· S P E C I A L · F E A T U R E ·
"Fitchisms"
Commentary on Public Affairs
Press Relations
· Compiled from the new book ·
by Brad Fitch
INTRODUCTION
Brad Fitch is the Deputy Director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan
Congressional Management Foundation.
Media Relations
Handbook, his magnum opus, is written for press secretaries on
Capitol Hill, public affairs officers in federal agencies, spin doctors
in political campaigns, PR professionals in nonprofit organizations,
lobbyists, and anyone whose job involves garnering media coverage in a
town where ink is gold and airtime is platinum.
One of the joys of reading a book written by a master spin doctor is
that every page contains a clever turn of phrase. We've compiled the
best of these "Fitchisms" into one document, below, including commentary
on press relations, communications strategy, policy vs. PR, and crisis
communications.
More information about Media Relations
Handbook and
author Brad Fitch follows the soundbites. Enjoy!
"Fitchisms"
Commentary on Public Affairs Press Relations
by Brad
Fitch
On Media Relations
"The press list is the pure definition of your target audience." (p.
13)
"A press secretary's worst fear is a slow reporter and a fast
deadline." (p.81)
"[Reporters] consider it their constitutional right and
responsibility to ask, probe, question, sneak up on, criticize, cajole,
press, and sometimes annoy the public figures they are assigned to
cover." (p. 89)
"Many public relations professionals view their principals like a
product -- and why not? We package them like soap, market them like
soap, sell them like soap...." (p. 161)
"Barely a week goes by in Washington when The Washington Post
or Roll Call doesn't fillet some flack or staffer who wrote a
dumb memo, misspelled an important person's name in a letter, or had a
typo in a press release." (p. 24)
"Many people feel they don't need any media training because they
have watched countless television interviews. This is the equivalent of
saying you can be a major league pitcher because you've watched Roger
Clemens pitch on television." (p 175)
On "The Message"
"It is much more persuasive to connect with an audience member on an
emotional level, as opposed to a practical one, and emotions are evoked
by touching our values." (p. 57)
"[The Message] must be a clear, concise, value-based image or
statement that connects with a targeted audience in a meaningful way."
(p. 50)
"Make sure everyone is singing from the same hymnal." (p. 239)
"An op-ed should be a seamless flow, like a casual ride the reader
climbs aboard for the three-to-five minutes it takes to read the piece."
(p. 33)
"The ultimate thrill of a public relations professional is to see
your words in print attributed to someone else." (p. 31)
On Policy vs. PR
"Public policy is too important to leave to policy experts." (p. 187)
"Policy experts seem to have a natural suspicion of public relations
types. They often view the profession with skepticism, fearing that some
flack will rip apart and dumb down their carefully woven policy just to
grab a one-day headline (which, to be fair, we sometimes do)." (p. 183)
"Nothing more riles an over-educated, masters-degree toting,
bespectacled policy wonk during a strategy meeting than some brash spin
doctor chiming in, 'Maybe we could do it another way that could get us
more press.' But, in spite of the hateful stares and lost lunch
invitations, that's part of your job." (p. 8)
On Communications Technology
"In the world of public affairs, the most valuable thing someone can
give to you today, other than a financial contribution, is her email
address." (p. 132)
"With the assistance of someone who understands the office computer
system and knows how to make it sing, you can exponentially increase
your reach." (p. 12)
"People like dealing with the government online. A web site is the
first choice of both the public and reporters who are seeking government
information." (p. 213)
On Crisis Press Relations
"In court, all accused have a right to face their accuser; this
principle does not exist in public relations." (p. 84)
"If you're standing before a judge in a courtroom, would you want a
press secretary defending you? Similarly, if you're standing before the
court of public opinion, get someone versed in the rules of that
court... more often than not, that's not a lawyer." (p. 190)
"Reporters are absolutely relentless when they think a public
official has something to hide... They will hunt down any cloaked detail
with a gusto that is unmatched in the professional world." (p. 188)
"In an image crisis, the worst-case scenario is the one most likely
to occur." (p. 246)
"It is especially important to make experts available in any crisis
when the public safety or health is at stake. People just don't believe
flacks in such situations." (p. 231)
"Many leaders want an entire army of public relations writers to
respond to one letter to the editor in a small paper, yet will scoff at
the idea of devoting necessary resources to defusing a genuine
communications time bomb." (p. 233)
"An organization in a communications crisis without a plan is like a
blind man trying to feel his way out of a burning building." (p. 246)
About the Author
BRAD FITCH is Deputy Director for the Congressional Management
Foundation (CMF), http://www.cmfweb.org, a nonprofit,
nonpartisan education organization in Washington, DC, that provides
training, consulting, and research to improve the management of
congressional offices.
