do not engage in an aimless 45 minute chat because that only give the journalist an opportunity to ignore most of what you are saying and to cherry pick the few formulaic facts that will fill in the blanks for a pre-existing story template. And do not forward a brief-length written response or *any* pleading by way of answering questions unless it is requested. Journalists will almost *never* read pleadings unless they are fact checking [spelling of names, dates, etc]. They do not have the time to read long descriptions of fact patterns or legal analysis.
The journalist gets to choose what is ‘news,’ but you can control the pool of choices you make available.
Quick tips:
1) Give the news media only what you want them to have. Have three brief talking points ready and stick to them.
2) Be careful that what you give them is timely, helpful and safe.
The job of the news media is to gather all of the facts that they think are important, highlight the ones they feel are most interesting, and then package them in the way they hope will be most enticing to listeners or readers. Their job is not to create a venue for you to tell the story you want to tell. News is a business, not a public service.
However, like most situations in life your interactions with the media can still be tweaked to your advantage.
Do respond promptly to news media inquiries with concise, well-thought-out talking points. Only about three. Write them down. If the journalist changes the subject, transition back to your talking points. Do not be rude, but be firm. Do not engage in an aimless 45 minute chat because that only give the journalist an opportunity to ignore most of what you are saying and to cherry pick the few formulaic facts that will fill in the blanks for a pre-existing story template. And do not forward a brief-length written response or *any* pleading by way of answering questions unless it is requested. Journalists will almost *never* read pleadings unless they are fact checking [spelling of names, dates, etc]. They do not have the time to read long descriptions of fact patterns or legal analysis.
The journalist gets to choose what is ‘news,’ but you can control the pool of choices you make available.
Quick tips:
1) Give the news media only what you want them to have. Have three brief talking points ready and stick to them.
2) Be careful that what you give them is timely, helpful and safe.
The Paperless Media
“Paperless” has become a somewhat overused catch phrase in the context of clearing out the law office filing cabinets, and the rise of e-filing. We are all supposed to be scrambling to buy scanners and teach our staff to create searchable .pdf client files so we can be paperless too.
But ‘paperless’ in a more literal, media-related sense --the loss of the nation’s newspapers—is not necessarily a sign of progress for the nation, or its law firms.
As word circulated last week that the venerable Boston Globe [with a history longer, and some would say richer, than most American states] dying, practitioners may wish to watch and ponder. The Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Intelligencer are already gone. Others are certain to follow.
In one economically devastated state, Michigan, every one of the state’s largest newspapers are either closing or undergoing the sorts of drastic restructuring that would have been unthinkable even three years ago.
Much has already been written about what a ‘paperless’ news media might mean to communities and to newsgathering itself. If you are interested in these broader topics you can find a riches of such commentary online [irony intended].
For attorneys focused on building or growing a practice the loss of daily papers is a bit more confusing. What does a paperless future mean?
Your relationship with the media
A major theme of this blog is that you need to cultivate and maintain a relationship with your local news media. You want to be the “go to” attorney journalists call for information on legal news. But how to do that as local papers are replaced with ‘news aggregation’ Websites and generic news centers where content is written in New York or Atlanta or L.A. for use in your area?
Reaching the public.
Whether you regularly run an ad in your local paper or just follow advice like that given in this blog to create earned media, the loss of your local paper is going to leave a gap in your ability to communicate with your local community.
In the old fully newspapered world local families saw your ad –or the mention of your charity giving, or your comments on the latest newsworthy holding—as they leafed through the Community Shopper or Big City News looking for pizza ads or high school football scores.
Will locals in the brave new paperless world see your name online among the ads for Toyota and Viagra as they look for the weather or follow the NBA?
Competition.
An ‘online presence” [like a Website] is a necessary part of practicing law these days, but while your Community Shopper or Big City News ad clearly shows you as a member of the community; online your Website is just one of thousands.
Online your Website is competing with out-of-town firms that have six figure advertising budgets. With a paperless absence of local news media, can you keep and build your client base amidst the flood of online “1-800-Law-Suit” ads?
Premature prediction of demise?
But wait. Predictions of the demise of newspapers [which have been declining in number for 100 years as movies and radio and TV emerged] may be a bit premature. After all, the ‘news aggregate’ services that are all the rage merely steal content [work product] created by more conventional news media like newspapers.
Without newspapers and their a crack local journalism staffs to research, track down leads, contact sources, confirm facts, interview key players, and edit the result, how will news be created at all?
What can be aggregated if no one is producing news?
Can ‘online only’ news outlets field the sort of savvy, in-depth investigative journalism that were newspapers’ primary strength?
The answers are still emerging.
It is the emerging questions from our paperless future that you need to ponder.
But ‘paperless’ in a more literal, media-related sense --the loss of the nation’s newspapers—is not necessarily a sign of progress for the nation, or its law firms.
As word circulated last week that the venerable Boston Globe [with a history longer, and some would say richer, than most American states] dying, practitioners may wish to watch and ponder. The Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Intelligencer are already gone. Others are certain to follow.
In one economically devastated state, Michigan, every one of the state’s largest newspapers are either closing or undergoing the sorts of drastic restructuring that would have been unthinkable even three years ago.
Much has already been written about what a ‘paperless’ news media might mean to communities and to newsgathering itself. If you are interested in these broader topics you can find a riches of such commentary online [irony intended].
For attorneys focused on building or growing a practice the loss of daily papers is a bit more confusing. What does a paperless future mean?
Your relationship with the media
A major theme of this blog is that you need to cultivate and maintain a relationship with your local news media. You want to be the “go to” attorney journalists call for information on legal news. But how to do that as local papers are replaced with ‘news aggregation’ Websites and generic news centers where content is written in New York or Atlanta or L.A. for use in your area?
