Getting News Coverage

In my current professional world (beer), I've been fortunate to have mostly positive experiences getting news coverage. However, when I worked for a small Marketing & Advertising firm in a very small town, there was one specific instance regarding news coverage and PR efforts that was particularly challenging. Our client, the company, was under public scrutiny for the perceived negative environmental impact of their business practices.

The company I worked for was tasked with defending this company in the public eye and communicating the facts. My boss and I met with our clients, almost to interview them and get their side of the story, and then from the information gathered, we crafted a press release and began to plan a news conference. It was very challenging to work the press release through local channels - radio, tv, newspapers - as the public opinion was pervasive and people weren't initially buying what we were saying. I emailed, called contacts, and tried to communicate as best as possible to get the client's message out to the public to try and educate and sway opinions, and invite local media to our news conference. We were fortunate to be able to get quite a few local media and news outlets to attend and were eventually able to push through our clients message to the public.

However, I think the most challenging part of this whole experience was the fact that this work conflicted with some personal beliefs. Needless to say, beer is a lot less controversial.