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QUARTERLY RANKINGS: COMING SOON!
Sex, Lies, and What CEO’s Should Learn
from Bill Clinton About Dealing with the Media
by Mel Rogers
(1999) Conservatives are furious. William
Bennett is incredulous. Religious leaders shake their heads in dismay.
None can comprehend how William Jefferson Clinton, despite repeated
alleged adulterous infidelities and related falsehoods, can continue
to have terrific job approval ratings from the American people. But
to those schooled in the fine points of media handling and corporate
media training, Clinton’s teflon exterior is no accident and
is in many ways a masterful use of techniques anyone can employ to
minimize the negative impact of almost any media encounter. But as
the scandal drags on, and Clinton repeatedly refuses to discuss specifics
of the charges, he risks undoing all that his skillful media handlers
have accomplished in protecting and preserving his presidency.
Of course, on-the-air pundits attempt to explain Clinton’s
popularity by resorting to the oldest of political rationalizations--that
people are basically selfish and if there is a car in every garage
and a chicken in every pot, the throne will be secure. What most pundits
don’t mention is that when Richard Nixon was forced to resign,
he was not presiding over a declining U.S. economy. Then there are
the tired claims that the “liberal media” is keeping the
president in power. That allegation is preposterous to those of us
who have been closely associated with media and journalism. We know
it is virtually impossible to find a reporter whose ideological agenda
could ever approximate his or her intense drive for that huge story--the
one that can rock the halls of power to their very foundation.
It is both probable and ironic that some of Clinton’s
public resilience is due to the prior inoculation of the American
people to his behavior by everyone from comedians to commentators.
Letterman and Leno, even Liddy and Limbaugh helped inoculate the electorate
to the idea that the nation’s chief executive might be a womanizer
each time they, with relish, spoke disparagingly of his morals. Over
time, their charges became reality to the nation, thereby causing
the Monica Lewinsky and Kathleen Willey allegations to be less shocking.
But there is much more to the solid Clinton popularity
than just inoculation and a strong economy. And for anyone willing
to study how the White House media experts are handling the crisis,
the recent events in Washington can provide a useful tutorial for
preserving ones’ own personal or corporate public image.
What follows is a list of things the President’s
media handlers know that should be learned by every corporate brain
trust, institutional leader and politician:
- Don’t Hide from the Media!
Through the media you have the chance to articulate your agenda
and that of your company. If you enter a media encounter well-prepared,
with your key message points on the tip of your tongue, you too
can get a public image boost. For Clinton, the State of the Union
Address was the perfect opportunity to re-define the agenda and
refocus the debate. And thanks to the sex scandal, for the first
time in years, all the networks carried the speech live and Americans
watched it in record numbers. It argues the point that their is
no such thing as negative publicity, but in fact, all would have
been lost if Clinton had not provided a masterful performance. When
he told that vast audience of Americans that his administration
had brought the deficit from eleven zeros to “just zero,”
his success was assured. At that point, his job approval rating
soared to a level higher than any since President Eisenhower. However,
in recent weeks, the president has begun hiding. He is avoiding
such issues as gifts bought for Monica Lewinsky and her 37 visits
to the Oval Office. Unless he steps forward and deals with the difficult
questions soon, his position will begin to erode and his popularity
will plummet.
- Focus on Shared Values! The public must perceive
you as sharing their basic feelings, concerns and values. Even if
you are in some ways lacking in those values, stress the ones you
do share and always speak of them in human terms. For Clinton effective
uses of human terms and individual examples while stressing shared
values such as fairness, kindness, equal opportunity, education
and the overall collective good, not to mention a shared disdain
for the evil Saddam Hussein, overwhelmed the public disconnect in
the area of sexual behavior values.
- Don’t lie! No matter how unpleasant the situation,
as soon as you know the truth, and the lawyers will allow it, you
must publicly tell it, all of it, as quickly as is possible. Only
then will the issue begin to fade from prominence. This is the one
area where Clinton and his people may be setting themselves up for
future disaster. Not telling the full truth can be like cutting
off a dog’s tail an inch at a time. If you require the media
to discover each new negative one by one, the result will be a negative
story about you every day. In some instances, you should even consider
a pre-emptive strike--a strategy by which you release negative news
about your company before it reaches the mainstream media. You then
become the trusted source of the information rather than the enemy
of the truth. And you appear concerned and on top of the crisis.
Once you have told the unpleasant facts and have expressed your
humane compassion for those harmed and profess your shared values
with the viewer, you will be free to refocus the discussion in more
positive terms and provide the needed context for the public to
fully understand the situation in light of the good you do, as well.
Of course, just because Clinton’s handlers know this does
not mean he will do it. If it is a fact that Clinton has looked
into the camera and lied to all of us about Monica Lewinsky, that
may be enough to ultimately undo his remarkable popularity.
- Don’t try to be perfect! Viewers will naturally
identify with and empathize with imperfect people. Therefore, admitting
some mistakes and using self-deprecating language will elicit sympathy,
compassion and understanding. Because most people are conscious
of their own imperfections, they are inclined to give the benefit
of the doubt to an imperfect president who seems like a good-natured
nice guy and who appears to be competent and effective. The public
contrasts this image with that of those who have been cast as his
enemies--Kenneth Starr, Linda Tripp, etc. Even though they are claiming
the moral high ground, their own lack of media savy causes them
to become viewed as somber agents of a negative agenda bent on little
more than the destruction of another human being or the undoing
of an election.