Reaching the public.
Whether you regularly run an ad in your local paper or just follow advice like that given in this blog to create earned media, the loss of your local paper is going to leave a gap in your ability to communicate with your local community.
In the old fully newspapered world local families saw your ad –or the mention of your charity giving, or your comments on the latest newsworthy holding—as they leafed through the Community Shopper or Big City News looking for pizza ads or high school football scores.
Will locals in the brave new paperless world see your name online among the ads for Toyota and Viagra as they look for the weather or follow the NBA?
Competition.
An ‘online presence” [like a Website] is a necessary part of practicing law these days, but while your Community Shopper or Big City News ad clearly shows you as a member of the community; online your Website is just one of thousands.
Online your Website is competing with out-of-town firms that have six figure advertising budgets. With a paperless absence of local news media, can you keep and build your client base amidst the flood of online “1-800-Law-Suit” ads?
Premature prediction of demise?
But wait. Predictions of the demise of newspapers [which have been declining in number for 100 years as movies and radio and TV emerged] may be a bit premature. After all, the ‘news aggregate’ services that are all the rage merely steal content [work product] created by more conventional news media like newspapers.
Without newspapers and their a crack local journalism staffs to research, track down leads, contact sources, confirm facts, interview key players, and edit the result, how will news be created at all?
What can be aggregated if no one is producing news?
Can ‘online only’ news outlets field the sort of savvy, in-depth investigative journalism that were newspapers’ primary strength?
The answers are still emerging.
It is the emerging questions from our paperless future that you need to ponder.
What is "news" anyway?"
"I know it when I see it" might serve as well to define "news" as it served Justice Potter Stewart to define pornography.
Some media pros cynically say that "news" is whatever an editor or news anchor says it is that day [sort of like the old saw about the law being whatever the last judge said it was]*.
There is truth in that perspective and you can learn something critical from it: News is not necessarily information that ranks high on any objectively measurable scale of historical significance or importance.
But, true or not, that isn't very useful in your quest to make your firm's stories into "news." So here is a more helpful definition to help guide your media and public relations strategy and frame your messages.
News is information of particular interest to the audience of the media outlet you are targeting.
Look at that a bit closer. Notice the key criteria is not any external definition of importance or value: instead it is audience-dependant. If the audience doesn't care about the information then it really does not matter if you care, or if I care. It isn't news.
The other variable in the definition is also critical. News is only news to the particular audience of the media outlet you are targeting. Doesn't that seem obvious? But it is often overlooked. The audience for USA Today is not the same as the audience for the New England Journal of Medicine or MSNBC or The O'Reilly Factor or The New Yorker.
A misunderstanding of those two points accounts for the bulk of failed media outreach. This is just as true for professional publicists as it is of people like you who just want to spark a story about their firm. Each day tens of thousands of press releases are sent to the wrong media outlets and an equal number of phone calls are placed to the wrong busy journalists.
In a previous post I noted that your new associate hire is not news to the largest TV station in a city of two million people. Neither is your remodeled board room, your new marquee sign or your charity golf outing with the local Lions Club.
On the other hand, any one of these firm events might be news to your local weekly community shopper paper or local bar association.
Remember: "information of particular interest to the audience of the news outlet'
What about your brilliant 2500 word article on the latest developments in the right of publicity? Not news to the TV station nor to the weekly shopper. But your state bar association or a special interest bar journal might decide that article is just what they have been looking for.
Target your media audience and your news toward one another. Aim them at one another and correct course en route.
What is trash to one media outlet might be a front page, above the fold, #1 story hit to another one.
You want that other one.
*["News" isn't even necessarily new, as we all know from annual stories like "back to school" and "tuition is rising" and similar. Sometimes people like to hear about things they already know.]
Some media pros cynically say that "news" is whatever an editor or news anchor says it is that day [sort of like the old saw about the law being whatever the last judge said it was]*.
There is truth in that perspective and you can learn something critical from it: News is not necessarily information that ranks high on any objectively measurable scale of historical significance or importance.
But, true or not, that isn't very useful in your quest to make your firm's stories into "news." So here is a more helpful definition to help guide your media and public relations strategy and frame your messages.
News is information of particular interest to the audience of the media outlet you are targeting.
Look at that a bit closer. Notice the key criteria is not any external definition of importance or value: instead it is audience-dependant. If the audience doesn't care about the information then it really does not matter if you care, or if I care. It isn't news.
The other variable in the definition is also critical. News is only news to the particular audience of the media outlet you are targeting. Doesn't that seem obvious? But it is often overlooked. The audience for USA Today is not the same as the audience for the New England Journal of Medicine or MSNBC or The O'Reilly Factor or The New Yorker.
A misunderstanding of those two points accounts for the bulk of failed media outreach. This is just as true for professional publicists as it is of people like you who just want to spark a story about their firm. Each day tens of thousands of press releases are sent to the wrong media outlets and an equal number of phone calls are placed to the wrong busy journalists.
In a previous post I noted that your new associate hire is not news to the largest TV station in a city of two million people. Neither is your remodeled board room, your new marquee sign or your charity golf outing with the local Lions Club.
On the other hand, any one of these firm events might be news to your local weekly community shopper paper or local bar association.
Remember: "information of particular interest to the audience of the news outlet'
What about your brilliant 2500 word article on the latest developments in the right of publicity? Not news to the TV station nor to the weekly shopper. But your state bar association or a special interest bar journal might decide that article is just what they have been looking for.
