THE PRESS OFFICE AT WORK

• Thinking Long Term and Short Term
• Dividing Up the Work
• Day-to-Day Activities of the Press Office
• Putting Workers Where the Work Is
• The Need for Coordination

5 BEST TIPS: The Press Office at Work • Have someone to think long term. Media efforts should not be just short term and deal only with crises. • Have daily meetings both with the press staff and with ministry senior staff so that all are on board with the media message. • To avoid surprises, coordinate with other departments and ministries. • Keep media monitoring manageable. Clip and copy. Don't just summarize the news. Weekly or monthly analysts can check trends. • Make the press agenda yours, not just the media's. Filter your phone calls, but call back promptly with a well-thought-out answer.

In the United States, while the myriad government press offices may be structured differently, they all have two identical duties. They deal with the press, and they keep their government colleagues informed on press interests. Some handle only press relations; others manage all communications, such as publications, speeches, even legislative affairs.

Press offices are staffed in various ways. Many have the structure of a newspaper office. If the office has limited staff, as with a small newspaper or news bureau, the division of labor is informal, and most of the employees are generalists. If it is larger, as with a larger news bureau, there may be several press officers, and each may have a "beat" or subject assignment. Other offices are arranged by media specialty, with some press officers handling only print media and others managing only TV and radio. The size of the staff also depends on the number of reporters with whom the office has to deal and the duties of the office — for example, does it handle just press or both press relations and speechwriting?

Thinking Long Term and Short Term

There is a reactive approach to news, and there is a proactive approach. One entails thinking short term and dealing with daily crises and breaking news. The other requires thinking long term and strategizing about the future. A good government press office performs both functions. Often, the reactive and proactive jobs occur in the same office, and if large enough are performed by two different people.

"You can't do the day-to-day spokesman work and provide the more strategic advice and counsel, think through the policy, think through the message, recommend ways to deliver the message," Karen P. Hughes, counselor to President George W. Bush for communications and speechwriting told the Washington Post.

It is difficult to think long term when you also must think short term. The daily crises always overtake the in-the-future scheme. Because of the urgency of a crisis, the future plan often gets put off and then never happens. That is why in high-visibility, fast-paced offices, usually one person thinks short term — daily press — and one long term — strategic message planning for the future.

"If you are always reacting to questions, you most likely are not advancing your best arguments," says former White House spokesperson Mike McCurry. "You must have a proactive plan to deliver your message to the citizens, and you must communicate your message relentlessly.

"In the White House, the job of delivering the news is different from the job of packaging the news, and that is why we had a press secretary and a communications director," says McCurry. "You need to have people who craft the message, prepare the best arguments to put forward, and you need people who can deliver those messages over and over on a daily basis. The first job is that of the communications director, and the second is that of the press secretary. It is similar in business to having one person develop the product and one sell it."

During the administration of President George Bush (1989-1993), Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater handled both the long-term and short-term jobs for nine months. He says that he found it to be an impossible task.

"As press secretary, you are involved in acute problems always on a daily news basis," Fitzwater says. "You have to get immediate answers to immediate problems, and you don't have time to focus on long-term strategies. Even if you get the time, it is hard to reorient your mind to think where you want to be in two months."

Additionally, he says, the press views the press secretary differently when the two roles are combined. "They see the communications director as a propagandist making up the themes of the day, creating the lines, and the press interprets that role as being one of less than candor." But being known for honesty and integrity is crucial to a press secretary's reputation and effectiveness, he says. "You are compromised if you do both jobs."

For best coordination, the two roles are often housed within the same office. Typical duties of the communications director (the long-term thinker) include strategizing, planning messages and themes, writing up a master schedule, monitoring cabinet departments on their upcoming press announcements, coordinating messages with them, planning out-of-town trips, supervising speech writing, and supervising research. Sometimes, he or she also monitors the news clipping office and handles communications with out-of-town media.

In contrast, the job of the press secretary (the short-term thinker) includes handling press questions on a daily basis, initiating media contacts, talking to the press, and managing the news operation, from preparing press releases and fact sheets to arranging press conferences and interviews with government officials.

