CGM blog: No comment, no way

03 Sep CGM blog: No comment, no way

Last year, one of our clients received a phone call from a journalist who was about to run a story involving the company.

Their gut instinct was to say ‘no comment’ and hope it would blow over. They asked for my advice.

No way could they say ‘no comment’. This was a serious article being shaped by a diligent journalist on a subject of public interest. For our client, it was a potentially explosive situation that could result in serious negative publicity that could harm the reputation of the business.

You can spend years building up a successful business. Why allow it to be knocked down in minutes?

‘No comment’ can be construed as not bothered, not concerned or not interested. It isn’t an option.

So we went into media crisis mode. We had a pre-prepared plan to deal with these situations so immediately got back to the journalist to explain that we recognised the severity of the incident, an urgent investigation would take place and we’d deliver a response as soon as possible.

We were able to do that in the same day and release a statement explaining the company’s version of events and that appropriate action had been taken.

The journalist ran the story but in a wider context. Our client was allowed to comment and the storm blew over. Job done – reputation enhanced as the journalist and newspaper in question realised they were dealing with a responsible company. A negative had been turned into a positive.

Can’t be bothered is a cop out and not an option if you’re serious about raising your profile, boosting your reputation and being a spokesman for your company or industry.

Perish the thought you might even wish to come across as a responsible person – i.e. someone with the ability to respond (in this case to a media interview request).

‘No comment’ is also an invitation for the media to taking a running kick at you while you curl up in a ball. At best it can look carefree, careless or clueless.

So…do comment if you can (sometimes you literally can’t – these cases are rare). Show you are responsible and reactive (proactive, if you are creating media opportunities) and capable – able to respond. You’ll win respect and recognition.

Chris Green is CGM’s managing director and an award-winning author and journalist.

CGM provides a media relations service to businesses and organisations and  media training courses covering media interview techniques and media crisis and reputation management strategy.