Can media get hold of you over summer?

Although phone calls from journalists may be the last thing on you mind at the moment, it's important they are able to get hold of you over the 'silly season'. There are two important reasons for this. Firstly, if they are working on a story that could portray you or your business in a bad light, you want to be available. That's because if you are not there to balance up the story, or correct false assumptions, you will be in for some bad publicity. You may think this will never happen, but it does. It doesn't matter how small you are or how much media coverage you have had in the past. We focus on an example of this in our media training workshops. Secondly, because there is little going on over the summer, journalists may look for some good news stories. If they want to contact you about something positive, you need to take it with both hands. Just as bad media coverage can lower your reputation, good publicity can do the opposite. For these reasons, make it easy for the media to contact you. All this means is giving them a cell phone number. This could be through a voice message on your work phone, but the best way is to include this in the contact details section of your website. If you will be in some secluded area with no cell phone coverage, give contact details of the next most senior or qualified person.  This is so simple to organise, and will save a lot of pain if something does go wrong. For more on our media training and presentation training workshops, contact [email protected]