AIHA Media Training

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AIHA Media Training

• Al Rickard
• Alex Walsh
• Melissa Hurley

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Todays Agenda

• Your Agenda
• Developing Core Messages
• Fielding Media Calls
• Preparing for Interviews
• Conducting Interviews
• Interview Follow-Up
• Mock Interview Scenarios
• Representing AIHA with the Media

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Your Agenda

• Previous media experience
• Print
• Broadcast
• Goals for media training

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Core Messages

• Essence of what you want to say
• What you want the audience to remember
• Threes the limit
• Succinct
• Memorable
• Repeatable

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AIHA Core Messages

• Industrial hygienists are the guardians of health
  and safety in the workplace.
• Industrial hygienists are workplace detectives,
  finding and fixing health and safety problems.
• Industrial hygiene has a powerful ROI safe
  workers and improved productivity.

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Customize Your Messages

• Every media opportunity is different
• Customize messages to match the topic and the
  audience
• Messages for OEHS professionals are different
  than messages for the public

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Developing Messages

• Convene stakeholders
• Discuss audiences
• Identify communication goals
• Brainstorm statements to support goals
• Create three short, simple messages
• Use key words and phrases to make them memorable

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Making Messages Memorable

• Anecdotes
• Analogies
• Third-Party Endorsement
• Why People Should Care
• Whats in it for the Audience

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Know Your Adversary!
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The Curious Reporter
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The Nosy Reporter
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Hungry Reporters
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The Lazy Reporter
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The Resourceful Reporter
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TheFriendlyReporter
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The Vigilant Reporter
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Anatomy of a Reporter

• Nose for News
• Side fins for making stories veer off in
  unexpected directions
• Spiny dorsal fin for delivering cutting copy
• Tail for quick getaways from PR people
• Mouth for eating (Yes, they are always hungry)

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A Day in the Life of a Reporter

• Deadline Driven
• Issue of the Day Dominates Attention
• Need to Beat the Competition
• Looking for Controversy
• Information Overload
• Perry White Screaming in the Newsroom

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Fielding Media Calls

• Remain calm and dont get defensive no matter
  what the reporter says
• Ask questions
• Why is the topic in the news
• What do they already know
• Who else are they interviewing
• What type of story they are writing (news story,
  feature story, opinion column, etc.)
• What is the deadline
• If it is a broadcast interview, is it live

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More on Fielding Media Calls

• Take the opportunity to shape the story if you
  are ready
• Set a later time to be interviewed if you cannot
  respond immediately

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Preparing for Interviews

• Research the reporter and the media (AIHA can
  help)
• Inform colleagues
• Develop messages
• Anticipate tough questions and prepare
  counterpoints
• Suggest other spokespersons if you cannot answer
  questions

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Conducting Interviews
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Conducting Interviews

• Assume the audience (and the reporter) is
  ignorant
• Dont use industry jargon or acronyms
• Use examples where possible
• Use analogies to make complex topics
  understandable
• Stick to your core messages
• You are NEVER off the record
• Dont ask to see a copy of the story

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Delivering Messages

• If the reporter doesnt offer an opening, create
  one
• Bridge to your core messages
• Repeat your core messages
• Repeat them again

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Example of Bridging

• Question Why wasnt anything done to prevent the
  deaths of five workers at your plant last month?
• Answer Were all concerned about worker safety.
  As industrial hygienists, we are the guardians of
  health and safety in the workplace. We created
  our new safety procedures based on input from
  both management and labor.

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Another Bridging Example

• Question Why didnt anyone realize that the
  chemicals used in your new manufacturing process
  were making people sick?
• Answer Sometimes health risks are hard to find.
  Industrial hygienists are workplace detectives,
  finding and fixing health and safety problems. We
  fixed the problem and no one has gotten sick for
  three months.

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Another Bridging Example

• Question The Acme Widget Corporation is losing
  money and workers are being laid off. How can you
  justify the cost of your industrial hygiene
  program? Cant people use common sense to be safe
  on the job?
• Answer The health and safety of workers cannot
  be left to chance. We care about our people and
  need a health and safety program to protect them.
  Industrial hygiene has a powerful return on
  investment safe workers and improved
  productivity.

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Deflecting Sensitive Questions

• You dont have to answer every question if you
  dont like the question, acknowledge it and
  deliver a core message.
• Sample Response Thats a good question, but I
  want to emphasize that industrial hygienists are
  the guardians of health and safety in the
  workplace. Its our mission to make sure they go
  home safe to their families and enjoy a high
  quality of life.