Sometimes the communications director runs the office, and the press secretary reports to him or her. In the office of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, the communications director was in charge. He occasionally handled press questions if he knew a reporter well or if the topic was of particular interest to him. He rarely traveled with the governor. The press secretary, who reported to the communications director, and her staff handled all media questions, spoke "on the record," and traveled with the governor. The press secretary, like the communications director, had direct access to the governor. Each kept the other informed when he or she took on a media issue.

Sometimes the press secretary runs the office, and the communications director reports to him or her. At the White House, the jobs of press secretary and communications director often have been split into two offices. The press secretary handles the daily press operation. The communications director manages long-range strategy, speech writing, and, often, out-of-town media. They have numerous meetings and coordinate their efforts and the overall administration message not only between themselves but together with the other senior executives in the White House.

"It works well when there is coordination between the two factors, when you are involved in each other's organization, and when both teams know what the other is doing," says Marlin Fitzwater. To accomplish this coordination, Fitzwater included a communications officer in all of his meetings and had a press person from his office attend communications office meetings.

A second crucial element, he says, is having personal compatibility between the two offices. "If either — the personal relationship or the organizational relationship — is missing, then you will have failure."

Dividing Up the Work

Working together is crucial. In one important ministry in a new government, communications duties are split among several offices. The spokesperson to the minister has no staff, not even a secretary, does his own faxing, answers his own phone, and speaks on behalf of the minister and, therefore, the ministry. The press office is a separate operation with its own director reporting to a deputy minister. Its staff of 12 handles research, press clippings, logistics, and out-of-town press inquiries. A third communications office, with a staff of three, does long-range communications and reports to a third deputy minister. The spokesperson, the director of press, and the communications manager meet infrequently, and their staffs never do.

The chief of staff to the minister defends the arrangement because it means the minister's spokesperson can focus on the minister and not be burdened with administrative work. However, the spokesperson admits he feels overwhelmed and sometimes has a hard time getting information. Wouldn't it be better coordinated if the ministry's message were spoken in one focused voice, synchronized by the spokesperson to the minister? The spokesperson could still be spokesperson and have the press operation and the long-range communications function report to him. He could hire an administrative manager to handle the paperwork.

Day-to-Day Activities of the Press Office

Meetings: Frequent meetings may sometimes seem to fill a day, leaving time for little else, but they can be essential to a smoothly operating system. Their goals are the sharing of information, anticipation of news, and the preparation to handle it. In the United States, regular meetings between a spokesperson and government colleagues who are not in press relations, and between the spokesperson and the government press staff, usually occur daily, often several times a day.

Many U.S. federal offices begin their days with early morning meetings of senior staff, including the spokesperson. Typically the meetings last about 30 to 45 minutes, with the senior staff member talking about the principal concerns of the day — the government official's top issues, schedule, and meetings, for example. Each staff member might then briefly discus upcoming issues, such as legislation, press interviews, budget questions, and newsworthy topics. The press secretary should provide information about press coverage that morning, what breaking news might affect the government official, and the message of the day, week, or month.

Following this meeting, the spokesperson typically holds a second meeting with the press relations staff to debrief them on the critical issues of the day. This meeting follows the format of the senior staff meeting, with each member of the press staff commenting about what they are working on, reviewing the government official's schedule, and discussing media messages and topics that might be raised by reporters that day. The press secretary makes assignments, and the staff delegates questions to various cabinet offices for response. During the day, the staff may make up a briefing or issues book with government policies or positions on current, important topics. The press spokesperson can refer to this while preparing for a daily press briefing.

At the White House, the press secretary usually includes the press officials to the first lady and the vice president in press staff meetings. Additionally, the press secretary or deputy press secretary has a daily phone call with his or her counterparts in the Departments of State and Defense and the Office of National Security Affairs to formulate a single message on foreign affairs issues. Top officials may have a weekly meeting to discuss politics and planning and how they relate to communications. The group looks at how event opportunities could be used to reinforce the president's agenda. Large departments with many regional offices and many bureaus under them do the same thing. At the U.S. Department of Labor, for instance, the spokesperson usually has a conference call every two weeks with the directors of information in its 10 regions to cover current and upcoming media issues.