- Master the powerful, 20 second sound bite! Learn
to make your case in concise, quotable statements and to deliver
them with authority. Both Clinton’s State of the Union Address
and his ultimate denial of an affair with “that woman”
were spoken in the language of the 11 o’clock news--the sound
bite. Don’t forget, all issues must be referenced in human
terms! A media trainer can teach you how to do this.
- “No comment” means“I’m guilty.”
Don’t say it--ever. Even when the lawyers prohibit you from
going public with your side of the story, you must be available
to the media and repeatedly and cheerfully express your desire to
tell all, as soon as you are allowed to do so. Clinton and his people
are continually apologizing to reporters for their inability to
speak about the allegations. They publicly appear genuinely remorseful
that they cannot give the media what they want. They never say “no
comment.”
- Timing is everything. Allow the initial media frenzy
to die down before launching a multi-pronged counter-attack, always
using others to speak on your behalf. The administration’s
conspiracy claims and allegations of wrong-doing by Kenneth Star,
would have been lost in the media feeding frenzy had they been brought
forward too soon. They were held back until the cacophony of charges
died down, thereby giving their counterpunches the chance to be
headlines in their own right. Just as important is the fact that
the President did not personally lead the counter attack. It is
his wife and his friends who are jumping to his defense. This allows
Clinton to operate above the fray and to avoid appearing defensive
or pre-occupied with the scandal.
- Practice hitting the curve-ball! Arrange for an expert
to work with you in a studio-like setting, asking you the most difficult,
challenging questions conceivable. With practice and coaching you
can learn to deftly handle the toughest curve balls thrown at you,
hitting them out of the park with brief, powerful, believable responses.
- Be sure of your agenda! Develop a compelling, people-oriented
single message point that you can return to whenever faced with
a difficult question or issue. For Bill Clinton this has saved him
repeatedly during the recent crisis. His people-oriented single
message point: “I must get back to work for the American people.”
It is brief, powerful, and difficult to challenge.
- Let them rant on that all may know they are mad.
Resist the temptation to counter every charge. Clinton has seen
allegations of a smoking gun (soiled dress) come and go. Claims
that he was “caught in the act” were printed and then
retracted by respected, reputable media entities. If you can be
restrained and patient, some negative allegations will self-destruct.
In many cases, the damage is only temporary.
- Don’t take it personally. A negative story,
while harmful, is not the end of the world. Assume that “wolf
pack journalism” will be more prevalent than independent and
thorough journalism. Once something is reported in one venue, it
will be repeated by others even if it is not true. Studs Terkel
called it “the dirty little secret of American Journalism...
that they get it wrong.” Anyone who has been directly involved
in a news story knows that errors are common. Misinformation in
a news story about you does not mean the media is out to get you.
Keep in mind the extremely wise words of an unknown sage, “Never
ascribe to conspiracy what can be adequately explained by incompetence.
- Look sharp, be sharp. Dress in such a manner that
the public will respect and identify with you. Generally, one should
present a somewhat conservative appearance. Men, shave, wear a suit,
a white shirt and a tie. If doing an in-studio interview, wear knee
high socks with your suit. Ladies, suits are better than dresses
in most cases. Skirts are better than pants. Aristotle discovered
that we trust and believe messengers who are just like we are only
a little bit better--better looking, smarter, better able to handle
themselves in a crisis. Better dressed is also a part of projecting
a positive ethos. Extreme hair, overly ornate jewelry, tatoos, pierced
body parts will reverse the positive impact of even the most skillful
and humane media presentation.
- Master the subtle nuances of positive ethos: gestures,
eye contact, vocal expression, facial expressions and one’s
general demeanor. A professional can teach you where to look and
how to sit or stand during an interview so that you appear comfortable,
natural, and non-defensive. No one is better than Bill Clinton at
this aspect of media interaction.
All of these tips combine to allow the subject of a
news story to claim the high road and assume the credibility advantage
in the ongoing give and take with the media. Remember, reporters need
public approval too. If they appear too aggressive or unfair in their
treatment of the subject of a news report, the public will question
the credibility of the story because they do not like or trust the
reporter. In the 1988 presidential campaign, Vice-President George
Bush was attacked by Dan Rather during a live interview on the CBS
Evening News. The issue was Iran-Contra and what Bush knew about it
while serving under President Reagan. Rather was pushy and disrespectful
of Bush and the office held. But after the interview, when the smoke
had cleared, Bush’s popularity shot upward and Rather suffered
a public backlash that led him to his current position in third place
behind NBC and ABC in the evening news ratings battle.
Finally, there is no substitute for preparation and
training. Our media history is littered with the bodies of smart,
capable people who went into media encounters unprepared. A few of
their names are Al Campanis, George Romney, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy “The
Greek” Snyder, Richard Nixon, Fuzzy Zoeller, Nancy Kerrigan,
and Latrell Sprewell. There are many more. They turn up on the local
evening news, Dateline NBC, 60 Minutes, 20/20, or Newshour
with Jim Lehrer. Some survive, some do not. But the prepared
ones thrive and view each media encounter as a chance to create a
positive ethos, build public support, develop new customers, and enhance
name recognition.
* * *
Mel Rogers is a leading expert on corporate and
celebrity media image creation and maintenance. He is founding partner
of Ethos Institute which mentors prominent individuals, companies
and institutions in developing the tools needed to prepare for media
encounters. He is a former news director and television station general
manager.
For more information
Contact: mrogers@ethosinstitute.com
Call: 1-800-644-1560
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