Q: My communications firm represents a number of high-profile clients and I am continually surprised by their lack of understanding about media protocol. Any thoughts or tips?
A: Managing your clients’ understanding of the media should be handled with equal parts grace, clarity and boundary‑setting to not only protect them but also to preserve your own relationship with them and your relationship with the media. Putting guardrails in place upfront should ensure smoother conflict resolution if clients accidentally or intentionally create chaos that can harm their brand.
Most importantly, if your client breaches media protocol, it is your job, not theirs, to get in front of the situation—at the same time, you need to make your client feel supported, not reprimanded. On the other hand, should the media misrepresent the facts in a story, again, it is your job to manage requests for edits or corrections. And this is where most clients get confused.
Regardless of who did what, clients need to understand…
The newsroom controls and is responsible for:
- Story selection, including having to pre-empt for breaking news
- The framing and tone in which the story is presented, including the facts highlighted and downplayed
- Setting priorities based on the outlet’s audience and other possible institutional goals or objectives, which means even when there are multiple stories of equal importance, the editor decides which one is more newsworthy
The basics of media protocol:
- Provide your clients an explanation of why protocol exists:
It ensures consistency, accuracy and protects reputation. - Spell out what they should do and what they should never do. (E.g., “All media inquiries go through X.” “Never speak off the cuff.” “Confirm facts before responding.”)
- Clarify who is authorized to speak publicly and who is not, without making it personal.
Tone matters and you need to provide supportive framing and even script their remarks to remove anxiety and reduce any faux pas. Offer your help to respond; better yet be the appointed company representative to take it from there.
Rules of the road to prevent future issues:
This is where you quietly protect the organization by creating:
- Centralized media workflow — A single point of contact, a single approval path and a single spokesperson
- Written protocol — A one‑page document everyone receives
- Pre‑approved messaging — So even if someone slips, they can’t go off‑script.
- Training or briefing — A short session reviewing the rules
The thing most people miss
People who break media protocol usually aren’t being reckless—they’re being eager, nervous or unaware. If you treat it as a knowledge gap instead of a behavior problem, they become allies instead of liabilities.
Once you give clients a clear path, they almost always follow it
Joan Lee Berkman is a marketing and public relations consultant. if you have a question for Joan, send it to business@townandstyle.com.