GOING "ABOVE AND BEYOND"
By Judy Hoffman*
You have probably heard the military phrase that someone went "above and beyond the call of duty." This is also an important concept in media relations.
Let us assume that you are prepared to cooperate with the media if -- or I should say when -- they come to call. You will give them the information that they need to write their story. But I'd like you to consider doing even more.
Let's say you become aware of a situation that is building in your organization or your industry. You think that it is likely to come to the attention of the media at some point. Why not proactively broach the subject? If you do, you can achieve three important things:
- The media immediately gets the sense that this issue cannot be all that bad.
- It takes all the joy out of a reporter's desire to engage in investigative muckraking.
- It provides you with the opportunity to be the one who shapes the story.
How It Works
Let me give you an example. In 1978, the chemical industry had to comply with legislation known as the Superfund Amendment and Re-authorization Act (SARA), which required companies to report their emissions of certain chemicals to the air, water, and land. The catchy name for this data was the Toxic Release Inventory or TRI.
I vividly remember the discussion that occurred within the industry. There was a great deal of fear and trepidation about how the media was going to report on this data once it was released on July 1st. Surely, it was said, when reporters saw what appeared to be large volumes of pollutants being discharged, there would be sensationalistic headlines and extremely negative stories.
The only publication requirement at that time was that the data had to be submitted to the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), a governmental body at the county level. Back then, most LEPC's were like ours -- not well organized. As an unfunded mandate, it had neither sufficient staff nor money to be effective. We recognized that the LEPC would be hard pressed to properly organize all of the TRI data they would be receiving. We surmised that, if a concerned citizen requested TRI information from the LEPC, it would take them a while to fulfill the request.Some managers cautioned, "Wait and see if anybody asks for it. Why go borrowing trouble?"
As Manager of Public Affairs, external communications were my responsibility. I was confident that the public would want to know about our TRI data. Before I went to work at the chemical company,
I had been a member of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV). Environmental protection was one of the planks in their platform. I knew that, as soon as it became known that this data had to be filed, one of my LWV colleagues would be asking for it. I also knew that undue delays in obtaining that information would lead to frustration and anger. I imagined negative stories in the LWV monthly bulletin and the local newspapers as well.
To avoid the appearance that the company was attempting to hide this data, I suggested that we publish the information and place it openly in local municipal halls and libraries. I still remember the shocked looks on the faces of several members of the management team when I brought up the subject. To their credit, however, they were willing to discuss it -- especially once the company president said the idea was worthy of further consideration.
What eventually developed was a 40-page notebook. The TRI data was included, of course. However, we were able to present it in a way that we thought would be more palatable -- breaking down annual air emission figures to pounds per hour, for instance. We also made sure there was a clear statement that these were estimated figures and an explanation of why we were confident that the estimates vastly overstated the actual case. We also used the opportunity to provide local citizens with accurate scientific definitions of some of the scary sounding words like "hazardous","toxic," and "carcinogen," which they would probably be hearing or reading when the media began reporting on the TRI data after July 1st.
Surrounding the actual TRI data were chapters about the company's history, products, processes, safety and environmental programs, emergency response capabilities, and the benefits brought to the community by our being part of it. This binder was quite an undertaking for our small company.
It took time to pull it all together, but was ready by the end of the day on June 29th. Our plan was to deliver it to the town halls, libraries, and local newspaper offices. (Yes, we had actually agreed to that! If it were public information, why not make the reporter's job easier instead of making him have to work so hard?)
On June 30th, just as I was leaving my office to deliver the binders, my phone rang. "Hi! This is Ruth from the newspaper. Iknow you guys have to report by tomorrow on all of your emissions.I was wondering if you could give me a 'heads up' on this?"I replied immediately. "I'm glad you called, Ruth. I have inmy hand your copy of the binder we have put together that explainswhat this TRI data is all about and provides our data. Will you bein your office for the next half-hour? I can be right over."
You could have heard a pin drop. She obviously was notexpecting that answer. She was sure she'd have to dig for the information. I thought I could hear the hissing sound of the windcoming out of her investigative sails. "Sure," she said, "come onover."
Of course our whole management team held our collective breath until the newspaper hit our front stoops the next day. Whata loud sigh of relief could be heard as we read the headline,"Company Makes Emissions Data Available to the Public." The whole story was about the fact that we were being so open about it. The article didn't even mention the tons per year of our various chemicals going into the atmosphere. A subsequent story included a list of the "Dirty Dozen" of the county (those whose emission figures were among the twelve highest), but our name was not listed . Even had we appeared there, I am convinced that we would have gotten better treatment because we had gone "above and beyond" what was absolutely required.
Another Example
In this instance, when the company received a bomb threat, I suggested to management that we be the ones to call the local media. At first they thought I had really lost my mind, but they were eventually persuaded that this was the right course of action. By my contacting the local media, I could effectively plead for them to use discretion in the reporting so as not to stimulate a rash of copycat incidents.
The media cooperated beautifully. Some didn't even mention it. Others wrote a brief, factual account that showed that the company responded appropriately to protect its employees and the community. Had they heard the call go out over the emergency scanner for the bomb-sniffing dogs to be sent to the plant, a reporter and photographer would have been immediately dispatched. This would have made a much bigger story, possibly encouraging others to try to cause the same level of excitement.
While volunteering information to the media may be a strange idea to some, it is something you should at least consider. It can benefit your company image and your credibility with the media tremendously.
*Judy Hoffman is a community and media relations consultant who spent 17 years "in the trenches" as the Public Affairs Manager and media spokesperson for a chemical manufacturing company. In her crisis communications practice, she has helped clients in many industries, but specializes in working with companies in the chemical industry and others who handle hazardous materials that promote concern/fear among neighbors. Her specialty topics are dealing with the media and dealing with angry people. Her publications can be purchased at her Web site, www.judyhoffman.com.