Target your media audience and your news toward one another. Aim them at one another and correct course en route.
What is trash to one media outlet might be a front page, above the fold, #1 story hit to another one.
You want that other one.
*["News" isn't even necessarily new, as we all know from annual stories like "back to school" and "tuition is rising" and similar. Sometimes people like to hear about things they already know.]
Media in a bad economy -opportunity from strife
Last year I listened to a very well respected journalist give a brief talk over coffee and bagels.
He told us of the realities of a shrinking media world. First: drastically less resources. Staff cuts, shrinking resources, new challenges with the emerging Internet-based communication nexus. All in all the story was grim: twice as much work for half as many journalists with half the budget.
And even more work to do. Website-based stories, for examples, were a new cross to bear. According to this journalist he and his colleagues had to write stories at least twice. One old fashioned journalistic, pyramid-shaped, facts-up-top-followed-by-decreasingly-significant-details story for the world of dead trees [newspapers]; another much briefer version of the story crafted in a different fashion for the short-attention-span world of the Internet. Two sets of rules. Two sets of standards and expectations. For each story.
This was before the recent explosion in media interfaces with Facebook and Twitter and other social media. More versions of each breaking story....
Keep this in mind. This coffee and bagel discussion regarding the woeful examples given were, prior to the current economic downturn/Great Depression/what have you.
Fast forward to now. I just read about fifteen minutes ago that the advertising industry [paymaster to the world of media] eliminated another 20,000 jobs just in December 08. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what that means for our friends the journalists.
Even less money. Even fewer jobs. Even more work trying to bail water from what is left of the world of old media.
Bad times for all. But bad times always spell opportunity for people paying attention.
A dirty little secret in the world of journalism is that a good portion of what passes for "news" these days is, shall we say, outsourced. Some of the footage you see on "News at 6" is canned video produced by some industry or interest group. Much of what you read in print is borrowed from press releases. Often they are printed almost verbatim.
Why is this? Because the most difficult, time-consuming and resource intensive aspect of journalism is what we used to call "digging up a story." Research. Background interviews. More research. Fact checking. Maybe a bit of old fashion gumshoe action down at the courthouse or snapping photos at the polluted river or wherever. That stuff takes time. Lots of time.
How much easier to fill airtime and column inches with a nice, innocuous story based on the video clip conveniently sent in by some special interest? Or just copying and pasting most of a press release emailed in by, well, by someone like me?
Question: how do they fill twice the time or space with half the staff? Answer: by using material prepared by someone else.
And that someone else could be you.
If you have a few dollars to throw around and some know-how youcould be the one producing that slick video for your local news station.
Even if you don't have those sorts of resources you could still put together a very nice news release regarding your firm, client or a particular verdict. Do it right and your local community paper might just print it as written. Done with enough polish and it might end up on the pages of one of those big, fancy, big city newspapers known by their initials or a nickname. Happens all the time. Include a nice professional quality photo [leave the camera phone in the car, please] and you increase your chances of success.
The crisis in the world of media is a golden opportunity for you if you are willing to step in the provide a quality story crafted for a particular media outlet.
He told us of the realities of a shrinking media world. First: drastically less resources. Staff cuts, shrinking resources, new challenges with the emerging Internet-based communication nexus. All in all the story was grim: twice as much work for half as many journalists with half the budget.
And even more work to do. Website-based stories, for examples, were a new cross to bear. According to this journalist he and his colleagues had to write stories at least twice. One old fashioned journalistic, pyramid-shaped, facts-up-top-followed-by-decreasingly-significant-details story for the world of dead trees [newspapers]; another much briefer version of the story crafted in a different fashion for the short-attention-span world of the Internet. Two sets of rules. Two sets of standards and expectations. For each story.
This was before the recent explosion in media interfaces with Facebook and Twitter and other social media. More versions of each breaking story....
Keep this in mind. This coffee and bagel discussion regarding the woeful examples given were, prior to the current economic downturn/Great Depression/what have you.
Fast forward to now. I just read about fifteen minutes ago that the advertising industry [paymaster to the world of media] eliminated another 20,000 jobs just in December 08. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what that means for our friends the journalists.
Even less money. Even fewer jobs. Even more work trying to bail water from what is left of the world of old media.
Bad times for all. But bad times always spell opportunity for people paying attention.
A dirty little secret in the world of journalism is that a good portion of what passes for "news" these days is, shall we say, outsourced. Some of the footage you see on "News at 6" is canned video produced by some industry or interest group. Much of what you read in print is borrowed from press releases. Often they are printed almost verbatim.
Why is this? Because the most difficult, time-consuming and resource intensive aspect of journalism is what we used to call "digging up a story." Research. Background interviews. More research. Fact checking. Maybe a bit of old fashion gumshoe action down at the courthouse or snapping photos at the polluted river or wherever. That stuff takes time. Lots of time.
How much easier to fill airtime and column inches with a nice, innocuous story based on the video clip conveniently sent in by some special interest? Or just copying and pasting most of a press release emailed in by, well, by someone like me?
Question: how do they fill twice the time or space with half the staff? Answer: by using material prepared by someone else.
And that someone else could be you.
If you have a few dollars to throw around and some know-how youcould be the one producing that slick video for your local news station.
Even if you don't have those sorts of resources you could still put together a very nice news release regarding your firm, client or a particular verdict. Do it right and your local community paper might just print it as written. Done with enough polish and it might end up on the pages of one of those big, fancy, big city newspapers known by their initials or a nickname. Happens all the time. Include a nice professional quality photo [leave the camera phone in the car, please] and you increase your chances of success.
