The Media Resent Manipulation

By Eric M. Seidel, CEO

The Media Trainers®

Whether real, or imagined, when the media feel like they’re being told what to report and how, you’re potentially in for a more difficult time.

After 15 bank executives paraded out of their White House meeting with Pres. Obama last week, a flock of reporters moved in and herded them to a set of microphones for a debriefing.

The execs were intent on putting a positive spin on their meeting, emphasizing points of agreement with the administration. Reporters, on the other hand, probed more negative issues, like excessive executive pay and bonuses. One CEO, Bancorp’s Richard Davis, went a bit too far with his response and it precipitated more pointed questions.

Here’s a partial transcript with the potentially offending language highlighted, and a video of the complete segment is right below that.

“We appreciate the fact that’s a winnowing point for the press…it’s not something the industry supports or wants the press to pick up on…We’re changing the dialog and we’re looking forward to giving you new opportunities to celebrate peoples’ special stories of success…and we are responsible in some part for some of the sound bites that have come out along the way…but we’re going to move forward to give you better things to write about, to talk about and better stories to show what’s happening in the great recovery of this country…"

One other note. Davis unequivocally stated that the pay and bonus issues were not discussed with the president. However, Obama told Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer on Sunday, March 29th that the issue did come up because he brought it up. An edited video here illustrates the contradiction:

Hey Al: You Can Hide…But They’ll Find You!

By Eric M. Seidel, CEO

The Media Trainers®

For several years now, The Media Trainers® slogan has been “Anyone who talks about you…or your business…is media.”

Even before LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, et al, came on the scene, it was easy to come to that conclusion. We all leave impressions with others, whether through the media or through personal contact. Those impressions get repeated.

So, messages about you and your business that you communicate to employees, customers, prospects, friends, or family will be repeated. The Internet has only increased those opportunities many times over. Hence our conclusion that everyone is media.

With the addition of devices like PDA’s and camera-equipped cell phones, you may be able to run, but it’s unlikely you can hide. At least, not for long. These things are widely used and widely known and recognized. So, it comes as something of a surprise that the man often credited for “inventing the Internet” thought he could escape the inevitable.

The irony of former vice president Al Gore banning the media from a speech he made to 4,000 attendees at a wireless cell phone trade show is well documented by Sascha Segan in an online column at PCMag.com.

Traditional media may not have been in the room, but the crowd was rampant with bloggers and tweaters, and their messages were quickly picked up by the mainstream folks, as well.

Whether Gore’s ban was based on a long memory and revenge, as suggested by Segan, doesn’t seem to be as important as the fact that he apparently thought he could keep accredited journalists from getting the story, which was naïve, at best.

Your own relationships and today’s technology have combined to end any age of innocence. Just about anywhere you go, you’re surrounded by media.

It’s a fact too important to forget!

A New Media Darling?

“You have run out of our money!”

--Daniel Hannan, Member, European Parliament

By Eric M. Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®

There’s a new political star on the international horizon. He’s only 37. He’s a Conservative Party Englishman who is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He’s very polished, very smooth. And, they’re already talking about him as a future, perhaps very near future, UK PM.

Perhaps you’ve heard about him. He’s already been nicknamed the “Shout heard around the world.” In an extemporaneous speech from the EP floor, Daniel Hannan dressed down the prime minister of England. His speech is all over the Internet.

Hannan is the youngest MEP ever elected to that legislative body. His verbal assault on Gordon Brown was startling and incredibly articulate, something other blogs are covering globally. Brown, by the way, was in the Parliament Hall at the time and Hannan's eyes rarely left the prime minister's.

Equally impressive is his presence and presentation in a Fox News interview. And this is where executives can observe and learn. With anchor Neil Cavuto in his New York Studio, Hannan was staring into a remote camera in France. He maintained constant eye contact with the camera, as if it were another human being. That’s no easy task.

His demeanor: brisk, crisp, comfortable and very confident. His command of the King’s English is impeccable. He knew exactly what he wanted to say about how his prime minister, and our president, are mishandling the world economic crisis by throwing money neither country has at the problem.

This post of a politician (something I almost always avoid) is the exception to my rule only because of what can be observed and copied from Hannan’s performance. He is so clear on and committed to his message, the technical obstacles of the interview fail to intimidate or create any inhibitions. It's also a classic example of knowing your agenda and being able to fit it into the line of questioning.

You can see a segment of the 14 minute interview right here:

Congress Fiddles; Does Business Enjoy Being Burned?

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers, LLC

“Retention bonuses are a form of extortion.”—Barney Frank on CBS’ Face the Nation, 3-22-09.