The press offices of many U.S. state governors are similar. The gubernatorial spokesperson may participate in a daily morning staff meeting with senior staff that the governor might attend or to which he or she might phone in to discuss the morning's press and events for the day. In some smaller states, the meetings might be held more infrequently, such as weekly. Many press spokespersons to governors also routinely have meetings with the press secretaries for the various state departments and agencies.

One newly elected government official chose his campaign press secretary to be his spokesperson. Although the spokesperson had known the goal of the campaign — to win — since they had taken office he rarely had discussed the "current message" or theme with the government official. The focus was on getting measures passed. There were no meetings between the elected official and his press secretary and his senior staff to articulate and amend goals and assess progress. The spokesperson was left on his own to talk to the press. "How do you decide on your own what the message is?" the spokesperson asked.

Press clipping and news monitoring: Government press offices usually do some kind of daily - and often twice a day — press clipping or news monitoring to inform their bosses and staff about happenings that could have an impact on their operations. In the United States, the press offices of most governors and federal agencies include staff who read, clip, duplicate, and circulate news stories to top officials, and might also prepare a compilation of television stories. Typically, the clippings are a composite of the most important stories — good and bad — followed by less important ones. Other press offices also subscribe to clipping services, which are private companies that track articles, often in smaller or regional publications.

The White House summarizes as well as compiles news clippings, but many government agencies only do a compilation. In putting together a daily clipping or press monitor package, the first priority of the press spokesperson's office usually is tracking the news rather than summarizing it. Often, making copies of the most important articles — positive and negative — is enough. Rewriting a news article, no matter how brief, can consume much staff time.

In one new government, the most senior staff in a press office daily clipped, pasted, and summarized articles from newspapers and magazines for the dozen top senior staff. Although 80 percent of the news came from television, there was no monitoring of TV as it was felt to be too expensive. The staff also compiled a monthly summary of news coverage. Might it have been more effective if the staff had:

• Clipped and copied stories only?
• Distributed these to more staff?
• Used equipment from the department's TV studio to monitor television news?
• Stopped analyzing the news and hired a private agency to do this monthly or quarterly?
• Moved senior staff, who were monitoring the news, into the press relations department to work with the mainstream media?
• Had junior staff cut and copy newspapers?

Phone calls: In the United States, the press offices of the White House and the top-level departments have a duty officer system so that a press officer is available most hours, including evenings and weekends, to answer questions from the media. A duty officer system enables press offices to operate in the 24-hour-a-day news cycle; because it is often staffed by junior press officials, the main press secretary gets a break.

Sometimes, when they are working on a big story, spokespersons give their cell or home phone numbers to the media - often getting the media representative's number in exchange — so questions can be answered after hours. If a press official has been working with a reporter on a story, this would preclude bringing in a new spokesperson who may be less knowledgeable about the subject. "I would rather have a reporter call me at home and get accurate and thorough information, as opposed to getting a sloppy story because the on-duty spokesperson wasn't as familiar with the information," says a public affairs officer with a U.S. military organization.

Exchanging after-hours phone numbers or having a staff person on call after work hours is especially important in countries with several time zones.

In some emerging democracies, government spokespersons contend that giving out their cell phone numbers means being accessible to the press, but this is not necessarily true.

Having reporters call you on your cell phone eliminates the "filter" of a secretary or aide answering the phone, finding out who is calling, and determining the subject of the call. And it puts the spokesperson at the mercy of the press when he or she might not be prepared. Having an aide screen the call allows the press officer to be prepared. Also, having an aide answer the initial call means that someone is always able to take the media's questions, and it allows the spokesperson to answer the most important call first and be ready with an informed response when doing so.

It is essential, however, that a spokesperson call back a reporter promptly. And it is important that a spokesperson keep the cell phone switched on. Otherwise, the press will go elsewhere for information.

"Spokespeople should always be available," says Juleanna Glover, press secretary to Vice President Dick Cheney. "Giving out cell phone numbers wholesale is not advisable, but staff answering phones should always feel they can transfer a reporter to your phone once that reporter has called on a landline."

