Last week a blog post at TrizCom PR hurt a few feelings in the best possible way.
My colleague Karen Carrera wrote about why avoiding PR disasters starts with respecting reporters. As I read it, I could not stop thinking about the other half of the problem. It is not just about respecting reporters. It is about remembering they are not your audience.
They are not your friends.
They are not your therapists.
They are not your focus group.
They are the conduit. The bridge. The microphone.
Your audience is on the other side of that bridge. And too many smart leaders torch the bridge in real time because they forget who they are actually talking to.
So let us fix that.
Who are you really talking to in an interview?
When you sit down with a reporter, it feels intimate. Two chairs, one camera and maybe a cup of coffee if you are lucky and someone remembered craft services.
Because it feels intimate, people start behaving like they are on a first date. They want to be liked. They want to be clever. They want to prove they are the smartest person in the room.
Here is the truth we drill into our media training clients at TrizCom PR:
The journalist and the outlet are not your audience.
Your audience is the patient choosing a hospital.
The parent picking a school.
The franchisee deciding where to invest their life savings.
The voter trying to figure out who actually deserves their trust.
The journalist is simply how you get to them. Think of reporters as the airline, not the vacation. You do not go to the airport for the ambiance. You go because you want to get somewhere important.
The reporter is not your friend and that is a good thing
When I say reporters are not your friends, I am not saying they are your enemies. Quite the opposite.
Karen’s piece hit this perfectly. When leaders insult reporters, lose their cool or walk out of interviews, they are not “owning” anyone. They are throwing away expensive airtime and begging to trend for all the wrong reasons.
But let us look at the softer version, because that is where most executives mess up.
The problem is not always open hostility.
Often the problem is performance.
You start playing to the reporter instead of your real audience.
You crack edgy jokes to impress them.
You toss out unvetted numbers because you want to sound brilliant.
You gossip about competitors because you want to look “in the know.”
The reporter is doing a job. They are not there to validate your self esteem. They are there to get a story. When you forget that, you gift them drama when you could have given them substance.
And trust me, as someone who has watched this play out for years, our team at TrizCom PR has seen how fast one bad moment can erase months of careful work.
Three “please like me” interview disasters
Let me walk through three patterns I see over and over again in media training sessions.
1. The stand up comic who was supposed to be a CEO
This leader walks into the interview and decides their primary KPI is laughs per minute. They riff, they roast, they flex their sarcasm.
The problem is the clip lives forever. Jokes age badly. Screenshots travel faster than context. When the headline becomes your punchline, your key message gets cut in the edit.
Your audience does not walk away thinking “What a visionary leader.”
They walk away thinking “Do I trust this person with my money, my health or my vote”
2. The confessional over sharer
We all know the “I forgot this was on the record” moment.
A leader gets comfortable with a reporter who is good at their job, which means good at listening. So the leader starts confessing. Internal drama, half baked ideas, things legal absolutely did not approve.
The reporter hears the magic words “Honestly” and “Off the record” used incorrectly.
Once again, the story becomes the mess, not the message.
3. The starstruck super fan
This one usually shows up with national outlets. A leader sits down for their first big network interview and forgets they are the expert in the room. Suddenly they are treating the anchor like a celebrity meet and greet.
They start rambling, filling silence, agreeing to premises they should gently correct, because they are too busy thinking “Wow, I watch you every morning.”
Here is the bad news: your audience does not care that you are excited to be there. They care what you do for them.
So what should you focus on instead?
Here is the mindset shift I want every leader to steal.
Before any interview, imagine your true audience sitting behind the camera. Not the reporter. Not the producer. The people who actually matter to your business.
Ask yourself three questions:
What do they need to understand about this situation
What do I want them to think about our organization after they watch or read this
What one sentence do I want them to repeat to someone else later
Those answers become your key messages.
Everything you say in the interview should serve those messages. That does not mean ignoring tough questions. It means answering them directly, then bridging back to what your audience needs to hear.
Respect the reporter. Respect the question. But serve your audience.
How to treat reporters the right way
Let us balance this out, because Karen’s original point still stands. Respecting reporters is non negotiable if you want to avoid PR disasters.
Here is the posture we coach:
Be courteous, not clingy
Be transparent, not talkative for the sake of it
Be prepared, not robotic
Be calm, not performatively outraged
You are equals in the exchange.
They bring the platform.
You bring the expertise.
When leaders understand that dynamic, interviews get better for everyone. Reporters get clean usable quotes. Audiences get clarity instead of chaos. Your brand gets remembered for the right reasons.
That is where real media training at TrizCom PR comes in. Not the “hold your hands this way” kind, although posture still matters. The strategic kind that Karen leads for clients at our PR agency. The kind that teaches you how to think about interviews, not just how to sit in them.
A quick pre interview checklist you can steal
Tape this to your wall, your ring light or your comms team’s forehead.
Before the interview, can you answer:
Who is my real audience for this story
What are my three key messages that matter to that audience
What proof points or examples am I ready to share
What is off limits legally or ethically no matter how friendly the conversation feels
What one quote do I want every outlet to pick up
During the interview, keep asking yourself:
Am I talking to the reporter or to my audience
Am I trying to impress this person or inform the people who trust me
Would I be happy seeing this sentence on a billboard with my logo under it
If the answer to that last one is “absolutely not,” stop mid sentence and reset.
Why this matters more than your media hit count
Anyone can chase coverage. Anybody with a press release and a credit card can get their logo somewhere.
The leaders and brands who win over time are the ones who understand the difference between visibility and credibility.
You can be everywhere and still say nothing that helps your audience.
You can also be selective and intentional and build a reputation that survives one bad news cycle after another.
If you are not sure how to get there, you can work with TrizCom PR to practice before the next crisis hits.
So, what does this mean for you?
If you are a CEO, founder or franchise leader, here is my blunt advice.
Stop trying to impress reporters.
Start trying to serve your audience.
Treat the journalist with respect. Answer the question. Stay composed. Then use that moment as a bridge to your key messages, not a stage for your ego.
If your leadership team is ready to stop winging it and start preparing, learn more about TrizCom PR and what our media training actually looks like in practice.
Until next week – keep on, keeping on.
Jo
Everyone has a story. Let TrizCom PR tell yours.
About the Author:
Jo Trizila – Founder & CEO of TrizCom PR
Jo Trizila is the founder and CEO of TrizCom PR, a leading Dallas-based public relations firm known for delivering strategic communications that drive business growth and enhance brand reputations as well as Pitch PR, a press release distribution agency. With over 25 years of experience in PR and marketing, Jo has helped countless organizations navigate complex communication challenges, ranging from crisis management to brand storytelling. Under her leadership, TrizCom PR has earned recognition for its results-driven approach, combining traditional and integrated digital strategies to deliver impactful, measurable outcomes for clients across various industries, including healthcare, technology and nonprofit sectors. Jo is passionate about helping businesses amplify their voices and connect with audiences meaningfully. Her hands-on approach and commitment to excellence have established TrizCom PR as a trusted partner for companies seeking to elevate their brand and achieve lasting success. Contact Jo at jo@TrizCom.com.