Media Tips From an NFL Pro
By: Susan VanEpps
A recent event for local public relations professionals featured Tony Wyllie, senior vice president and manager of public relations for the Washington Redskins. The event, which was cosponsored by the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, offered key information small business owners should keep in mind when dealing with the media.
Wyllie began by noting that the Redskins had received more publicity than any NFL team in history that very week, due to ongoing media coverage of the team’s name. He stressed that for anyone whose company is in the public spotlight, managing the story and running interference for the staff is critical. His best tips based on his 21 years in the NFL include:
1. Take control of interviews. Keep some issues behind closed doors, but provide brief responses the press can use in their reports. “I always tell the team, it’s not about the question, it’s about how you answer it. What do you want the headline to be? Then say it. Don’t like the question? Don’t answer it,” said Wyllie.
2. Delivery is important. Smile, don’t be intimidated, maintain eye contact, always be professional and positive about your company, and respect the reporter’s time.
3. Don’t hide from the media, but don’t say anything – to anyone – if you don’t want it in the headlines, or tweeted as an “overheard” conversation on Twitter.
4. Stay on message, be consistent in your answers and don’t comment on issues outside your expertise. In his experience, Wyllie has seen one off-topic sentence become the story the reporter ran with. He anticipates questions and reviews key points with coaches and players before they ever step in front of the press.
5. Tweet with a purpose in mind. If you have to think about sending a message, he says, it’s a clue not to send it. Businesses have lost customers over mindless tweets.
Wylie added that you should always remember that when you’re interviewed by the media, the audience for your comments is not the press. “I always tell people to remember you’re not speaking to the media, you’re speaking through the media,” he said.