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Dealing with Hypothetical Questions

• Dont answer hypothetical questions.
• Sample Response No one can predict the future,
  but we can take important steps to protect
  ourselves from the risks that we know exist. As
  industrial hygienists, we are the guardians of
  health and safety in the workplace, and we take
  that responsibility seriously.

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Restating the Question

• Question Isnt it a shame your company didnt
  invest more in your health and safety program
  before this terrible accident?
• Answer Thank you for asking about the
  importance of investing in health and safety. I
  think we can all agree this is important. I am
  sure our company will devote the resources needed
  to keep our workers safe.

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Dont Repeat Negatives

• Reporter Question Many people have charged that
  your company has a culture of carelessness. Just
  last week investigators uncovered a virtual
  death room in your plant full of toxic black
  mold that has been poisoning workers for months.
  Whats your response to that?

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Dont Repeat Negatives

• Your Response We do not have a culture of
  carelessness and black mold is not toxic as you
  suggest. Your charge of us having a death room
  and poisoning people is completely untrue and
  irresponsible.

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Dont Repeat Negatives

• Newspaper Headline
• Joe Smith of ABC Company Denies Mold is
  Harmful Says Company is Not Poisoning and
  Killing People in Death Room

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Dont Repeat Negatives

• A Better Response Our company has a long
  history of protecting workers through an
  OSHA-approved safety program. We moved quickly to
  eliminate mold from one room in our plant and no
  workers have gotten sick.

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Dont Repeat Negatives

• Revised Headline
• Joe Smith of ABC Company Says Mold Has Been
  Eliminated No Workers Have Gotten Sick

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More Interview Tips

• Ask for clarification on muddy questions
• Watch out for reporters asking the same question
  in different ways to set a trap
• Correct any inaccurate information immediately
• Be proactive with your messages if necessary

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Broadcast Interview Tips

• Be calm
• Be yourself
• Dont get defensive
• Dont fall for the dead air trap
• Be concise (10 seconds can be a long answer, and
  thats only 25 words!)
• Sound authoritative deliver your answers
  confidently without hesitation

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What to Wear on TV

• Solid colors
• Avoid bright white
• No busy patterns
• No heavy or distracting jewelry
• Tie on straight
• OK to wear what you normally wear to work if you
  are interviewed in your work environment

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MSNBC Story

• Following Hurricane Katrina, MSNBC contacted
  industrial hygienist Dave Burkhardt to speak on
  environmental safety issues caused by
  floodwaters. He was interviewed by Ron Reagan on
  the Coast to Coast program. We had only a few
  hours to prepare Dave for this interview.

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FOX 5 News Story

• AIHA was contacted by FOX 5 News in Washington,
  DC to provide a spokesperson on meth lab
  contamination issues. We identified Dr. John
  Martyny, an expert on the subject, to appear. We
  had several days to prepare for this interview.

X
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FOX News Story

• AIHA was asked by FOX News to provide an expert
  to address workplace safety in the wake of the
  West Virginia mining accident in January 2006.
  Industrial hygienist Bruce Groves appeared on the
  Your World with Neil Cavuto program. We had one
  hour to prepare for this interview.

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Evaluating Results

• Overall tone positive or negative?
• Core messages communicated?
• Key points delivered clearly and authoritatively?
• Was the guest treated fairly?
• Was there sufficient time to make points?
• Any traps that could have been avoided?
• Any immediate follow-up necessary?

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Learning from Mistakes

• Remember the West Virginia mining accident in
  January 2006?

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Lessons Learned

• Get the information right!
• Establish a system of communication
• Designate one spokesperson
• Correct any inaccuracies immediately
• Apologize for any mistakes
• In a crisis, dont let emotion and the desire for
  good news get in the way of an organized process
  to identify the facts

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The Disappointed Spokesperson
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Happy Spokespersons !
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Interview Follow-Up

• Send a thank-you note to the reporter
• Immediately provide any follow-up information
  promised
• Inform AIHA so we can capture the clip

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Being an AIHA Spokesperson

• AIHA needs experts in a range of subject areas
• Media training is important
• We prepare you with core messages and background
  on the media outlet and reporter
• Going through the process gives you skills for
  media opportunities in your community

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AIHA Local Action Media Tool Kit

• Members have the power to expand visibility and
  influence
• National media kit adapted for local use by
  members
• Sample press releases
• Health and Safety Day event idea
• Media tips
• Media relations hotline and resources
• Multimedia presentation for students

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Media Interview Scenarios
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Interview Topics

• What is an Industrial Hygienist?
• Flooding Causes Mold Issues
• Meth Lab Discovery in Your Community
• Preparations for Pandemic Flu
• Unknown Sickness at a Chemical Plant
• Gasoline Spill in a Residential Area
• Asbestos in a Local Courthouse