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As someone whose first job in public relations was with a political agency involved in campaigns ranging from local to presidential ones, I’ve always recommended paying attention to political happenings to obtain lessons not learned in communications schools. Nothing supports my advice more than the dueling daily coronavirus press conferences of President Donald Trump and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York.

Many lessons can be learned from observing the different styles of the two pressers. But one lesson stands out: Press conferences can backfire. It’s usually best not to use them.

I’ve always attempted to dissuade clients and PR people from staging press conferences. The exception is when there is legit “hard news” to announce such as a Nobel Prize for an institution’s scientist. In addition, holding press conferences during the current coronavirus epidemic would be ill-advised. They should be replaced by individual emails to selected media.

My main objection to lavish press conferences is that there are other methods that can produce more and better national earned media results at a fraction of the cost of an expensive dog and pony show.

Occasionally, clients insisted on a press conference, mostly because of pressure from people they report to. Brand managers thought their “new and improved” products were major news, worthy of a big splash. “Maybe in trade pubs,” I would tell them, “but not in major media news outlets.”

However, in many cases, PR people had no choice, because of the brand manager’s insistence, and press conferences were held. When press conferences are required, PR practitioners should rely on agency pros adept at staging them. The difference between staging a successful press conference and a disjointed one has been seen on TV, since Trump and Cuomo began their daily coronavirus updates.

How not to Run a Press Conference

The Trump pressers look like they’ve been staged by the director of the old Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First” routine. First the president makes a self-serving statement. Then everyone else praises the president before speaking. Often the president contradicts what the medical scientists say about the coronavirus. And then the president conducts a long “no news” interview session with reporters, responding to questions with his “hunches” and frequently berating journalists for asking a question he doesn’t like. In one recent presser, he showed a video that was tantamount to a campaign ad. The result has generally been negative media coverage of the presser. In all, the Trump coronavirus pressers could be used as a teaching tool on how not to stage a press conference.

The president’s coronavirus press conferences became so obviously self-serving that some national TV networks began to cut away and resume normal programming, saying that they’ll monitor the conference and return to it if important news is discussed. Cutting away from the president’s pressers has now become an almost daily occurrence.

In contrast, Gov. Cuomo’s pressers are staged in a manner that has made him a national political figure. He opens with a detailed statement, uses statistics from health agencies, and then asks for questions. He stays on subject, answers questions forthrightly with detailed and accurate information. He is not afraid of saying, “I don’t know,” and often asks other members of his panel to supply facts. It is a performance that should be studied on how to conduct a press conference.

President Trump, on the other hand, has tried to use press conferences to change the subject, without success, much as CEOs of entities in a PR crisis try to put the blame on others.

Key Lessons about Press Conferences

There are many important takeaways from the daily Trump and Cuomo coronavirus pressers that PR practitioner should remember:

• The Trump pressers are assured of a major media turnout because, unlike your clients, he is president of the United States.
• No matter how important you think your client is, it’s up to the media to decide whether sending a reporter to the presser is worth it.
• Press conferences are expensive and their results are iffy. There’s always the chance that few reporters will show up — and not the ones from major media. If a major story breaks on the day of your press conference, it can destroy chances of media coverage.
• Even if it’s well attended by journalists, the resulting coverage might disappoint a client.
• Press conferences should be held only when the client has truly important “hard news” to announce, which most often is not the case, except in the client’s mind. It is the media, not the client, that decides on the importance of news.

Roundtable Alternative to Press Conferences

My preferred practice is to use a technique that usually results in major media coverage without spending thousands of dollars on a dog and pony show.

I invite about a dozen journalists to a round table discussion with a client. Reporters are selected because the news being released is relevant to their beats. The invitation list always includes reporters from the wire services, major dailies and relevant trade pubs.

These roundtable pressers are augmented with in-person one-on-one TV and radio interviews and telephone interviews with selected out-of-state journalists, plus a PR news release timed to be released nationally three hours after the lunchtime roundtable concludes. Often, I have the same release re-sent on the much less costly overnight feature PR newswire, but with a new lede and a new second graph. Long-lead magazine editors receive an inexpensive press kit and invitations to conduct telephone interviews.

There are four reasons why these “mini pressers” are preferable to Broadway style press conferences:

• Unlike a press conference, these roundtables eliminate the embarrassment of large press conferences with few attendees. There is always enough time to substitute a replacement if someone has to cancel.
• Importantly, I am able to hand-select reporters, thus excluding those that I know go for the jugular.
• Limiting attendees to the proper “beat” reporters assures coverage.
• The considerable savings from these “mini pressers” preserves thousands of dollars that are better used for other PR activities.

I suggest that all PR professionals regularly watch the Trump and Cuomo pressers. Watch live or recorded. They provide lessons not taught in communications schools on the right and wrong ways to conduct a press conference. In fact, all PR practitioners can learn a lot by paying attention to how public relations is practiced on the political scene.

My best advice is to avoid using press conferences whenever possible. Just like expensive press kits that are tossed by journalists, they are a waste of client’s money that can be better used elsewhere.

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Arthur Solomon

Arthur Solomon, a former journalist, was a senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, and was responsible for restructuring, managing and playing key roles in significant national and international sports and non-sports programs. He now is a frequent contributor to public relations publications, consults on public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee.  He can be reached at arthursolomon4pr@juno.com or artsolomon4pr@optimum.net.