By Gerard Braud – Dr. Mehmet Oz is in crisis communications mode. He has been making headlines in the media as medical colleagues criticize him for advice he gives and things he says on his syndicated television program. His hometown newspaper, the New Jersey Register, asked for my opinion on how Oz has begun to […]
Bruce Jenner: 4 Media Lessons in Teasing, Ratings & Public Relations Pitching
April 23, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud – Pitching a story to the media is hard. Today I’m making a presentation to a group of public relations students at Loyola University in New Orleans. They want to know about secrets to pitching stories to the media. Their instructor wanted me to share my perspective since I have been both […]
5 Media Training Lessons About Parsing Your Words So You Are Never Taken Out of Context
April 16, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud – CEOs and other executives – in fact an enormous number of spokespeople I meet in media training classes — all complain that in their past, “The media took me out of context.” As we look at public relations lessons from political campaigns this week, we can examine the failed presidential campaign […]
7 Media Training & Spokesperson Lessons from Rand Paul vs. Savannah Guthrie
April 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud – The New York Times called me Friday for a comment about Rand Paul’s hostile interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. When the Times starts calling for observations, that means the political season is in full swing. Reporter Alan Rappeport does a great job covering candidates and the things they say in his […]
Media Training 28: Speaking Off the Record
December 19, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Never agree to speak off the record. This lesson really could end with just that phrase: Never speak off the record. Speaking off the record has been taboo among the wisest media trainers and public relations sages for decades, but rarely do I teach a media training class in which I don’t […]
Media Training 7: Never get in a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel
November 18, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com I find it unbelievable that in the 21st century we still find executives who don’t want to take on a reporter or news outlet that has wrongly damaged their reputation. The traditional way of responding to a media outlet that makes a factual error is to ask the management for a retraction. But […]
Media Training 6: I Wonder What the Next Question Will Be?
November 17, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com I want you to think for a moment about the last interview you did with a reporter. The reporter asks you a question then you start talking. Think very carefully now – what were you wondering the entire time you were answering the question? In most cases, my media training students […]
Media Training 5: The Media are Biased
November 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com There is much debate about whether the media are biased; especially whether there is a liberal bias. If you truly want to explore that subject, I suggest you read the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. It has been my experience over the years that much of what is perceived as bias is really […]
Black Twitter, the Shooting of Michael Brown, and Crisis Communications In the Age of Social Media
August 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud The events in Ferguson, MO warrant the need for community leaders to activate their crisis communications plan, if they have one. But the power of Black Twitter, amid the protests, presents an amazing crisis communications and public relations case study. Generally, protesters win the public relations battle against any establishment during a […]
The Conclusion of Disturbing Television News Trends
June 13, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud It is all about ratings. Television news is all about ratings. What gets on television news is less about the public’s need to know for the betterment of society and more about drawing in viewers, so as to increase advertising revenue. Television news is a business for profit, where once it was […]
Disturbing Television Media Trend Bonus #8: Bad Imitation is Not Flattery
June 11, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in television news, imitation is usually the sincerest form of panic and desperation. Case in point: On June 3rd the Today Show’s Al Roker planted a prize in a park in Dallas, Texas, then gave out clues on Twitter […]
Disturbing Television Media Trend #7: Unconfirmed Reports
June 11, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud If the story of Chicken Little was told today, there is a strong likelihood that it would quickly be picked-up by, and reported by, the television news media. It would go like this: Chicken Little would have an acorn fall on her head, she would scream, “The sky is falling.” Minutes later […]
Disturbing Television News Trend #6: Social Media Backlash
June 10, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Social media is like a compass. A compass has 360 degrees or points on it. If you face one direction, the opposite direction is 180 degrees from you. In social media, any time you take a position on a topic, you can be assured that someone else has an opinion 180 degrees […]
Disturbing Television News Trend #5: Caught on Video
June 9, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud For three decades I’ve used the sarcastic mixed metaphor, “If a tree falls in the woods and it is not caught on video tape, is it news?” Never has this been more true than in today’s camera phone and social media sharing world. In the world of news, print can tell any […]
Breaking News is Broken and there is Nothing Breaking: Disturbing Media Trend #2
June 4, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud News media copycats make life more difficult in the world of crisis communications and public relations. More than ever before, your small crisis can get undue media coverage because of the latest disturbing media trend. Disturbing news media trend #2 is the breaking news trend. CNN is the king of using the […]
7 Disturbing News Media Trends & How You Can Combat Them
June 2, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud The television news media continue to go from bad to worse. New disturbing trends have a huge impact on public relations, your media interactions, and the reputation and revenues of your employer. How do you combat these disturbing trends? Join media relations expert and former journalist Gerard Braud (Jared Bro) on Wednesday, […]
Washington Navy Yard Shooting: How the Daily Show Portrayed the Media’s Coverage
September 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Within the office here, I ranted at the media relentlessly about the horrible live coverage of the tragic events unfolding at the Washington Navy Yard. Only my assistant Shannon had to hear my rants. Fortunately, comedian Jon Stewart has the resource and video tape evidence to call out the media for the […]
Lesson 5: The Media is Biased
May 9, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com There is much debate about whether the media are biased; especially whether there is a liberal bias. If you truly want to explore that subject, I suggest you read the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. It has been my experience over the years that much of what is perceived as bias […]
