Good media relations help companies prosper, Barks counsels in ‘Reporters Don’t Hate You’

A company does better if it has a good relationship with the media, and it's best if someone on its press team is a former reporter.

Those are two recommendations by National Press Club member Ed Barks in his latest book, "Reporters Don’t Hate You, 100+ Amazing Media Relations Strategies," which was featured at a National Press Club Book Rap on Feb. 4.

"Companies that fail to include former reporters in their media relations shop put themselves at an extreme disadvantage," Barks said. "These folks know how reporters think and what they need -- critical information they can translate to their C-suite leaders and other spokespeople who deal with the press."

Barks, who served for nine years on the Club's board of governors, outlines strategies to connect journalists with communicators. He covers pre-interview preparations, sharpening the spokesperson’s mindset and performance guidelines for dealing with the press, among other topics. 

He recommends a straightforward approach in responding to the media.

“Spin is a sin,” Barks said, because it is trying to avoid answering a question.

During the Book Rap, he explored how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing reporter-source interactions. For instance, conducting interviews over Zoom is much like conducting a broadcast interview, Barks said. Both parties need to remember to look into the camera and not down at the person in the corner of their computer screen.

"Reporters Don’t Hate You," which one critic called the AP Stylebook of media relations, wasn’t the book Barks intended to write initially. But he shifted gears during the pandemic.

“It was impossible for me to get anyone to do an interview as everyone was pretty much in a panic mode at that point,” Barks said. So he relied heavily on his own thoughts and experience to write "Reporters Don’t Hate You."

"Reporters Don't Hate You" can be purchased online.

The Virtual Book Rap was sponsored by the Book & Author Group, which seeks to produce Book Raps for members to promote their recently published books. To inquire about the group, please contact Joe Motheral at [email protected]. The group meets (currently virtually) on the second Tuesday of the month at noon.