While public anger in reaction to the AIG bonus payments is understandable, knee-jerk legislation from Congress is not. Yet, on top of the punitive 90% surtax bill already passed by the House, Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank now has his sights on all companies receiving federal bailouts (a/k/a TARP). He will be rolling it out this week (click on video below). In essence, it puts more of Washington into corporate boardrooms. Is that what you want, or need?

In addition, there’s talk of using “reconciliation” by the Democratic majority in Congress to stifle debate and amendments when the budget, healthcare reform, energy and bank bailout legislation come to the floor.

How far does Congress want to take this? And what is business willing to do in response? Is there concern about the federal legislature having its hand so deep into the management of private business? How are your most important stakeholders supposed to feel? What are you doing to address and impress their feelings?

While Congress is busy tapping into public anger with poorly thought out bills, the businesses of America seem to be MIA. Unless they’re called onto the Congressional carpet for hearings where members can make points with constituents, business leaders seem to be lying low. Yet, now is the time to speak up, as is so effectively explained in a white paper from Acumen Strategies.

There is too much at stake to remain silent.

Why AIG is Getting Such a Bitter Reaction

"Anyone who talks about you...or your business...is media!"

Emotions always, A-L-W-A-Y-S, trump statistics and, usually, legitimate facts. So, even if you can see a rational reason for the latest bonuses paid to AIG executives, people are upset, angry and, in some cases, demanding retribution. And the president is looking for legal ways to recover the payments.

Syndicated radio talk host Neal Boortz makes a rational case for what might be behind these bonuses. And he accuses democrats like Congressman Barney Frank of demagoguing the issue to create anger at big business for his (Frank's) and his party’s own benefit. Maybe he’s right.

But it doesn’t matter. It’s not important.

You’d assume that AIG's leaders (or, at least someone in their PR department) understand how people, including elected officials, react when they do something like using taxpayer money (no matter how small a percentage) for bonuses, especially during a deep recession. The fact that the money went to managers of a business unit that led to AIG’s need for a bailout only intensifies the anger.

Are they “tone deaf at AIG,” as some have suggested? Do they live in a cave? Probably not, but can you make a convincing argument that they are not arrogant? Again, probably not.

Indeed, it would appear that AIG looked about as far out into the future to see the reaction to these bonuses as it did in examining the quality of the derivatives they sold that helped put us in this economic abyss.

Time and again business executives fail to recognize and anticipate the emotional backlash to their actions. They don't even seem to care. We human beings emote. And we react to our emotions. Granted, sometimes those reactions are even irrational.

But, sometimes the actions they are reacting to are irrational, as well.

The question for AIG: Could the corporation have handled this differently? Perhaps putting off any bonuses for now, or renegotiating contracts. The argument that these payouts help hold onto intellectual property (experienced managers) does little to convince the people who have been laid off or furloughed or had their salaries cut. Pay raises and bonuses have been put off, or even canceled, at many smaller businesses, often in an effort to save jobs.

AIG may be too big to fail, but it’s not too big to consider how its actions will be perceived and what that does to its public image. Executives need to understand the value of good, honest public relations. That would go a long way toward achieving their business goals, especially the ones who's corporations now are being fueled with taxpayer dollars.

You can learn from this and earlier similar situations. Consider all the possible reactions of your most important audiences. If it's a move or decision that can't wait, something that has to be done now, why not you be the first to break the news. Pre-plan what you want to say. Finally, make sure you're being honest, credible and accessible.

Jon Stewart: America’s News Anchor?

“Anyone who talks about you…or your business…is media!”

A Very Important Lesson for Business Executives

When CNBC’s Rick Santelli went ballistic over the Obama Administration’s bailout of troubled mortgages, the mainstream media zeroed in on his tirade.

Meanwhile, below the radar, the writers and main anchor of Comedy Central’s Daily Show were busy digging to support their own angle on the story. The result: a solid right to CNBC’s credibility.

Of course, Jon Stewart and his staff attacked from the left. But consider their influence. Stewart’s Daily Show has become the news source for millions of pre- and young adults. Stewart is setting the agenda and getting laughs at the same time.

Indeed, The Philadelphia Daily News Web site wrote a lengthy front page piece on what newsrooms nationwide can learn from the devastating effect Stewart and his crew can have.

The moral of this story is that no one is immune from the far-reach of all media, including alternative media, even comedic media. Well before the Internet, cable and satellite television expanded the horizon exponentially for many more media outlets, many of them niche and potentially very influential. The Internet has served only to explode the media universe to infinity.

While nothing you do will be absolutely “bullet proof,” it’s a good idea to consider all the ramifications, anticipate the negatives, and be prepared to respond to them, if and when necessary, in positive ways. For more on these techniques, consult The Media Trainers®.