Let the Media Help Say It for You

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®

It’s the National Retail Federation vs. Wal-Mart. Despite the federation’s 2500 membership roster, this has the feel of David vs. Goliath.

So, when you’re at an apparent disadvantage of that degree, what can you do? Get some help from the news media, of course.

These two seemingly aligned organizations are on opposing sides of healthcare reform. Wal-Mart, often at war with unions and their attempts to organize the massive retailer’s workforce, has “partnered” with one of its most aggressive and long-time antagonists, the Service Employees International Union in favor of employer-mandated healthcare. The federation says that would be a job killer and put many retailers out of business.

The federation’s Sr. VP for Government Affairs, Steve Pfister, recently carried that message to target audiences watching Fox News Channel’s Your World, and took advantage of some questions from substitute host Stuart Varney.

Varney: “Maybe Wal-Mart did because it knew it could do it and it would put unbearable pressure on its direct competitors.”

Pfister: “Well Stuart, you said that, I didn’t, but I think there might be some truth to the comment you just made.”

And Varney said it for him, giving Pfister an opportunity to simply second that emotion. Then Varney opened another door of opportunity for the Retail Federation executive.

Varney: “Do you think they are trying to buy and curry favor with the unions; a good PR move, for example.”

Here Varney is alluding to the effort by unions to get federal legislative relief to sidestep secret ballot votes in shops they try to organize.

Pfister: “…in terms of currying favor with the unions, in addition to healthcare reform, I would submit to you that the SEIU’s number one priority as well as the rest of organized labor is the card check issue, and I’m not going to suggest that there’s a quid pro quo because I think that would be fool hearty to try to cut a deal on providing healthcare coverage to ward off card check…”

Pfister’s not-so-subtle message to Wal-Mart: if you think you can stop union efforts on card check by aligning with them on healthcare, you’re fooling only yourself, at the expense of your fellow retailers. (Click on the video below to see this segment of the interview.)

While news people often ask questions that seek conflict and controversy, there are times when you can use those questions, as Pfister did, to your advantage without necessarily being the primary message sender.

Wrestling With Pigs

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®


(From the editor: Any bona fide journalists reading this should not take offense. I used to be one of you, and I’m proud of it. Those who deal wisely with the news media know how to do it without getting into the slop.)

Certainly you’ve heard the old refrain that when you wrestle with a pig in mud, only the pig enjoys it. That highly graphic image often has been applied to dealing with the news media. Of course, news most often is negative, with the exception of so-called positive stories that break through because they’re unusual.

Let your emotions get out of control and people watching might condemn the pig for being rude to you, but you’re still not above the fray. You’ve been dragged into the mud. And, your mission—to get messages to important audiences—most likely will fail.

And that’s what happened to BusinessWeek’s online “Ethics Guy” Dr. Bruce Weinstein (a Ph.D.) in a recent interview about whether healthcare is a right. His interviewer on the Fox Business Network was Stuart Varney. Weinstein believes the government has a moral responsibility to provide healthcare to all. Varney is a Brit by birth and is someone who has experience with socialized healthcare.

It was that word—socialism—suggested by Varney that set off Weinstein. Weinstein pounded the desk and raised his voice. His rising anger was palpable. He even attacked Fox’s two cable networks. Varney was doing his job and even smiled at one point during Weinstein’s meltdown. (Click on video below to see for yourself.)

Who won? I'm not sure that question is even relevant. My evaluation is Weinstein allowed himself to be sucked in and derailed from his overall message because he failed to control his feelings.