The crisis in the world of media is a golden opportunity for you if you are willing to step in the provide a quality story crafted for a particular media outlet.
Build your own story
The attorney was annoyed. Her firm had won a hard-fought verdict but their celebration was muted by what they considered improper media coverage.
"All they talked about was the size of the verdict," she stated with no little disgust. "They missed the policy issue and the misconduct of the other side. They ignored the bigger picture and the need for a Legislative solution. And they made us sound like we were gloating about winning"
I expressed my sympathy and made a few suggestions for follow-up media on the underlying issues. "By the way," I asked, "can you send over a copy of the news release you issued?"
She sent over an email with the release. The headline read, "$6.5 million verdict in [detail redacted] case."
I read further down. No mention of the policy issue. No mention of the alleged misconduct. No mention of the need for a Legislative solution. No big picture.
The release never even mentioned under what cause of action and legal theory the other party was responsible for damages. What had the other party done wrong, for goodness sake? Breach of contract? Defective product? Copyright infringement? Nothing there.
[The damages alleged by the plaintiff led me to make a private guess as to the cause of action, but nowhere was that fact stated.]
Next, a Google news search for the media hits.
Three separate people from the firm were quoted that I could find. All had different messages. One thing in common: None of the quotes from any of those quoted covered policy, misconduct, Legislative reform or big picture.
What they did mention: The size of the verdict [6 times]; How deserving they were, and their clients were, for the 'win' [5 times]; How hard they worked to get the verdict [3 times]; How awful and egregious and truly heartrending were the damages suffered by the client [3 times].
I called the attorney back and explained what I found. Her response: "Well, aren't the reporters supposed to find out all that other stuff?"
The painfully obvious answer is: "No."
You are an attorney, a legal expert. Moreover you are the attorney who handled the case.
If you cannot be bothered to translate the unfathomable gobbledygook [to a lay person] of a hard-fought litigation into three to five talking points that a journalist and the lay public can understand, who is going to do that?
No one.
A bare-bones "how to" of building a story in the media:
--Designate one person to talk to the media.
--Take the time to craft three to five talking pointsthat sum up your message. --
--Stick to those talking points.
If your message is "unjust system" then you need to say that [and support it with evidence, counselor]. If you allege misconduct then say misconduct. If your stance is that the situation that resulted in a wrongdoing or injury, and protracted litigation, is such that it merits Legislative action, say so.
If you say, "big verdict," "we won," and "we deserve the money," don't be shocked if that is exactly what you read in the paper or see on TV tonight.
If you fail to do your part then you can count on journalists to pick up on the most accessible facts [big verdict!], to dutifully repeat the points that you --the expert-- say are important [big verdict!] and to fall into predictable patterns of repeating stereotypes of litigation and the legal system [Look! Another great big verdict!!].
And whose fault is that, really?
"All they talked about was the size of the verdict," she stated with no little disgust. "They missed the policy issue and the misconduct of the other side. They ignored the bigger picture and the need for a Legislative solution. And they made us sound like we were gloating about winning"
I expressed my sympathy and made a few suggestions for follow-up media on the underlying issues. "By the way," I asked, "can you send over a copy of the news release you issued?"
She sent over an email with the release. The headline read, "$6.5 million verdict in [detail redacted] case."
I read further down. No mention of the policy issue. No mention of the alleged misconduct. No mention of the need for a Legislative solution. No big picture.
The release never even mentioned under what cause of action and legal theory the other party was responsible for damages. What had the other party done wrong, for goodness sake? Breach of contract? Defective product? Copyright infringement? Nothing there.
[The damages alleged by the plaintiff led me to make a private guess as to the cause of action, but nowhere was that fact stated.]
Next, a Google news search for the media hits.
Three separate people from the firm were quoted that I could find. All had different messages. One thing in common: None of the quotes from any of those quoted covered policy, misconduct, Legislative reform or big picture.
What they did mention: The size of the verdict [6 times]; How deserving they were, and their clients were, for the 'win' [5 times]; How hard they worked to get the verdict [3 times]; How awful and egregious and truly heartrending were the damages suffered by the client [3 times].
I called the attorney back and explained what I found. Her response: "Well, aren't the reporters supposed to find out all that other stuff?"
The painfully obvious answer is: "No."
You are an attorney, a legal expert. Moreover you are the attorney who handled the case.
If you cannot be bothered to translate the unfathomable gobbledygook [to a lay person] of a hard-fought litigation into three to five talking points that a journalist and the lay public can understand, who is going to do that?
No one.
A bare-bones "how to" of building a story in the media:
--Designate one person to talk to the media.
--Take the time to craft three to five talking pointsthat sum up your message. --
--Stick to those talking points.
If your message is "unjust system" then you need to say that [and support it with evidence, counselor]. If you allege misconduct then say misconduct. If your stance is that the situation that resulted in a wrongdoing or injury, and protracted litigation, is such that it merits Legislative action, say so.
If you say, "big verdict," "we won," and "we deserve the money," don't be shocked if that is exactly what you read in the paper or see on TV tonight.
If you fail to do your part then you can count on journalists to pick up on the most accessible facts [big verdict!], to dutifully repeat the points that you --the expert-- say are important [big verdict!] and to fall into predictable patterns of repeating stereotypes of litigation and the legal system [Look! Another great big verdict!!].
And whose fault is that, really?
Media -'proactive' v 'reactive' contact
One way to think of up media relationships is to consider "proactive" v "reactive" media contact.
Reactive media contact occurs when a journalist calls you up or walks up to you as you leave your office and says, "Hey! Can you answer a few questions for me?"
