Bad stories, good outcome
By Jerry Brown, APR
www.pr-impact.com
The Vancouver Olympics got off to a rocky start: Bad weather, not enough snow, an athlete killed during a practice run on the luge track and a snafu during the opening ceremony.
Those are just some of the things that triggered negative press before and shortly after the games opened.
The event was a huge success. And it’ll be remembered that way.
Anyone or anything that generates a lot of media coverage will encounter some negative coverage. That’s a given.
If you or your organization are in the news a lot, you’ve had to deal with bad news. Don’t let it keep you from telling your story. I’m not suggesting you ignore bad news. But if you have a good enough story to tell and you keep telling it, the bad news often will be forgotten.
It’s like the truth all good performers know: If you make a mistake, keep going and keep smiling. If you make too many flubs — or even one really bad one in some cases — your mistake will be remembered. But if the rest of your performance is good enough, most of us will forgive and forget the flaws and remember how well you did. It’s no different when you’re telling your story through the media.
Don’t get so distracted by bad news that you forget to tell your story.
That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?
Tags: jerry brown, media minute, media relations, monday morning media minute, olympics