Risking A Newsmagazine Interview

That said, are there "bad news" situations when it's worth voluntarily risking an appearance on such a show? When even the best media training is often not enough to keep the piranhas at bay?

I invite my readers to submit stories of their experiences with such programs, including lessons learned. The following is a case history of a time when I not only voluntarily cooperated -- *I* was the interview subject, and survived. It was a very personal kind of crisis management and, hence, I'm temporarily switching to a first-person, versus third-person narrative.

[Initial Situation]

The son of a wealthy West Coast family, a college freshman, was kidnapped by persons unknown. There had been a high-figure ransom demand. The father's corporate attorneys asked me to help keep the media at bay if and when the news leaked, as it inevitably would.

[Pre-Rescue Crisis Management]

We had no idea if the son, Ryan, was going to be found alive or not. My initial work included:

* Meeting with the family to ascertain their wishes. They were sophisticated enough to understand the need to say something, once the news was out, but very much wanted to avoid direct media contact by family members. Solution: I became the spokesperson, a "friend of the family."

* Drafting statements ready for use during the transition period when Ryan's status was unknown, and others for when he was found alive...or injured...or dead.

* Advising the family and a hired security firm how to avoid snooping journalists [Editor's Note: If you'd like to read more about that topic in a future issue, let me know].

* Participating in at-least-daily conference calls involving Ryan's mother and/or father, attorneys and law enforcement reps.

[The Rescue!]

Fortunately, particularly for Ryan and his family, secrecy was maintained until -- by dint of much clever law enforcement work and even telephone deception by Ryan's mother, who lulled the kidnappers into a sense of false confidence -- Ryan was rescued in a police raid and his kidnappers captured after a two-week ordeal which included:

* Being shut in a coffin-like box for the first several days after he was abducted.

* Sexual molestation.

* Threats of death.

News of the raid and details of the kidnapping ordeal leaked to the press and I appeared at a police-managed press conference delivering messages on behalf of the family. Within a day, a prominent TV tabloid newsmagazine contacted me, said they were going to do a "re-enactment" of the kidnapping as their feature coverage, and asked if Ryan or another family member would take part in an interview. Concurrently, an attorney for the kidnappers attempted a nasty strategy -- he held a news conference in which he inferred that Ryan had been part of his own kidnapping, as "proved" by the fact that, after being released from the box, he had only been handcuffed and could have walked away from the private home (not that far from his own!) where he was being kept captive.

[Re-directing the News]

I met with the family and attorneys and told them that, if we didn't respond to the tabloid show, they could portray Ryan as culpable to some degree -- which was not only damaging personally, but could actually influence a jury pool, which no doubt was the intent of the kidnappers' attorney. By now, I truly FELT like a "friend of the family" and was incredibly relieved that Ryan was safe physically, although he would need counseling for some time thereafter.

I offered to narrate the re-enactment for the show, providing details we had not discussed at the first news conference but which would not prejudice the legal case. We would insist on the right to edit whatever portion of my interview was chosen for use, although there remained a significant risk that other parts of the story could make my interview look bad. They agreed (and I swallowed hard).

I submitted to an interview which drew out the story of the kidnapping as I had developed it during hours of conversation with Ryan and law enforcement officials, trying to make it a compelling narrative. I talked about how threats of death had paralyzed Ryan and made him afraid to do anything which his kidnappers hadn't expressly said was OK. Such programs thrive on high drama, so I "played it up." All the media training I have taken and given over the years was employed to keep pre-agreed key messages flowing in response to any question I was asked.

[The Show Airs]

It worked. The narrative was strong enough that my interview was used as the "voiceover" for the re-enactment, cutting back and forth from shots of the interviewer and I to re-enactment scenes. The defendant's attorney was interviewed and made his insinuations, but they were given much lower visibility and story placement, sandwiched between my interview and televised police statements from the original press conference which clearly painted a picture of Ryan as victim.

[Would I Do It Again?]

It was a risk, a major risk, taken because the alternative was even less acceptable to my client, the family. As a rule, if there is ANY way to avoid having one of my clients participate in a newsmagazine show, tabloid or not, I will seek that way. One effective tactic -- provide information which turns the story from interesting to boring. Another -- give them a better story. And anyone who agrees to be interviewed must have taken RIGOROUS media training, and the media trainer, legal counsel and others on the "client side" must agree that the interviewee is ready to appear on camera, no matter what is asked.