Proactive media contact occurs when you send out a news release or call up a journalist and say, "Hey! Are you interested in knowing more about this subject?"
Both can be valuable for you [though your best opportunities will be in proactive media]. There are some important differences in how you handle each.
Reactive media contact
While you are always in the drivers' seat when you talk to the media consider reactive media as a dance where the journalist is leading. Once you agree to the dance, you have to follow the journalists' lead to avoid tripping you both up.
A few hints:
Respond to questions in a timely fashion. Journalist's deadlines are cruel. A few hours usually. Maybe the next day. If a journalist volunteers the deadline for the story at issue consider it an honest fact to help guide you, not a threat. The train pulls out of the station on time with you or without you. If the journalist does not tell you their deadline, ask.
In most situations you must respond the same day. In fact you should try to respond within the hour or you risk losing this gift of "earned media" you have been offered. Occasionally a desperate journalist might call you 20 minutes before deadline. If you can help that journalist save their story by providing useful content right then, on the spot, you will have established a relationship that could be helpful for years to come.
Be prepared. Don't just call back to chat. Have your best talking points ready and written down in front of you. If you were asked a preliminary question then have the answer ready. If you could not find the answer then you should call back ASAP so the journalist won't be left hanging. If you promise an answer, fail to follow through, and then wait until 20 minutes before deadline to admit you screwed up you won't be making any friends.
Proactive media.
In this situation you get to lead the dance. That leadership carries responsibility. You are asking the journalist for something that would be very expensive if you had to pay for it--media coverage.
Make sure you have all your facts straight and have spent some time finding the right "hook" to make your story interesting to the journalist and the journalist's audience. If possible brainstorm the idea with someone you trust. Think of the underlying facts as the fact pattern in a client's case. Shine "the light most favorable" on those facts. Find the story hidden in those facts. It is your job to do this, not the journalists'.
You should have written material to support your story. Prepare a simple news release or media advisory. Include a "backgrounder" [a sort of media credibility CV] introducing you and your firm and explaining why a journalist would want to trust what you have to say about this subject.
Contact your journalist but do not bombard him or her. One confirmed contact. All journalists have preferences [phone, fax, email]. Some journalists --like some attorneys-- are idiosyncratic and will be grumpy if you don't follow "their rules." When in doubt, pick up the phone.
When first making contact with a journalist say two things. 1) State your name and, briefly state why you called ["I have a great idea for a story about how the local economy is boosted by the number of law firms here in Capital City"]. 2) Ask if this is a good time to talk.
A journalist under deadline is not interested in much beyond that deadline. Think of this in terms of preparing for trial and you'll understand the mood. Pester a journalist with a dealine looming and at best your story idea won't get the best debut. At worse you'll get grumped at, cut off, and put on that journalist's mental "inconsiderate person" list.
Media coverge is a gift. You are always asking for a favor [though never use such terms]. If the journalist says to talk now, then talk. If the journalist says to call back at another time, then thank them for taking the call and get off the phone. And call back when you said you would!
Sell your story. Really believe in it. Think of your contact with the journalist as if you were addressing a jury. Don't just recite the facts. Tell the journalist your story, why they should care, and why the public will care.
Know when to stop. Don't make a 45 minute closing argument to a journalist. Just outline your story idea and ask if they are interested.
If you handle proactive media contact well you will gain two things: immediate earned media and progress towards building a relationship with the journalist.
Reactive media contact occurs when a journalist calls you up or walks up to you as you leave your office and says, "Hey! Can you answer a few questions for me?"
Proactive media contact occurs when you send out a news release or call up a journalist and say, "Hey! Are you interested in knowing more about this subject?"
Both can be valuable for you [though your best opportunities will be in proactive media]. There are some important differences in how you handle each.
Reactive media contact
While you are always in the drivers' seat when you talk to the media consider reactive media as a dance where the journalist is leading. Once you agree to the dance, you have to follow the journalists' lead to avoid tripping you both up.
A few hints:
Respond to questions in a timely fashion. Journalist's deadlines are cruel. A few hours usually. Maybe the next day. If a journalist volunteers the deadline for the story at issue consider it an honest fact to help guide you, not a threat. The train pulls out of the station on time with you or without you. If the journalist does not tell you their deadline, ask.
In most situations you must respond the same day. In fact you should try to respond within the hour or you risk losing this gift of "earned media" you have been offered. Occasionally a desperate journalist might call you 20 minutes before deadline. If you can help that journalist save their story by providing useful content right then, on the spot, you will have established a relationship that could be helpful for years to come.
Be prepared. Don't just call back to chat. Have your best talking points ready and written down in front of you. If you were asked a preliminary question then have the answer ready. If you could not find the answer then you should call back ASAP so the journalist won't be left hanging. If you promise an answer, fail to follow through, and then wait until 20 minutes before deadline to admit you screwed up you won't be making any friends.
Proactive media.
In this situation you get to lead the dance. That leadership carries responsibility. You are asking the journalist for something that would be very expensive if you had to pay for it--media coverage.
Make sure you have all your facts straight and have spent some time finding the right "hook" to make your story interesting to the journalist and the journalist's audience. If possible brainstorm the idea with someone you trust. Think of the underlying facts as the fact pattern in a client's case. Shine "the light most favorable" on those facts. Find the story hidden in those facts. It is your job to do this, not the journalists'.
You should have written material to support your story. Prepare a simple news release or media advisory. Include a "backgrounder" [a sort of media credibility CV] introducing you and your firm and explaining why a journalist would want to trust what you have to say about this subject.