In one European state, the press secretary to a foreign minister was not aware that Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic had been charged with war crimes by the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague when a reporter called him directly on his cell phone requesting a statement. Because the press secretary did not know about the war crimes charges, "I appeared totally stupid," he admitted later.

"You don't have to answer a question immediately," says Joni Inman of the National Association of Government Communicators. "You have a right not to be ambushed. It is better to get back to a reporter than to misspeak." Adds Sheila Tate, former spokesperson for First Lady Nancy Reagan, "You can say 'you caught me at a bad time. What is your deadline? Let me get back to you.' "

Putting Workers Where the Work Is

Sometimes, handling media problems effectively does not mean spending more money, hiring more staff, or buying more equipment. It just means shifting resources.

On paper, the media office in a ministry had an enormous communications staff. But the number of staff dealing with the press was miniscule. Most of the employees worked on ministerial weekly or monthly publications that were for sale. Ministry officials felt that this was the best way to communicate directly with citizens. Once, after the fall of a previous communist regime, the publications had filled a void for news, but this was no longer the case. Plummeting sales to the public meant that the ministry's newspapers and magazines had become, in essence, employee publications.

Television dominated the country's news. Yet the ministry not only did not monitor television news, but it had no one to deal with TV reporters. The ministry's small press staff had no access to the Internet or e-mail and had one computer that was for word processing only. The bulk of the personnel and equipment were in the publications and TV production sections of the ministry.

The spokespersons in the press section felt overwhelmed with the number of media inquiries, and reporters complained about getting little information and having a slow response from the press unit. The ministry would have been well served to shift its resources — people and equipment — to where its citizens got their news: independent television and print media.

The Need for Coordination

Any successful public relations effort depends heavily on coordination with other departments within your agency, with staff in your agency, and with departments outside your agency.

"It is really important that everyone within an organization understand its priorities and mission so that they reflect the same agenda," says Susan King, former assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Housing and Urban Development. "That does not mean speaking in lockstep, but if people don't understand the mission and priorities, they will not speak to the public in a coordinated way, and the organization will be diminished as an effective force."

Why is coordination important? For one, it ensures that a program will get off to a good start. Former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater asked the communications directors of each cabinet department to report all announcements they felt could make front page news. He did it with the idea that the president could announce some of each department's major news and that he would know about any controversial news before it happened.

Second, someone in another ministry or department could be working on the same program or issue and could be at cross-purposes. The press could rightly ask: If a governmental leader can't keep two ministries on the same track on the same issue, and if two ministries can't work together, just how good a leader or minister is he or she?

Third, even when two government officials agree on an issue, combining their efforts will make a message stronger.

Fourth, you might be surprised and embarrassed if others' efforts are publicized by the press and you don't know about it. In one instance, a cabinet official announced a major initiative without clearing it with the White House. While the policy announcement received much media attention, its reversal by the president received even more. The cabinet official was left embarrassed and was portrayed as having been undermined in the press.

Finally, just exchanging the calendars of government officials is not enough. The press and public affairs offices should coordinate their plans as well. When government agencies schedule major press conferences at the same time, journalists have complained loudly. "Which press conference are we supposed to pick?" one reporter complained to a spokesperson. "Don't make our job so hard."

The U.S. military, by contrast, emphasizes message coordination. Daily, near the conclusion of the work day, U.S. Navy public affairs offices around in the world e-mail to the Navy's central public affairs office in Washington a rundown of major media inquiries and newsworthy events for that day. The central office summarizes the major inquiries and issues, and e-mails this back to the public affairs offices. The spokespersons contact each other on common issues and coordinate their answers.

"This prevents the press from 'double teaming' by going to various parts of the Navy and trying to get us to say different things," says one spokesperson. "Very often I have found the same reporter called a colleague in a different city with similar questions. Knowing about all the major press activity allows me and my colleagues to coordinate our answers so we don't appear in conflict, and it helps us understand what angle a reporter may really be taking in a story."

Officials in many coalition governments complain that coordination is impossible because there are representatives of widely different political parties in key positions throughout a government. This hurdle does not belie the fact that coordination is just as essential in a coalition government as it is in a winner-take-all election.