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Who
Stepped In It
Poor Media Relations Can Be Costly
By Mark McDonald, Vox Optima Public Relations
(Rourk PR strategic partner)
The recent firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal after an expose in Rolling Stone magazine will likely have many senior leaders in the military, government and business on edge about engaging with the media.
It is an over-reaction for any senior official to be afraid to engage media as a result of Gen. McChrystal’s error in judgment though.
Effective strategic communication and media relations guide leaders to set specific goals for conducting interviews or allowing access to a reporter visiting any organization’s activities. Having read the Rolling Stone article and being someone concerned with our nation’s ultimate success in the war on terror, it is unclear to me exactly what the purpose of this interview was and what McChrystal expected to gain from conducting this media relations activity.
The reporter seems to have taken a creative approach in making McChrystal look like an insubordinate officer with an axe to grind with the Commander-in-Chief and most of his national security advisors. There are no direct comments attributed to the general, but statements pieced together from his staff make it seem like it.
So exactly what was McChrystal’s error in judgment? And how can senior leaders avoid the same pitfall? He made strategic errors and media relations execution errors in this case. Let’s break it down.
Define your goal. If the general wanted to demonstrate his toughness and leadership to a young demographic to inspire young people to seek careers in special operations forces, I can see doing this type of interview. But not having senior staff members prepared to stay in their lanes concerning national security policy is a head scratcher. Never do media just because they want to talk to you, but have a well thought-out strategy defined before the reporter shows up. Strategy error.
Choose the outlet wisely. The Rolling Stone editorial staff has never been known as military supporters. They’ve been searching for another Vietnam since, well, Vietnam. Some risks are worth taking, but selecting a publication that has always been against your organization does not make sense. Strategy error.
Select the appropriate level of access. In our reality TV culture all access seems cool, but granting an in-depth all access embed to a reporter you clearly do not have a long-term relationship with is foolish. Perhaps allow an interview, even an in-depth one, but the long length of access to this reporter is mind-boggling. Media relations tactics error.
Prepare your staff. If staff members and other members of the organization will be in close contact with an embedded reporter producing a feature for a national publication, they should be on their toes as professionals. That includes understanding their lane in a discussion about national security. If the boss wants to go out on a limb and challenge the president’s national security team, fine. McChrystal’s staff did not serve him well. Media relations tactics error.
Stay in your lane. People referenced in this article were speaking outside the scope of their responsibility. Everyone has an opinion on national policy issues; keep them to yourself when you have an outside journalist present. Media relations tactics error.
The communication advisor responsible for this media interview was not thinking clearly, in fact, his lack of strategic vision was the first misstep in this comedy of errors; however, McChrystal and his senior staff are equally at fault for this public relations debacle. The general needed to go, but this situation was totally avoidable.
Senior leaders should recognize the value of high visibility public relations and understand the risks. Good communication strategy, through preparation and effective media relations tactics, can all lead to the prevention of media relations nightmares like this one.
About Rourk Public Relations
The Rourk Public Relations agency is expert at media relations, strategic communications and public relations. It contributes effective PR and Marketing work to a wide range of clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Hampton Roads, and throughout Virginia.
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