PR


No, I’m alive and kicking


Barckley Sumner wonders why journalists don’t chat any more


S


ophie Atherton’s feature, ‘Is the press office(r) dead?’ chimes with me but from the opposite point of view.


Running a very lively press department, I am amazed by the reluctance of journalists to contact me or my fellow press officers directly. We are all meant to be communication experts, but we seem unable to communicate effectively.


Running the press and media team for the Unite union is lively in normal times, but earlier this year during the Birmingham bin strike, things hit the stratosphere.


Requests for comment and, particularly, media interviews were raining on us at a level we had never seen before. Not just for a couple of days but for weeks on end. What was astonishing was the sheer


number of broadcast and press requests I was receiving (and I was merely the secondary point of contact for the dispute) coming through on WhatsApp and by text. These bids weren’t even by


journalists and producers I knew and, where we had working relationships with news organisations, many enquiries were from people we had never dealt with. Surely this isn’t ideal from the point


of view of booking an interview. How do you know the request is being actioned, without speaking to the relevant press officer?


12 | theJournalist


Equally, how can you begin to express the main points you want to address in a broadcast interview via a text?


From my team’s point of view, we try to find out as much as possible about what the interviewer wants to focus on so we can properly brief our spokespeople. Surely this makes for a better interview? But there was an added issue. Maybe,


as Atherton describes, we run an old-school press office but we make sure we put personal mobile numbers and email addresses on press releases. Our contact information plus a generic press line number (which should be staffed evenings and weekends) are on our website. When any of the press team go on holiday, we ensure information about alternative contacts is placed on our out-of-office messages and voicemail. It’s not infallible but we do our best.


So far so good, until I went on a


much needed family holiday while the bin strike was at media fever pitch. This is a classic first world issue, but I quickly realised that, while callers and emailers would know who to contact, those relying on WhatsApp and text were in danger of falling into limbo and being ignored. It was tempting to leave such lax requests hanging but, when you have the government lying about our members, the council announcing a critical incident and elements of the


army being brought in, you need to tell your side of the story wherever you can.


Long story short: I had to reply


to every one of those texts and WhatsApp message, providing information on who they needed to contact. At best, this caused raised eyebrows from my long -suffering spouse who believes I work too much at the best of times. So why do journalists and broadcasters rely on these forms of contact? Is it because I am a dinosaur and no one contacts directly any more and I should just get with the times? Is it a lack of training? If so, I find that strange as any big organisation looking to set or follow the news agenda surely wants interviews agreed quickly to avoid chaos in its running order? I work on the basis that the shorter the deadline the greater the need for direct contact, but again, that does not seem to be universal. Talking to my colleagues, our view is


“


that, when making an interview bid, an email backed up by a phone call should be standard. This way, both sides know it has been received and logged and is being dealt with Is the fundamental problem that press officers in general, or me in particular, are so foul to deal with that people can’t face working with us directly? If so, I apologise. My philosophy is I try to be courteous and helpful, even when we are reluctant to divulge very much information. Clearly, we all need to do better. Press departments need to provide the relevant contact details and respond swiftly to enquiries, especially if we are chased.


How can you begin to express the main points you want to address in a broadcast interview via a text?


Press officers, producers and broadcast journalists need to develop those crucial personal relationship, which is possible only through direct contact. Inevitably, you will get a better and quicker response and might get some extra relevant information. We are all busy. The pressure on all sides to turn round copy, arrange interviews and provide information is becoming more intense as demand grows and deadlines tighten. But let’s just try to communicate better and make life easier for everyone.


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