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Why One Global Approach for CEO Media Interviews Doesn’t Work

Even though the Internet and digital communications are making the world smaller and driving some commonality in practices, the world of journalism is anything but unified in cultural habits, preferences and approaches.

According to our global partners in the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), who surveyed more than 200 journalists across Europe and North America, while there may be some common themes, each country’s reporters may have their own unique perspective that can impact the outcome of your CEO’s interviews.

For example, the results of the PRGN survey showed:

• Italian and German journalists consider the CEO’s private life not only to be fair game but also important to their story;
• Journalists from the United Kingdom overwhelmingly prefer to interview CEOs by phone rather than a visits to the CEO’s office or company facility – presumably because of time and budget restraints;
• Swiss reporters focus intently on previous media coverage and third-party opinions when doing pre-interview research – so any previous negative coverage or comments will be more likely to shade the tone and direction of the interview;
• North American reporters are much more likely than others to review your social media profiles when doing pre-interview research; and
• Two out of three Dutch journalists will always allow you to review the article they’ve produced before it is published.

So how does a North American PR executive gain access to the local and cultural insights about journalists in other countries … without the expense of retaining one of the mega-agencies that focus on clients with multi-million-dollar PR budgets?

One way is to work with a firm like Bianchi PR, an active partner in the Public Relations Global Network, “the world’s local agency,” which brings together the local knowledge and media relationships of seasoned PR experts in more than 50 of the world’s key markets.

In global PR programs, nothing beats local media relationships, specific market knowledge, “boots on the ground” in-country and the focused attention of seasoned, entrepreneurial PR professionals like those in PRGN.

For other global insights and tips that can help you better prepare your CEO for successful media interviews with journalists in other markets, visit http://bit.ly/18DOK4t.