Every interaction with the media is an opportunity to showcase your work and expertise. And in the age of Google, when stories live forever, every article can build or bust your personal brand.
It’s critical for attorneys to know how to work with reporters effectively and respectfully. This becomes harder as in-person interviews become less frequent; the 24-hour news cycle keeps reporters on constant deadline.
How do you make your interviews productive and successful? We provided some insight for Forbes on the modern rules of media engagement (full story here).
One major takeaway: Have some empathy.
Reporters are now expected to do far more with fewer resources … [In] a survey conducted by Indiana University, 62.6% say their organization’s workforce has shrunk. Only 23.3% of journalists report being “very satisfied” with their careers, down 10% from 10 years earlier.
“Journalists today are asked to do five times more than they did 10 years ago,” said Aarti Maharaj, director of communications and executive editor of Ethisphere. “Today, rather than investigating a story, conducting interviews and writing for the morning paper, they are asked to write one story for the paper, two for the website and also do a video report.
“Their time is precious, so interviewees should exercise courtesy by being mindful.”
And as always, be prepared, be prompt and be ethical.