Dealing with curve balls

For the first time in a while, Sleeves and I grabbed Starbucks teas with names longer than I can remember and headed to the Westin for a CPRS professional development session. Dealing with curve balls when you least expect them certainly had the potential to be incredibly interesting and engaging and I'm very happy to report that it more than lived up to my expectations!

Pat Brownlow, treasurer of the CPRS board and head honcho of Patrick Brownlow & Associates, kicked off the presentation with a story including illegal immigrants, a media hungry wife, and European pornography. Brownlow discussed the importance of adhering to but not hiding behind privacy and confidentiality limitations while working to do one's best to help the media do their job. That's precisely what they are there to do, not to screw you over, but simply to do a job. By being honest and accommodating with journalists, Brownlow built strong relationships and was then able to work with the media to ensure a balanced story despite the difficult situation.

Last-minute replacement presenter Peter Graham joined us from Capital Health with almost daily "curve ball" experience. In the issues management field, Graham fields between five and 12 media calls a day which he chalks up to his organization being known as an excellent resource for a variety of issues - and the fact that it spends $700 million of public funds each year. Openness, transparency and accountability are his big three components of media relations. I enjoyed how he put the annoying media calls ("Are you seeing many people coming in because of slips on icy sidewalks this winter?") into context as the groundwork for building working relationships with the media. Help them get their soundbites for last-minute stories and they'll be more accommodating when you need their help in the future.

Last we had former prime-time news anchor and current communications advisor for CNS, Stacey Jones-Oxner. She brought with her stories from the Nova Scotia: Come to Life campaign. While the backlash from the mental health community (for creating a faux ailment Delusional Calgaria - see below) was certainly an interesting twist, I didn't quite feel this one had come to a resolution just yet. Media-wise it was handled nicely with a very quick but successful knee-jerk response, but I'm left wondering how much follow-up was done with the offended parties. Nonetheless, Jones-Oxner showed her seasoned speaking and presentation skills and was a joy to listen to.

Sleeves, the resident media relations expert in my life, and I left with lots to discuss and dreams of more pastry-covered butternut squash soup. Thanks CPRS and congrats on a fantastic session!

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