Contact your journalist but do not bombard him or her. One confirmed contact. All journalists have preferences [phone, fax, email]. Some journalists --like some attorneys-- are idiosyncratic and will be grumpy if you don't follow "their rules." When in doubt, pick up the phone.
When first making contact with a journalist say two things. 1) State your name and, briefly state why you called ["I have a great idea for a story about how the local economy is boosted by the number of law firms here in Capital City"]. 2) Ask if this is a good time to talk.
A journalist under deadline is not interested in much beyond that deadline. Think of this in terms of preparing for trial and you'll understand the mood. Pester a journalist with a dealine looming and at best your story idea won't get the best debut. At worse you'll get grumped at, cut off, and put on that journalist's mental "inconsiderate person" list.
Media coverge is a gift. You are always asking for a favor [though never use such terms]. If the journalist says to talk now, then talk. If the journalist says to call back at another time, then thank them for taking the call and get off the phone. And call back when you said you would!
Sell your story. Really believe in it. Think of your contact with the journalist as if you were addressing a jury. Don't just recite the facts. Tell the journalist your story, why they should care, and why the public will care.
Know when to stop. Don't make a 45 minute closing argument to a journalist. Just outline your story idea and ask if they are interested.
If you handle proactive media contact well you will gain two things: immediate earned media and progress towards building a relationship with the journalist.
Real news --don't cry wolf.
Sometimes it is tough to face facts. Your firm's newly remodeled board room is not headline news to the general public.
Other examples of what is not stop-the-presses headline news include: your new associate; your firm's foursome golf score at the Lions Club fundraiser, and; your nifty new marque sign.
Such happenings are interesting to you and to your firm. Put them in the firm newsletter. Some of them might even be interesting to others in the legal community [a new associate is hired] or your local community paper [the Lions Club outing]. Let the bar association know about the new associate and send the weekly shopper paper a photo of your foursome [with you all holding that three-foot-long fundraising check].
But these happenings are not "news" to the public and you should not try to fluff them up to make them appear to be news. You will fail.
If you cry wolf and try to convince TV cameras to mobilize for such occasions you will lose credibility, annoy the media, jeopardize your relationship with them and the reputation you are working hard to build.
I have thrown away many hundreds of news releases based solely on the sender and my past bad experience with that sender. After having wasting precious time reading weekly, boring, lengthy, self-promotional announcements of "events" so excruciatingly mundane they likely bored even the participants, I just gave up on that source for good. If such a firm were to announce they were handing out $100 bills on the sidewalk no one from the media would show up because no one in the media reads their releases anymore. Or takes their calls.
If you are caught crying wolf the media will treat you like a pompous windbag at a cocktail party--avoid you, ignore you and likely ridicule you from outside of earshot.
My newsroom knew of such serial offenders. Firms and publicists who clogged our in-boxes and fax machines with drivel became the butt of office jokes. A joking reporter might burst into the lunch room in feigned breathlessness waving a faxed release from such a firm and exclaim, "Did you hear?? Tweedle & Dumm has added an additional part-time receptionist to its satellite office in Small City!!" and the reporters at the lunch table would burst into laughter.
Don't become that firm.
Does that mean law firms can't earn media coverage? Absolutely not. There are an amazing array of possibilities for getting earned media for your firm.
But attorneys must be realistic about what is "news" [and in what target media a particular event or announcement is newsworthy].
If you want coverage in the mass media you must only promote your most interesting events in the freshest and most engaging fashion. Find the "news hook" and create an engaging story that will cause an editor to read the second paragraph, or a channel surfing soccer mom to watch the rest of the spot.
Otherwise you could end up being the subject of newsroom jokes rather than front page coverage.
Other examples of what is not stop-the-presses headline news include: your new associate; your firm's foursome golf score at the Lions Club fundraiser, and; your nifty new marque sign.
Such happenings are interesting to you and to your firm. Put them in the firm newsletter. Some of them might even be interesting to others in the legal community [a new associate is hired] or your local community paper [the Lions Club outing]. Let the bar association know about the new associate and send the weekly shopper paper a photo of your foursome [with you all holding that three-foot-long fundraising check].
But these happenings are not "news" to the public and you should not try to fluff them up to make them appear to be news. You will fail.
If you cry wolf and try to convince TV cameras to mobilize for such occasions you will lose credibility, annoy the media, jeopardize your relationship with them and the reputation you are working hard to build.
I have thrown away many hundreds of news releases based solely on the sender and my past bad experience with that sender. After having wasting precious time reading weekly, boring, lengthy, self-promotional announcements of "events" so excruciatingly mundane they likely bored even the participants, I just gave up on that source for good. If such a firm were to announce they were handing out $100 bills on the sidewalk no one from the media would show up because no one in the media reads their releases anymore. Or takes their calls.
If you are caught crying wolf the media will treat you like a pompous windbag at a cocktail party--avoid you, ignore you and likely ridicule you from outside of earshot.
My newsroom knew of such serial offenders. Firms and publicists who clogged our in-boxes and fax machines with drivel became the butt of office jokes. A joking reporter might burst into the lunch room in feigned breathlessness waving a faxed release from such a firm and exclaim, "Did you hear?? Tweedle & Dumm has added an additional part-time receptionist to its satellite office in Small City!!" and the reporters at the lunch table would burst into laughter.
Don't become that firm.
Does that mean law firms can't earn media coverage? Absolutely not. There are an amazing array of possibilities for getting earned media for your firm.
But attorneys must be realistic about what is "news" [and in what target media a particular event or announcement is newsworthy].
If you want coverage in the mass media you must only promote your most interesting events in the freshest and most engaging fashion. Find the "news hook" and create an engaging story that will cause an editor to read the second paragraph, or a channel surfing soccer mom to watch the rest of the spot.
