PR Advice from Justice Antonin Scalia
There's always much debate within certain companies about whether to talk with the press. Why risk getting misquoted or facilitating a story that from the onset is slanted to portray the company unfavorably. Recently, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, and provided some excellent PR advice.
"The reality is, that in these modern times …where there's all this space to be filled on radio, TV, and print… I will be a public spectacle. The important question is whether the public will get a second hand picture of me or will they have a chance to assess first hand who I really am?"
Totenberg notes that Scalia has abandoned his onetime reticense about talking to the press. She also points out that, unlike other Justices, Scalia does not only talk to friendly audiences. He's participated in public debates with fellow Justices and even alongside the head of the ACLU at a national ACLU meeting.
From a PR perspective, it's better to engage your stakeholders by providing facts and correcting misconceptions. While you may not convince your strident opponents, you will help balance the conversation.
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