But Aren't Reporters Anti Business?

1 T The chairman of a major bank holding company captured the feeling when he said that the relationship between business and the media was adversarial and that CEOs "I sense the news media have a more liberal perspective than CEOs do and an initial bias against business." On the other hand, David Broder, who is generally regarded as the "dean" of the Washington press corps says, "There just isn't enough ideology in the average reporter to fill a thimble." Broder writes his columns for The Washington Post which many regard as part of the "liberal media," but you might be surprised to know that Peggy Noonan agrees. A former White House speech writer (for the first President Bush) and author of What I Saw At the Revolution, her whimsical take on the Reagan presidency, Peggy is one of the Wall Street Journal's most conservative columnist. "Most reporters," she says, "have one overriding prejudice. They like anyone who's good copy, who's bright and witty and who, above all, will tell them the truth." Yes, there are exceptions. And, yes, there are reporters who attempt to make their reputations by savaging their interviewees, but they are the exceptions. The report from men and women in the trenches of American business (the public relations people who represent those businesses to media) tell me their companies have been treated fairly by most reporters. On the other hand, it is true that skilled reporters ask tough, probing questions of conservatives, liberals and everyone else. Lesley Stahl, who cut her reporting teeth at CBS covering Watergate, says the idea that reporters were out to get President Nixon is ridiculous. Stahl, in her book Reporting Live, put it this way: "We were portrayed as working in cahoots with the liberal Democrats, out to get him for political reasons, which was nonsense. Reporters are equal opportunity stalkers when an open would is exposed." Even if you don't have an open wound, the fact is your appearance on television can still end up being a disaster unless you understand the medium and how to prepare yourself to use it effectively. "I know everything about my company," says the CEO, flinging caution raffishly over his shoulder like the dog-faced flying ace in a Charles Schultz cartoon. "What can possibly go wrong?" If you don't know, the chances are you'll find out, and that the learning process will not be enjoyable. As all too many people have discovered to their sorrow, the answer is "plenty." It ain't rocket science, but there are some things you need to know if you're going to be interviewed by either print or television reporters. This is the first in a series of articles that will help you go beyond coping to a real understanding of how to succeed in media interviews. Stay tuned.