Otherwise you could end up being the subject of newsroom jokes rather than front page coverage.
Giving the media what they want
I previously noted that when you are trying to earn media coverage you really have two audiences. First, the media outlet itself. Only after you convince them to broadcast or publish your message are you faced with controlling what message is sent to your second audience, the public.
Persuading your first audience is easy if you keep in mind a few simple guidelines.
1) Keep your ego in check. Be realistic. Admit that hiring a new associate is not newsworthy to the TV station in your city of 2 million. Would your neighbor care about your "news?" Would your brother-in-law? If not then it is likely not news at all.
If you pester the big TV station with such annoying non-news notices you are wasting your time. Worse, you are very likely to annoy the producers and journalists sufficiently that they may unofficially blacklist you and go elsewhere when real news is afoot.
2) The media is a business not a public service or your personal bulletin board. They pay their bills largely by selling ads. If no one is interested in their stories, their advertisers flee and they go out of business. Your job then is to convince the media that your story is something that will interest their target audience. Help editors and journalists do their jobs. Give them news. [See item #1]
3) Know your media outlets. The local weekly community paper is not going to publish your academic sounding article on the public policy implications of restricting punitive damage awards [So save that for the legal trade press if you are trying to build a reputation as the go-to attorney on punitive damage awards]. But the local community shopper paper might publish a notice of your firm's golf outing with the local Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce.
4) Take time to find the "hook." A "hook" is the perspective on the information that makes it news. A major market TV station is not going to broadcast that new-associate-hired notice. But they might be interested in more well-developed story about how your law firm is the fastest growing firm in the area and how your new hires contribute to the local economy.
Beware! Do not be tempted to employ "spin" or dishonesty to create a news hook. Make certain of your facts. Never, ever invent or exaggerate to make your information more interesting. Your deception will revealed and you will embarrass yourself and sully your reputation. Just take a minute to brainstorm and find the most interesting angle on the facts. Look at the paper. Listen to the evening news. What is topical? How can you tie into that?
5) Think in terms of relationships. Creating a media presence as part of your firm's overall public relations strategy is a long term goal based on credibility and your relationship with journalists and editors. Help the editors and journalists do their jobs.
In the long run you'll accomplish much more if you exercise some self-restraint and stop yourself from faxing that clumsy News Release about your remodeled boardroom to every TV station in the state.
Persuading your first audience is easy if you keep in mind a few simple guidelines.
1) Keep your ego in check. Be realistic. Admit that hiring a new associate is not newsworthy to the TV station in your city of 2 million. Would your neighbor care about your "news?" Would your brother-in-law? If not then it is likely not news at all.
If you pester the big TV station with such annoying non-news notices you are wasting your time. Worse, you are very likely to annoy the producers and journalists sufficiently that they may unofficially blacklist you and go elsewhere when real news is afoot.
2) The media is a business not a public service or your personal bulletin board. They pay their bills largely by selling ads. If no one is interested in their stories, their advertisers flee and they go out of business. Your job then is to convince the media that your story is something that will interest their target audience. Help editors and journalists do their jobs. Give them news. [See item #1]
3) Know your media outlets. The local weekly community paper is not going to publish your academic sounding article on the public policy implications of restricting punitive damage awards [So save that for the legal trade press if you are trying to build a reputation as the go-to attorney on punitive damage awards]. But the local community shopper paper might publish a notice of your firm's golf outing with the local Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce.
4) Take time to find the "hook." A "hook" is the perspective on the information that makes it news. A major market TV station is not going to broadcast that new-associate-hired notice. But they might be interested in more well-developed story about how your law firm is the fastest growing firm in the area and how your new hires contribute to the local economy.
Beware! Do not be tempted to employ "spin" or dishonesty to create a news hook. Make certain of your facts. Never, ever invent or exaggerate to make your information more interesting. Your deception will revealed and you will embarrass yourself and sully your reputation. Just take a minute to brainstorm and find the most interesting angle on the facts. Look at the paper. Listen to the evening news. What is topical? How can you tie into that?
5) Think in terms of relationships. Creating a media presence as part of your firm's overall public relations strategy is a long term goal based on credibility and your relationship with journalists and editors. Help the editors and journalists do their jobs.
In the long run you'll accomplish much more if you exercise some self-restraint and stop yourself from faxing that clumsy News Release about your remodeled boardroom to every TV station in the state.
Media Interviews --your two audiences
Whenever you are being interviewed by a journalist you really have two distinct audiences: 1) the media outlet itself, and; 2) the public.
Audiences.
At some point in your education you likely recall having a teacher or professor lecture you on the importance of "identifying the audience" you want to communicate with.
It is a simple idea and we all are guided by a version of this advice every day. For example. You talk to your peers differently than you talk to a client or an elderly relative or a child or your doctor. You use different language for each. You stress different points. You frame your message differently.
The reason you tailor your message to your audience is not merely make sure you are understood [i.e.: your 8-year-old niece will not be able to fully appreciate the concept of an expanded liability exception to governmental immunity no matter how many times you read to her from that amazing Motion and Brief you just drafted].
Maybe the most important reason for addressing a specific audience is to create interest and empathy --you want the audience to care as well as understand.
Preliminary Audience.
The media outlet itself can be seen as a preliminary audience. The journalist and the editor are the gatekeepers to the public you want to reach. They hold the keys to the door you want to enter.
