In times of trouble, or times of transition, we expect the company president or CEO to be delivering the messages. Sure, if the news is big enough, but the CEO doesn’t always have to be your organization’s spokesperson. In fact, it can hurt your company in several scenarios.

For example, if your CEO plain and simple just isn’t great on camera. That’s ok — for now. He or she is there to run the business of your organization. A communications director will often serve as the official spokesperson for the organization, sharing messages from and approved by the CEO. But your leader can’t stay away from the cameras and microphones forever, so be sure to bring in a trusted expert for some ongoing media training.

And then, there are subject-matter experts. These are folks who know their department extraordinarily well, and would only speak on one specific topic. But, when they do, they do it better than anyone else. This can improve the quality of the story you’re sharing, and make your organization appear more human by showcasing a select few individuals who truly walk what would otherwise just be your talk.

And, even when facing true disaster, it can make or break the future of your organization if you don’t take the time to determine who the best spokesperson is for the scenario. Take the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. BP just assumed that then-CEO Tony Hayward should speak to all press. But, what a mistake that was. Not only was he not prepared, but he also wasn’t empathetic. He certainly wasn’t one of us. There was, however, a brief period of time when a few local executives, from BP America, conducted media interviews. They faced tough questions, but they lived and worked in the affected area, they spoke simply and honestly, and they were compassionate. That’s who should have represented the company from the beginning. At least in the U.S. But, it was too late. The company had already put the CEO out there, and once the public sees the CEO, you cannot take him or her away and go down the ladder for your spokesperson.

Remember that: You can always work your way up to the president or CEO as a situation escalates, but you can never go down. It only creates suspicion from the media and the public, who will suspect or fear that your organization is now hiding something.

Whatever you do, don’t wait until the media is calling (or at your door) to think about who your spokesperson and subject-matter experts should be. Do it now, when you can give it the careful consideration this significant decision truly deserves. And, then be sure to communicate the protocol with everyone internally and to conduct media training, even informally, so that your team is ready.

Are you being heard?        

Crystal (Smith) DeStefano is president and director of public relations at Strategic Communications, LLC, which says it provides trusted counsel for public relations, including media relations, employee relations, and community relations. Contact DeStefano at Crystal@stratcomllc.com

Put yourself in these shoes: You have some terrific news to share about your company. Maybe you are expanding, have made some key new hires, or perhaps you have a merger/partnership to announce. 

So, you have your PR person, either an in-house employee or one from an outside agency, prepare and send out a press release to tell the world about your news.

You are excited about this because you’re looking to generate some buzz, and hopefully financial benefits for your company. 

But hold on. Houston, we have a problem. The news release your company issued has a mistake in it and you have to send out a corrected release. What a buzz kill that can be.

As someone who receives a bushel full of news releases, I see this scenario happen from time to time. 

We get a press release and start acting on it, only to see a new, corrected release arrive in our in-box. 

Hey, we all make mistakes. 

However, news releases are used by many news organizations, making it possible for the error to mushroom into many mistakes spread by news websites, radio and TV stations, and social-media newsfeeds. 

Having to issue a second press release with the dreaded word “Correction” on it may lead to time-starved editors and reporters completely disregarding your 

release and moving on to others. So, take the necessary time to get it right the first time. 

But, if you do happen to issue a news release with an error that calls for a correction, please have the corrected version include a notation telling the recipients what you’re correcting. 

For example, you might write, “Date Correction” in the subject line of the email. Alternatively, in the attached release itself, you may say, “Note: Correcting name and title in third paragraph.” Or, “Note: Correcting company information in last paragraph.”

The notes allow the receiving media organization to quickly figure out if it needs to fix any part of the story it has prepared, or if everything is okay.

The corrected press releases I often receive provide no clue about what was wrong in the first place. That leaves us to guess. 

In this era of instant news published online and disseminated rapidly through social media, a story may have already been published and spread based on the first, uncorrected release. It’s bad enough that you have already issued a news release that could have led to the media making mistakes, but now you’re making it more difficult to fix the errors.

Maybe your mistake wasn’t a big deal, and a note indicating what the error was could quickly ease the minds of the media people who have used it and restore confidence in your information.

While I’m on the subject of press releases, let me offer another recommendation. And that is: do NOT send out a news release in the first place. Instead, let’s talk. 

Get the word to us before the event happens or before you tell the whole world. 

The Central New York Business Journal’s mission is to provide readers breaking business stories and news that they have not read elsewhere first. We have been doing so for nearly 30 years. So, a tip on a new expansion project you’re planning is more likely to receive extensive coverage from us than a widely distributed 

press release announcing the grand-opening ceremony. 

If your company has some big, breaking news coming (expansion, acquisition, opening a new branch, increased hiring, a move, etc.) please email me a quick note about it to my email address below. Or, give me a call at (315) 579-3902.         

Adam Rombel is editor-in-chief of The Central New York Business Journal. Contact him at arombel@cnybj.com