The theory being that after a while the media will get bored and move on Starving a story means starving it of oxygen by not commenting on it. Kite-flying: this means testing or floating an idea before making a commitment to announce itįeeding or starving a story: feeding a story means keeping it alive by commenting on it in the media. Less extreme examples would be launching a new policy to distract from a negative issue in an attempt to shift the media’s attention In the film Wag the Dog, the US president fabricates a war in Albania to distract from a sex scandal. Go and deal with it now’.”įire-breaking: setting up or staging a diversion to distract attention away from another issue. One media adviser I interviewed explained it like this: “It’s a truism in politics - If you’ve got to eat a shit sandwich you’ve got to eat it straight away… The advice was always, ‘Get rid of it now. Get rid of it now: the aim of this tactic is to release all of the damaging information on an issue at one time, so the negative story can be dealt with quickly rather than allowing it to bleed on for weeks in the media. Councillors expenses?” Other common days to bury bad news are Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, grand final day, Melbourne Cup day, or a distraction like a royal visit On the day of the 9/11 attacks she sent out an email saying: “It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. The classic example often used is that of Jo Moore, a media adviser in the Blair government in the UK. Throwing out the bodies/taking out the garbage: these tactics are used to disclose damaging information under the cover of a major distraction.
The truth, but not the whole truth: this refers to being selective with what one reveals, sharing only the most beneficial or least damaging information Playing a dead bat: this refers to not responding to a media inquiry or giving a minimal response in an effort to kill the story The idea is that if you repeat something so often you feel like vomiting, only then is it likely to be cutting through with the public The vomit principle: this rule of thumb is widely referred to in political offices. Pivoting: this refers to politicians shifting away from a difficult question or issue to the one he or she wants to talk about In itself, it’s not a malign tactic, but the constant repetition of the same messages without answering questions can be a form of obfuscation Staying on message: the goal of every public appearance or interview by a politician. The drip: the act of keeping favoured reporters on a drip of exclusive information Many political reporters who file an unfavourable story can expect to “cop a spray” over the phone after it’s published The spray: a form of bullying and intimidation, this is another way of punishing journalists for negative coverage. The freeze: punishing journalists for negative reporting
In other words, you only get the leak if you promise not to seek comment from the opposing side, or other critics.
The leak: these are strategic leaks offered by politicians or their staff to journalists, in exchange for no scrutiny. Each of these tactics is employed in a bid to exert control over the way the news media report the message: The list below contains a wide range of “covert” tactics drawn from a range of research and personal experience.
Overt refers to standard or benign public relations tactics, such as writing press releases, staging events, giving speeches and appearing in the media.Ĭovert, on the other hand, refers to a range of cynical techniques to manage information - these are the more malign tactics most people associate with “spin”. It's reputation that matters when spin doctors go back to the newsroomīritish researcher Ivor Gaber talked about “overt” and “covert” tactics used by press secretaries in the Blair government in the UK.
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