I have two objectives this week. One is to share what I consider to be one of the most important ideas that can help pave the way for better media coverage for you and your company. The second is to give you a peek inside my online media training course, The Art of the Great Media Interview. I've had a few people email me asking about the structure and content of the course (what does it look like, what do the videos cover, etc.). So this week's content has been pulled right from the course (FYI, this is one of 50+ short lessons).

Reporters are not out to get you (most of them)

I can feel some of you rolling your eyes at this title but hear me out

Contrary to popular belief, the VAST majority of journalists are not sitting there plotting ways to make you or your company look bad. But the stereotype of the mean or unethical journalist is prevalent these days and acting as if it's true can end up being extremely damaging to your media relations efforts. So the notion that most reporters are out to get you is what I'm going to dispel in this lesson.

Now...before I proceed...Yes, there ARE a tiny percentage of reporters who are bad at their jobs, who have axes to grind OR who enter interview situations with malicious intentions. However, unless you are a polarizing politician/public figure or a leader whose company has done something very bad (e.g. something to harm your customers or employees), the odds are extremely low that you will be dealing with one of these adversarial, unethical or mean-spirited journalists.

Here's a video where I go into detail on this idea...

So yes, while a small percentage of journalists might be incompetent or even unethical, the VAST majority of reporters the typical spokesperson will encounter throughout their career are just trying to tell stories, please their bosses, create value for their audience and get the facts right.

One of the key takeaways here should be that entering a media interview with an overly defensive (or even paranoid) mindset is very likely to backfire on you. If you spend the whole interview waiting for that 'gotcha' moment to arrive, you're not going to be doing all the things you should be doing: telling your story, connecting with your audience and delivering great, compelling quotes. You're also going to come across as if you're hiding something, which might make the journalist start digging more. So, in a sense, your defensiveness can create a negative feedback loop.

At the outset of an interview, the majority of journalists are just looking to figure out what the story is and get some quotes, sound bites or videos they can use. They're not out to get you. They're not out to help you. They're doing their job and you're doing yours. So, where does that leave you and how should you proceed? That's what we're going to examine in the rest of this section...

End of lesson

I believe that understanding this concept (that reporters are not all out to get you) is fundamental to great media interviews and better media coverage. And this week's content is also a good representation of the look and feel of the rest of the online course (50+ lessons that cover every aspect of media training). If you'd like to dive deeper into The Art of the Great Media Interview, the course is currently available for $100 off for newsletter subscribers only (bringing the one-time price to C$149 down from C$249). Use code TCC on the checkout page to take advantage of your discount. This offer will expire on Wednesday, June 7 at 11:59 pm EST. Thanks for reading and I'll see you again next week!