Responding to Media Request for Commentary

When engaging with the press, it is not uncommon to face a situation where you’re asked to provide commentary on a breaking story. A reporter will typically want input from the participants in the breaking story and so if the story pertains to your company, they may reach out for commentary. The question then becomes, how should you respond?

In this situation, there are a few options to consider. Like most PR scenarios, the answer is not always black and white. Every scenario may call for a different response. The best tactic often depends on several mitigating factors: current objectives, relationship with the reporter, position of the brand in the overall media landscape, other circumstances unrelated, or even pending legal issues. Whatever the case may be, while there is no one-size-fits-all response, there are a few response tactics to consider: 

No Response

Sometimes, a story will cite that the company involved was “unable to be reached for comment.” Such a statement means that the reporter reached out to the brand or their spokesperson, and was not able to get in touch with anyone to provide any sort of commentary.

This can prove both beneficial and detrimental, depending on the situation. Sometimes, it’s important for a brand to have direct input into a story and provide context. In not responding, a brand can risk the appearance of being irresponsible or flippant, depending on the context. However, this can also play to a brand’s favor when they’re not interested in responding but do not want to be quoted as saying “no comment.” 

In this BuzzFeed story, which looks at the impact of the coronavirus on media’s advertising revenues, a number of publications are cited for commentary. In the roundup, only The New York Times declined to comment, while representatives for The Washington Post, USA Today, and CNN did not respond. There is a clear disconnect between the two groups of responses. It’s unclear whether those that did not respond did so intentionally or for other reasons. 

No Comment

Perhaps the most notorious response to a media’s request for commentary is “no comment.” This response is really a hit or miss - it can be fitting or it can haunt a brand, depending on the story to which the statement responds. In the example above, one could argue that the Times’ “no comment” response was more detrimental than simply not responding. 

There has been a lot written about how the Trump administration has employed the “no comment” tactic. As Peter Barker from The New York Times describes it, “it’s a lost opportunity on their part to get their side of the story out.”

In this story about political content and misinformation on TikTok, the brand is referenced as declining to comment, and instead pointing the reporter to an older statement regarding the same topic. In this case, the “no comment” was meant to direct the reporter to a statement TikTok had already made regarding the same subject matter. It is plausible that the brand was interested in issuing the same language and referring to the same statement to remain consistent in its response.

Issue a statement 

When a story warrants a response, drafting a succinct and consistent statement can be beneficial to shaping the story’s narrative. It also provides the brand an opportunity to provide an added perspective to the storyline, which can be pivotal in how a story is received by the reader and even ultimately reported. 

In 2016, the Cincinnati Zoo faced an unprecedented tragedy: they “put down” an endangered gorilla, Harambe, to save the life of a child that fell into the exhibit. The news caused an uproar and impassioned response from those who supported the Zoo’s decision and those that did not. Despite the controversy surrounding the incident, the Cincinnati Zoo emerged relatively unscathed because of the way they handled the tragedy. The Zoo released a heartfelt statement and took a full-transparency approach, which was well-received by audiences on both sides of the debate. 

When faced with a press inquiry, there are several options for a response. It’s important to weigh all the factors - the motive behind the article, the relationship, the positioning of the brand, the current media landscape, and more - before deciding the best course of action when media reach out with a request for comment.