In some ways dealing with this audience is analogous to the procedural steps you must follow before presenting your facts to a jury. If you don't accomplish the preliminary process [Timely filing, establishing standing, etc] correctly you will never make it to closing arguments [or even opening arguments ...or even voir dire]
The good news is that your task relative to this preliminary audience --the media outlet itself-- is simple compared to establishing standing or undertaking Discovery.
How do you do that? You have to give the media a product they can sell.
Final Audience.
Once you have won over the media gatekeepers your final audience is the public.
Using the analogy above the public is like your jury. You want this final audience to hear your persuasive take on the facts.
You accomplish that by crafting and using a set of simple "talking points" that summarize your message in the light most advantageous to you. And you convey your talking points repeatedly and almost exclusively so they become the message that is quoted in the story.
Audiences.
At some point in your education you likely recall having a teacher or professor lecture you on the importance of "identifying the audience" you want to communicate with.
It is a simple idea and we all are guided by a version of this advice every day. For example. You talk to your peers differently than you talk to a client or an elderly relative or a child or your doctor. You use different language for each. You stress different points. You frame your message differently.
The reason you tailor your message to your audience is not merely make sure you are understood [i.e.: your 8-year-old niece will not be able to fully appreciate the concept of an expanded liability exception to governmental immunity no matter how many times you read to her from that amazing Motion and Brief you just drafted].
Maybe the most important reason for addressing a specific audience is to create interest and empathy --you want the audience to care as well as understand.
Preliminary Audience.
The media outlet itself can be seen as a preliminary audience. The journalist and the editor are the gatekeepers to the public you want to reach. They hold the keys to the door you want to enter.
In some ways dealing with this audience is analogous to the procedural steps you must follow before presenting your facts to a jury. If you don't accomplish the preliminary process [Timely filing, establishing standing, etc] correctly you will never make it to closing arguments [or even opening arguments ...or even voir dire]
The good news is that your task relative to this preliminary audience --the media outlet itself-- is simple compared to establishing standing or undertaking Discovery.
How do you do that? You have to give the media a product they can sell.
Final Audience.
Once you have won over the media gatekeepers your final audience is the public.
Using the analogy above the public is like your jury. You want this final audience to hear your persuasive take on the facts.
You accomplish that by crafting and using a set of simple "talking points" that summarize your message in the light most advantageous to you. And you convey your talking points repeatedly and almost exclusively so they become the message that is quoted in the story.
Are you "newsworthy?
Most all of us have interests and hobbies that make us interesting and unique.
One attorney I know is a mountain climber. Another has a hobby farm and is a beekeeper. Others are martial arts Black Belts, semi-professional ballroom dancers or race car drivers, volunteer at homeless shelters, have award-winning home gardens, open offices in renovated historic buildings or collect rare books.
An attorney I know was shocked one day to have a potential client walk in the door and announce that he wanted to sue the US government because the government had tortured him. The attorney was as skeptical as you might expect until he started following up and learned more about the newly-emerging abuses of prisoners at a place called Guantanamo Bay where his new client had previously been held. That attorney now has a unique practice that includes frequent flights to Iraq.
A good friend of mine overcame debilitating physical handicaps, went to law school at the precocious age of 45 and now has a major three-office practice spanning two states.
Each of these hobbies, events and personal achievements resulted in news stories featuring that attorney and their firm.
What is it about you that is different? Have you overcome adversary? Do you have an interest that most people don't share? Is there some aspect of your practice that is noteworthy? Are your clients interesting? Is your firm's building unique?
You don't need to have a story more evocative than these to be interesting. Most people carry a stereotype of attorneys that ranges between "boring" and "slick." All briefcases, pant suits and neckties but no personality.
If there is some aspect of your professional or personal life that contradicts this stereotype, you can turn it into some earned media that will help get your firm's name into the community.
Do you brew beer in your basement? Compete in scrapbooking? Collect vintage Studebakers? Do pro bono work for local Boy Scout Troop? Win awards for your special chili? Or maybe you are a competitive swimmer or horseback rider?
All of us have a story worth telling. You don't have to have Guantanamo clients or hold a Black Belt to create interest in you and your practice.
One attorney I know is a mountain climber. Another has a hobby farm and is a beekeeper. Others are martial arts Black Belts, semi-professional ballroom dancers or race car drivers, volunteer at homeless shelters, have award-winning home gardens, open offices in renovated historic buildings or collect rare books.
An attorney I know was shocked one day to have a potential client walk in the door and announce that he wanted to sue the US government because the government had tortured him. The attorney was as skeptical as you might expect until he started following up and learned more about the newly-emerging abuses of prisoners at a place called Guantanamo Bay where his new client had previously been held. That attorney now has a unique practice that includes frequent flights to Iraq.
A good friend of mine overcame debilitating physical handicaps, went to law school at the precocious age of 45 and now has a major three-office practice spanning two states.
Each of these hobbies, events and personal achievements resulted in news stories featuring that attorney and their firm.
What is it about you that is different? Have you overcome adversary? Do you have an interest that most people don't share? Is there some aspect of your practice that is noteworthy? Are your clients interesting? Is your firm's building unique?
You don't need to have a story more evocative than these to be interesting. Most people carry a stereotype of attorneys that ranges between "boring" and "slick." All briefcases, pant suits and neckties but no personality.
If there is some aspect of your professional or personal life that contradicts this stereotype, you can turn it into some earned media that will help get your firm's name into the community.
Do you brew beer in your basement? Compete in scrapbooking? Collect vintage Studebakers? Do pro bono work for local Boy Scout Troop? Win awards for your special chili? Or maybe you are a competitive swimmer or horseback rider?
All of us have a story worth telling. You don't have to have Guantanamo clients or hold a Black Belt to create interest in you and your practice.
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