CONTENTS
Chapters
- The News Media and Family Planning Programs
- Building a News Media Relations Program
- Developing a Strategy
- How to Tell the Family Planning Story
- Tools for Analysis
- Matching Your Message to the Medium
- Developing Materials that Interest Journalists
- Making News
- Dealing with Controversy
HIGHLIGHTS
Population Reports is published by the Population
Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland
21202-4012, USA
Volume XXIII, Number 4
November, 1995 |
Responding to Adverse Coverage
No matter what you do or how well you do it, your organization probably
will face negative publicity at some point (2, 55). After a negative story
is aired or published, the damage may already be done. If you are prepared
to respond, however, you may be able to minimize the damage or even turn
it to your advantage (19, 22, 26,
67).
When a negative story appears, the first step is quickly to assess it
and its likely impact (26, 67):
- How widely was the story circulated?
- Did it come from a credible source?
- Were the facts and statistics accurate?
- Was it based on personal opinion, emotion, or bias?
- Was it an isolated event or the start of an organized campaign?
- What damage can the story cause?
Your assessment is key to choosing a course of action. You can choose one
or several possible responses (26):
- Do nothing. This could be the wisest course of action if a
response would only magnify and prolong the problem.
- Ask for a correction. If the story is inaccurate and reaches
conclusions on the basis of obvious errors, consider
discussing it with the reporter and asking for correction.
Editors and broadcasters usually are willing to correct
factual errors, particularly if they can do so in a
follow-up story that reports new developments. It does not
help, however, to question the judgment or challenge the
integrity of a journalist, even if you have been treated
unjustly.
- Ask for comparable space or air time. An attack on your
organization or on family planning provides an opportunity
for you to state your own position, without necessarily
responding directly to the attack. Editors and broad-
casters often welcome contrasting views.
- Respond indirectly, over time. To counter negative publicity
without directly responding, you can encourage a series of
accurate stories in various news media over the next few
months.
- Reply directly and immediately. Defend the position of your
organization by responding directly and immediately. Three
avenues for such response are writing a letter to the
editor, issuing a news release, and calling a news
conference.
When to call a news conference. Hold a news conference to
counter an attack in the news media only when the attack
represents a direct and substantial threat to the well-being of
your organization. Otherwise, you may only worsen the situation
by overreacting to it. In extreme cases, however, when
accusations and misinformation are being widely circulated and
could damage your reputation, deter clients, or affect your
funding, a news conference may be necessary to counter the
opposition. If you decide to hold such a news conference, do so
as soon as possible, preferably on the same day that the original
news story appears. Bring all available resources to your
defense, including support by influential community leaders,
medical experts, and client groups. Be sure to invite all
interested journalists. Competitors of the news organization that
issued the original attack will welcome a new angle when they run
the story themselves. |
