Fobbing Off the Media Is Unhealthy

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By: Doug Bedell

Long-term care and other facilities for the elderly are highly vulnerable to bad publicity and, too often, may be among the least equipped to handle a reporter's call effectively. Elizabeth Newman, senior editor at McKnight's, a long-term care industry journal, discusses that reality in a post that, by implication, offers media relations alerts for other industries, too.

Don't, for instance, ever have a staffer who, if she happens to pick up a reporter's call, says, "I think you have the wrong person. I am the marketing person." Everyone, including secretaries, should be trained to handle a media call with basic effectiveness, should they find themselves on one. And, of course, there needs to be someone to give a forthcoming reply. A nice post on the perils of trying to get by without an effective PR presence.

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About the Author

Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the proprietor of Resource Relations in Central PA, which focuses on organizational communication, crisis communication, and social media. His blog, “Beetles Beat,” can be found at www.ResourceRelations.net. On Twitter, he’s DougBeetle.

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