He began his career in communications at age 14, reading statistical
summaries of high school basketball games for his hometown radio station
in upstate New York. After working as a radio and television reporter in
the mid-1980's, Brad began working on Capitol Hill in 1988. During his
13 years on Capitol Hill, he served in a variety of positions for four
members of Congress, including: press secretary for a House member,
campaign manager for a House Member, communications director for a House
committee, communications director for a U.S. Senator, legislative
director for a House member, and chief of staff for a freshman House
member. He left Congress in 2001 to work for CMF, where he writes
publications on congressional management, conducts training programs for
congressional staff, and provides confidential consulting to members of
Congress.
Brad received his Bachelor's degree from The Johns Hopkins University
and his Master's degree in Journalism and Public Affairs at American
University. He has taught at American University since 1997, and
currently teaches a course he designed, Ethical Persuasion.
About the Book
MEDIA RELATIONS HANDBOOK
for Agencies,
Associations,
Nonprofits and Congress
By Brad
Fitch
Foreword by Mike McCurry
Published by TheCapitol.Net
ISBN
1-58733-003-2, 345 pages, hardbound, $45
Available from this site or
directly from:
http://www.thecapitol.net/
Brad Fitch's Media Relations
Handbook is required
reading for press secretaries on Capitol Hill, public affairs officers
in federal agencies, spin doctors in political campaigns, PR
professionals in nonprofit organizations, lobbyists, and anyone whose
job involves garnering media coverage in a town where ink is gold and
airtime is platinum.
In Media Relations
Handbook Brad Fitch moves back and
forth between theory and practice with the grace of a prize fighter,
teasing out general principles, then illustrating his points with
real-life examples.
A former radio and TV reporter with 11 years of experience as a press
secretary on Capitol Hill, Fitch covers the gamut of political press
relations, beginning with the principal and his or her message, then
showing how this message is manipulated through print, broadcast, and
online communications. He explains how to deal with reporters, staff and
policy wonks with the sage tone of experience coupled with generous
doses of humor.
Media Relations
Handbook devotes chapters to special
situations including Congressional Campaigns, Federal Agency
Communications, and Crisis Communications. All of this highlighted with
anecdotes from the most important media battles in Washington over the
past four decades: everything from Watergate to Whitewater, Barney Frank
to Gary Condit, Sam Donaldson to Howard Dean.
From the pithy quotes that introduce each chapter to the appendices,
glossary, and index that complete this guide,
Media Relations
Handbook is a tremendous achievement. If Washington press
relations is a martial art, Fitch is its Yoda. Indeed, James Carville
says that "Media Relations Handbook is to political campaigns
what The Art of War is to military campaigns: an essential
strategic reference."
An amalgamation of the collective wisdom of hundreds of public
relations professionals, Media Relations
Handbook is an
overview of the ideas that have become the accepted rules of
communications in Washington, presented in one volume. This book
deserves to occupy a spot next to the telephone in every media relations
office in D.C. Get Media Relations
Handbook today -- and
we'll see you in the headlines tomorrow.
Endorsements
"Uncertain how to interest the press in your pressing issue? Having
difficulty preparing your media-unfriendly boss for a tough interview?
Worried about the next communications crisis and how to handle it? Brad
Fitch answers those questions and many more in this crisp, clear and
completely useful book."
-- Tucker Carlson
Co-Host CNN
Crossfire, author
"A seminar from TheCapitol.Net is one of the best ways to learn from
the experts about how Washington really works. Now all that insight and
information has been packed into this invaluable volume. I suggest you
read it, and become your own expert."
-- Steven V.
Roberts
syndicated columnist, TV and radio analyst, college
professor
"Brad Fitch has performed an admirable public service by giving
public relations students and professionals alike an indispensable tool.
His book provides a road map on both the practicalities and principles
of PR, and he shows that honest PR is not an oxymoron. Now it's up to
all of us in the media and spin industries to keep our end of the
bargain."
-- Ed Henry
Congressional Correspondent, CNN,
formerly Senior Editor of Roll Call
"This volume is an invaluable road map to the mean streets of a city
where information is power and power is everything. Brad Fitch has
written a rich 'how-to' lesson for pros and for novices who must
negotiate the competitive landscape of America's new media."
--
Ann Compton
White House Correspondent, ABC News
Copyright © 2004 by TheCapitol.Net, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Please feel free to duplicate or distribute this file as long as the
contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.
