Media in the New Millennium

Stephen Ludwig, a senior account executive here at Metzger Associates, also serves on the Board of Regents for the University of Colorado. The regents were recently in the spotlight during the search for a new president for CU. Bruce Benson, a notable Colorado Republican, was ultimately selected in a 6-3 vote two days ago, but not without much debate (Steve was one of the three dissenters).

Steve wrote up some impressions from his experience as a regent and PR professional, and we’d like to share them over posts during the next couple of days.

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Public Comment to Avoid Controversy is a Good Thing: We had more public comment before this meeting than go into most major local government decisions impacting communities.  The Board could have easily said we had enough public comment and taken none at our meeting – which was the way I was leaning.  My leaning was a dumb idea. Allowing public comment reaffirmed our commitment to having an open and public process – which is where I sort of smack my own forehead and say “duh” – which we committed to, and took an arrow out of the quiver of people unhappy with the process. And, oddly, we had the Denver Mayor, head of the Colorado Board of Education, a member of the Board of Education, a former state Supreme Court Justice, the head of Denver Public Schools and three lawmakers come and testify… who would have guessed?  Did it change anyone’s mind on the Board? I don’t know. Either way, the public discourse was viewed as positive.

Eloquence is Not a Press Strategy: I gave remarks, and they were well prepared and read – if I do say so myself.  However, they are not the most quoted in the coverage of this event. If we are advising clients or writing their remarks, a balanced and thoughtful approach might make them feel good (I certainly felt good) and might be appropriate (boy, did I feel appropriate), but it won’t necessarily get them in the paper or on the evening news. Since that was not my goal, the outcome is fine. If our clients want ink, however, we should consider other options.

Work the Room: Mingle and chat with members of the media before and after events – it will increase your odds of getting quoted. I can’t emphasize this enough. The Regents that are best at this get the most quotes in the paper.

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We’ll post some additional thoughts early next week. Thanks, Steve!

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