- Continued from last edition.
What Jeffrey J. Fox wrote in his book How to get to the top: Business lessons learned at the dinner table (2007) also helps us appreciate better what effective communication can do to the image and reputation of individuals, organisations and government business – and more importantly, theargument Innocent canvasses in his work.
Fox said: “There are two times when you must perfect table manners; when you dine with others and when you dine alone. Be it a family meal, a business meeting, a campfire roast, dining with others is a lynchpin of civilisation.
“The table is where partnerships begin, plans are laid, decisions made, information exchanged, deals struck.
“A person’s natural conduct at the table is often a window into the personae. Is he or she well-taught, polite, attentive, funny, observant, disciplined? Or indulgent, sloppy, avaricious, uncouth, rude, inappropriate?
“Work on the products customers buy, no matter how old and boring. Work on the people who are proven cash register ringers, no matter how difficult to manage. Work on strengths. Work on what is working or you won’t be.”
You would think Fox probably borrowed from Innocent’s thoughts going by the gamut of pieces of advice the Nigerian journalist proffered in his book on strategic media and reputation beinga catalyst for a successful business in our contemporary world.
Innocentchallenges our intuition on what we, our organisations, the governmentand the society at large stand to gain if we apply ourselves well to the tenets of effective speaking, or communication, as Levine and Fox rightly espoused.
“Media relationsis based on communication, relationship, trust and truth, Innocent wrote, in dealing with the feature of media relations.
“Once a cordial relationship exists between the organisation and the media, the latter can be guided sincerely on how to report even negative news so that the organisation’s image will not be affected negatively.”
I think he has also challenged our strategic behaviour as individuals, organisations and as a government; reminding us that we are all strategists, whether we like it or not, and that it is better to be a good strategist than to be a bad one.
For example, if we deploy good strategies in our marriages, families, travels, and even in things not so important, we can do the same to projectin a positive way, our image and good reputation,and thoseof private and government businesses.
Strategic Media Relations and Reputation Management …. refreshes our memory on the fact that the media are critical to business success and development, as well as national development.
Those in tune withthe worth of the media (individuals or institutions) enjoy the services they get and may not be in a hurry to stop dealing with the media as partners in progress.
Unfortunately, those who do not understand the workings of the media – or should I say, who want to dictate how the media do their work – are oftenthe ones who complain about how bad the media and their practitioners are, or how much challenge the media pose to their individual or group business interests.
Innocent understands this fact as a journalist of more than two decades in active practice, with interest in public relations and politics.
He provides a balancing act for the inevitability of media practice anchored on fairness, balance and objectivity as sina qua non for healthy business growth and national development.
That is why I share the view of Bernard Obia in his Foreword in the book that Innocent’s experience garnered working as a journalist and public relations practitioner shows in his research.
The book considers the dynamism of our society where people are now hyperactive and consciously hold the media accountable for reports that affect them positively or negatively.
Where the reputation of government must measure up to global standard or best practice in accountable service delivery and responsible leadership.
And where 21st century organisations take seriously their image and reputation in a competitive business environment.
Innocent identifies and proposes what organisations, the media, and the public will gain in a healthy marriage of efforts between them that will also guarantee their individual self-worth and respectability.
The book, 360 pages long, and written thematically in 10 chapters, is easy to read;in terms of editing, prose and layout.
Chapter One deals with Introduction to Public Relations. Here, he shows his mastery of the field of public relations as the window through which strategic media relations and reputation management could be assessed by willing practitioners.
Greater insight into the workings of the media is discussed in Chapter Two in what Innocent calls The Media Industry.
Intending media practitioners and new entrants as well as those who blame the media for whatever goes wrong with the image of their organisation will find this chapter handy.
Justice is done to all the reader needs to know about Media Relations as a Specialised Field; including the definition, features, functions, benefits of specialised media departments, stakeholders in the media, and what differentiates media relations from advertising.
Innocent continues his narrative in Chapter Four on Media Relations Structure and Strategy.
Here, research in media relations, methods, tools, selection, planning and use are handled professionally, with a case study of an agency of government to serve as a big lesson to practitioners in private and public sectors.
Physical attributes of the media relations manager, qualities and functions form the narrative in Chapter Five on The Media Relations Manager and His Work.
Chapter Six on Managing Different Reporting Styles looks at developmental reportage, investigative reportage, columnists; dealing with various groups, relating with investigative reporters and columnists as well as risk management.
In Chapter Seven, the book deals with Events, Protocol Management and Media Relations.
Innocent makes a conscious effort in this chapter to explain what protocol is, and is not, composition of a protocol unit, location, kit and skill, etiquettes at events, protocol officer in the workplace, media relations and protocol, protocol list and checklist, train and what pre-event, event and post-events and evaluation entail.
Chapter Eight is on Media Relations as a Tool for Brand Building. This is of great value to organisations that desire to have a competitive edge in their products.
Reason: The book pays considerable attention to brand process, differentiation, internalisation, name, building, personality, promise, image, loyalty and equity.
The clincher: media relations roles in brand building and management, the organisation, the product/service and the CEO make interesting reading.
Chapter Nine on Media Relations in Government is irresistible to anyone interested in the image and reputation of government, including politicians.
The reader will appreciate how propaganda or falsehood takes the place of facts in government business,among others; like suppression of opposition, critics, insensitivity, and rash approach to governance.
Pages 218 to 259 contain a case study of editorials, opinion pieces and features deliberately churned out by some media houses to kick against some government policies during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
This arrests attention, particularly as the image and reputation managers of the ousted government ignored critical things bordering on media relations.
What is crisis? Real costs of crisis? Crisis life cycle? Crisis management and management of crisis? How do the media react to crisis, and what to expect from the media?
All that are in Chapter Ten on Crisis Management: The Media Approach.
There is also in this chapter, the popular five Cs (Crisis) model, crisis media relations techniques, tools for crisis media management.
The point must be made that media relations is not as tricky as perceived. Deployment of a few best practices makes all the difference.
Innocent is conscious of this fact and amply observes that with careful attention and the right tools, organisations can boost their results and develop enduring relationships with everyone in a position to help spread their brand message.
That is why he takes seriously the physical attributes of the media relations managers such as dressing smartly, being alert and friendly, listening carefully,being proactive, disciplined, enthusiastic, nice, courageous, and harmless.
He argues that a media relations manager should be able to marry his physical attributes with other qualities.
Qualities such as managerial ability and acumen, background in journalism, integrity, personality and excellent conversation skill, drive for excellence, flair for writing, excellent communication ability,a good command of English, working under pressure, and continuous learning.
At the risk of turning this review into another book, let me say that the author has refreshed the memory of media practitioners and researchers on the tools they need to perform optimally, and in a much more simplified language.
The book is an excellent resource material for mass communication students aspiring to be journalists and for public relations and advertising experts.
Lecturers, government and research institutions will also benefit from the book whose references and index sections are quite captivating.
I am convinced that Innocent has read what he is marketing to the public, and would easily take responsibility for minor typographical errors, quality of print, and failure to do a formal conclusion.
All said, I am glad I read my own copy of the book. You too will be glad if you read yours.
