Dealing with Negative Press

• Visit Thanet Business
• Shared Story
• Telling Our Story
• PR
• Dealing with Negative Press

• PR
• Writing a Press Release
• Building Press Relations
  • Building Press Contacts
• Hosting Press Trips and Events
• Dealing with Negative Press
• Monitoring Your PR Success

Sometimes, not everything goes to plan, so knowing how to handle potential negative press is important. 

These tips can help you think about how you can best manage the situation:

1. Don’t panic 

   Keep calm you need to put a considered plan in place and think through all the implications.  The worst thing could be a knee jerk reaction that creates more negative press.
   
   

2. Don’t delay

   The quicker you deal with it, the quicker you can manage the situation. Respond immediately to a crisis in the same media in which it is communicated. For example, if complaints about your company are trending on Twitter, respond on Twitter. Then cover all the other media channels in which you are active. Put a statement on your website, and on your Facebook page; issue a press release, etc. if appropriate.
   
   

3. Correct any false information

   If incorrect information about your business is being circulated, it is important to correct it.
   
   

4. Use facts to make your case

   This will rebuild your credibility and help you put forward any counter arguments in a professional way.
   
   

5. Avoid appearing defensive

   Don’t berate the journalist afterwards unless the story contains factual errors as opposed to just omitting your side of the story.  If you antagonise the media, you could provoke them to continue to cover and delve into a negative story, and you want to contain this.
   
   

6. Be honest

   If there has been a mistake or a problem, it is best to be open and honest about it. Show how you take these things seriously and how it is going to be resolved in the future.
   
   

7. Push the positives

   Take the opportunity to promote any positives that have been missed by a negative story.
   
   

8. Work together

   Let others know. If there is a negative story about your business it could impact on the whole Thanet area.  By working together, you can get your message out quicker and more efficiently; many positive voices are better than one negative one – another good reason to build strong networks.