Crisis Communications Media Handling The Don'ts Before an interview

DO NOT:

• Allow yourself to be interviewed on a topic outside of your expertise.
• Tell the news organization which reporter you prefer.
  • You don’t run the newspaper and you don’t get to dictate who gets assigned what stories.
• Request that specific questions be asked.
• Declare certain subjects out of bounds for discussion.
  • By declaring that you won’t discuss certain things you only invite interest in those things and appear to have something to hide, which makes the subject even more interesting.
• Ask that your remarks not be edited or that you be allowed to review an article before it is published.
  • It is an insult to the ability and integrity of the reporter and the editor; again, you don’t run the newspaper.
• Try to dictate who should and should not be interviewed.
• Be overconfident or become overly familiar or comfortable with your interviewer.