COVID-19 Requires PR Professionals to Find a New Way to Work with Reporters
As The Hoyt Organization has supported many of those tasks this week – the first week since California Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a statewide “shelter in place” order – a number of considerations have risen to the surface. Major news organizations that are accustomed to placing news crews in harm’s way — in the paths or hurricanes, wars and genocides — are now taking steps to conduct reporting via Skype, Zoom or any other method that allows for sound bites to be collected at a range of six feet or more.
Reach a Wider Audience with Targeted Public Relations
Scott Detrow, Political Correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) was among many reporters this week who reported that a colleague in the White House Press Corps had tested positive for COVID-19, the result of which would be an effort to reduce the number of onsite reporters at daily White House Press briefings.
The results were palpable in the lead-up to subsequent briefings.
For those of us in the PR industry handling communications tasks related to grocery lines, delivery services, drive-thru testing or anything else that creates a needed and newsworthy connection between people and services, it’s our job to help advise on how to keep all parties safe.
This is a new reality.
In the cases our agency has handled so far that required interviews for COVID-19 testing sites, our rules have included:
- Scheduling media interviews to ensure no more than one crew is not onsite at any one time;
- Requiring visual media to avoid photography and video that that could positively identify patients (faces, voices, cars, license plates, etc.) without their express consent; and
- Asking onsite crews to conduct interviews with boom mics, disinfected wireless stick mics, or other audio-gathering capabilities that keep interview subjects at a safe distance from reporter news-gathering equipment.
This is far from a complete list. But it’s what the media, public and clients expect at this time. These top-layer ideas ensure safety and privacy.
As an agency, we are committed to ensuring any client activity follows at least these procedures.
