Trump and the Media: Everything that you should NOT do in Public Relations

After what could be considered a huge misstep, I am of course referring to the disinfectant comment made by President Donald Trump on Thursday, the President appears to have decided to forego having similar press conferences in the future. In a recent Tweet, the president states;

What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!

Virtually any legitimate Public Relations specialist would argue against such a claim. PR professionals see great value in using the media for their advantage to market products, improve an organization’s image, and even conduct crisis management just to name a few things.

Turn to any public relations expert of your choice and you will find that President Trump is doing things terribly wrong. And the things that he is doing wrong he has been doing wrong for quite some time. Consider the blog by PR professional Lisa Goldsberry, of Axia Public Relations, back in 2017 where she lists four major mistakes being made by the Trump administration when dealing with the media. Those four things being; “Berating the media”, “Putting questionable spokespersons out front”, “Lying”, and “Denying media access.” We could spend all day on these four things, so let’s just discuss the first one – berating the media. Goldberry writes, “getting into a war of words with journalists is a losing battle. They have far more experience, ammunition and authority.”

What Trump is experiencing right now is the case of the media using their ammunition against him, perhaps due to him constantly scolding and berating them.

[videos of trump scolding media]

Actually, it is the Golden rule, and basic common sense. One Tweeter, Nick Pappas, responded to Trump’s giving up on press conferences Tweet.

It's only naturally to expect hostile questions when you treat people with so much hostility. Trump calls the press "the enemy of the people," then complains when they don't act like his friends.

[videos of trump scolding media]

Any legitimate PR professional will be the first one to tell you that building and keeping good relationships with the media is important to good Public Relations. In fact, Holly Marshall responded similarly to the Goldsberry blog posting; “This blog was a very interesting, yet sad, to read because our President of the United State does everything that PR professionals would advise NOT to do… In all of my PR classes, especially in the ones pertaining to media relations, the #1 thing we learn is how important it is to build good relationships with reporters…I am very glad that I was able to read this article that lays out everything that you should NOT do in Public Relations.”

[videos of trump scolding media]

The Public Relations newsletter, PR News, has created a Media Relations guidebook. Chapter 2 is all about forming relationships with the media, including articles entitled;

Improve Your Industry Reputation by Building Empathy-Based Relationships By Melissa Rothermel Biernacinski and

Partnerships Extend Your Reach and Push Your Message Further By Jennifer Donovan

Just to name a few.

In fact, consider the Air Force Public Affairs Instruction AFI35-104 where it states;

Engaging with the media is often one of the most rapid and credible means of delivering the commander’s message to a desired audience. Experience shows that working proactively with the media increases trust and two-way communication with the media and the public. Remaining transparent, honest, and accessible to the maximum extent possible normally results in greater accuracy, context, and timeliness in communicating with internal and external audiences. Releasing official information through the media can help create, strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable for the advancement of national interest and policies, as well as mitigate any adverse effects from unofficial, misinformed, or hostile sources.

So these things being said, there is a purpose to holding White House News conferences if they were done properly in accordance to basic public relations practices.