Did you see Arizona QB Derek Anderson laughing on the sidelines while his team was getting stomped by the 49ers? Did you see him launch into a tirade when a reporter asked him about it in the post-game news conference?
The tantrum heard 'round the world.
It was everywhere and a classic case of how not to deal with the news media. Anderson laughed, later threw a tantrum and both incidents went viral. There was some attempt at damage control but that horse already left the barn leaving a big pile of manure behind.
Reporters get paid to ask questions of their choice, not ours. Whether or not you think they're fair doesn't matter. It's how you handle the question that's important.
More than a few execs have asked me, "Why did they ask that question, why didn't they ask what I wanted to talk about?" What they should be asking is why didn't they spend time on media training.
If you or your company/organization is in the public eye, or think you might be, you'd be wise to invest in media training. Even more so if you don't think you'll ever be in the spotlight. Better to be prepared and have nothing happen than the other way around.
Think of media training as building a fire break before the fire starts.
Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you" (Especially when someone else starts it first)
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