Information integrity - the paramount in PR practice

If there is just one thing, which you can say is a make or break deal, in the practice of good media relations, its information integrity.

Nothing else reigns at the top, if you make a list of do’s and don’ts in the practice of good media relations.

What is information integrity? In common parlance, it is nothing  but the integrity or truth in every word you speak about your clients, when confronted with simple straight forward questions, or even more complex questions that may happen in times that are not normal, viz. a crisis happens, some annual revenues and competitor strategy leaked in the news etc.

As a PR and communication professional, what is your first reaction when some journalist or media outlet raises questions on some issues of propriety, some product quality issues, or even some basic information like headcount, commitment to safety and so on?

Make it a point, rather cardinal rule that in all your responses, you will only rely on hard facts and truths, come what may. What must be communicated to the media, might, at times look inconvenient and even mean that the image takes a temporary setback as of that time. Even when it comes to that, reliance on untruths, or twisting facts just to escape a question will mean a reputation death knell for your organization. And that will have a long term negative impact that will take eons to overcome.

Whereas, when you rely on facts, and truth, and also supplement it with the corrective steps you are working on, and mention a time frame for closure, that by itself serves to up the credibility of what you say, and also is a positive for the image of your organization. Anything else you do, which is the opposite of this, is only going to affect your long term reputation index.

Media and the journalists hate to discover that the client has churned out lies and not relied on facts when giving out information, be it a press note, or a press meet. Some of the errors may appear to be trivial, making you think whats the big fuss about it.

Much as it is the journalist’s responsibility to check the facts in any story – that said, if you are representing a client, you are the custodian of the facts mentioned in any media information that disseminates from your end.

Factual errors are not the big ones like the client concealing the facts or misrepresenting reality, in a crisis situation. Simple errors like getting the name of the person/product spelt wrong, getting the timeline of events wrong, or just spelling the CEO’s surname wrong – such errors come easily to the notice of the consumer – the reader of the viewer of the news, when and if it finally gets there.

And if it does, at stake is the credibility of the journalist, the media house, and your own client. In most cases, such mistakes creep in, in minor details which we tend to take for granted.

As a PR professional, make sure that the eye for detail is in play, every time, with every client. When you claim to manage reputation of clients, the least expected from you is to ensure information integrity.