PR: Choosing a Spokesperson
By Kris | May 25th, 2007 No Comments »Okay, so here’s a little lesson in Public Relations. As a PR professional here in Utah, we have lots of opportunities to work with companies and help them with media relations. My boss, David Politis, is an expert spokesman and works well with the media, he just gets it — granted, he’s had plenty of time to polish his skills!
When choosing a spokesperson it is important to remember you want someone who will represent you well. For larger companies, it isn’t a bad idea to have a media policy for employees, after all, the reporter that wants the scoop doesn’t care if it’s coming from the top or the mail room, it is probably more credible coming from the mail room, for that matter.
So with this little post, I don’t intend to make any judgments about Michael Vick, his career or personal life, suffice it to say, the local attorney is looking into charges for alleged dog fighting on his property. My colleague, the Crazy Canuck, sent me this clip of Vick’s fellow footballers, and probably friends, backing and defending Vick to the media. I don’t think he asked them to say anything, much less paid them to say anything. The bottom line is that these guys aren’t doing the NFL, their teams or Michael Vick much good by “candidly” sharing their opinions with the media.
My Two Cents: Obviously this is a bit over the top, however, it well proves the fact that you should carefully choose your spokesperson. This certainly applies when the media tries to contact your friends, or employees, be careful, the media may not verify that these people are authorized to speak in your behalf.
