In the middle of a telephone interview, the CEO of a smallish telecommunications
firm was having trouble articulating his point to a journalist. After fumbling
his statement a couple times, he interrupted himself, sighed deeply and said
to the journalist, "You know what I'm trying to say. Just write something good
and put it in quotes." Sadly, he didn't seem to be joking.
Obviously not all CEOs are so crassly ignorant about their media relations
efforts. They run the gamut from media darling to media joke. In the second part
of our What Journalists Think survey, we asked more than 30 reporters and editors
at Phillips Business Information (publishers of PR NEWS) to tell us what
they think about the CEOs in their industries.
Q: How media-savvy are the CEOs in the industry you cover?
A: Pretty savvy. I cover a very political issue so people are pretty
good at media operations.
- Carolyn Keplinger, editor Oxy-Fuel News
A: Most of the CEOs in the satellite industry understand the high value
of developing and maintaining good relations with the press. The public relations
professionals who assist the CEOs seem to appreciate the importance of letting
CEOs discuss their plans and strategies. Unless a CEO is an awkward speaker
or too new to the job to talk knowledgeably, a company can really help itself
by sharing its plans and goals.
The cooperation of the vast majority of CEOs in my industry makes it easy to
spot the companies that are in dire straits. The latter CEOs are inaccessible.
The advice PR professionals can offer is that negative news ultimately comes
out. It usually is better to be proactive and release the news yourself, than
to let a leak from a disgruntled employee or a fierce competitor tell the story
for you.
-Paul Dykewicz, senior analyst, Satellite Group/Satellite News
A: I've got two categories: old school and new.... Old school are not
too media savvy, but they have good advisors and staff to help make sure they
always shine. New school are heavy hitter in all arenas, young and smooth, with
no need for intercessionaries. They are on the ball on Internet, global marketing,
brand awareness, industry issues, along with the guts to say it like it is.
- Scott Chase, executive editor, Via Satellite/Launchspace
A: They are very media savvy. They control the environments through
strong PR firms and offer access like pearls.
- John Scheinman, assistant managing editor, Electronic Commerce News
A: The CEOs in my industry are half and half. The CEOs of the larger
regional [airlines] are very willing to talk directly to me and are very
knowledgeable about their airline's issues, along with what's going on in the
industry as a whole. For example, I regularly swap email gossip and trends with
a major regional airline president who knows the importance of the big and smaller
picture. The smaller regional CEOs tend to be very press-shy.
- Benét J. Wilson, editor, Commuter/Regional Airline News
A: Generally quite savvy at the top-level companies. They often give
us access at major trade shows by inviting us to breakfasts, etc. They are often
quite willing to speak to us on the phone, too, or have us visit their facilities.
- Matt Thurber, editor, Aviation Maintenance
A: It definitely varies according to the size and prestige of the organization.
Typically, the bigger, more well-known the company, the more likely it is to
have its own PR department that ensures a CEO is well-versed in media relations.
Visa, for example, has multiple media relation execs who screen all inquiries
first and "prep" their executives before interviews with the press.
- Lurdes Abruscato, copy editor, Telecom Group