Decline a media interview request with confidence
Written by KATIE TEST DAVIS
A reporter reaches out to request an interview, and it’s…just not the right fit. You have to say no to the reporter’s request, and that could be for a million different reasons, such as:
You don’t have the expertise.
You don’t have the bandwidth.
Your team can’t agree on what to say.
The reporter hasn’t been friendly to your work in the past.
So…how do you handle this delicate situation without burning bridges? Well, here’s what our team has learned from working with the media for many years.
Step 1: Get back to the journalist.
Every time a journalist or reporter reaches out to you, you should respond. Even if you’re going to decline, it’s best to get back to them within 24 hours.
→ If you aren’t sure if you want to say no, it’s time to gather information. Ask the reporter:
What are your goals for the piece?
What specific questions do you have for us?
Will this interview be on the record?
Who else are you talking with?
→ If you know for a fact that you’re going to say no, jump to Step 4.
step 2: conduct a quick media scan.
If you’re not sure if you’re going to say yes or no, do your homework. See how the journalist has covered your topics in the past, and assess if this opportunity aligns with your goals.
You’ll want to consider:
Who reads/watches or listens to this news outlet? Are they our target audience for our work right now?
Have we worked with this person before? If so, how did it go?
Does this journalist or publication already have a perspective on our issue (you will likely be able to tell from past articles)? If so, does it agree with ours? If it does, great…if not, can we change their minds?
step 3: consider a written statement.
If you’ve decided the request is not a good fit for whatever reason – and you’re going to decline it – consider if you want to decline a live interview but issue a written statement.
A written statement allows you to control every word that you submit. You give the reporter a limited amount of content to work from, which in turn means they’re more likely to use what you send.
The drawbacks are that the reporter has no obligation to use your statement, or could cut it down or truncate it. Make sure you’re comfortable with that if you decide to take this approach.
step 4: say no. but nicely!
When you turn down a reporter’s request, make sure you aren’t torching the relationship. You can do that in a few ways:
Make an introduction: If you can’t speak with the reporter right now, but know a fellow advocate or organization that may be able to speak to the journalist, feel free to pass along the suggestion. This will signal to the reporter that even though you’re not working with them on this story, you may want to work with them again in the future. It also increases the likelihood that they’ll come back to you (because you’ve been so helpful)!
If possible, make a warm handoff by calling the person you’re passing the reporter to, making sure they are prepped, then doing an email introduction between the three of you.
If not possible, be transparent with the reporter that you don’t personally know anyone at the other organization, but send along a link to the website for the organization and any contact information you may be able to find for the reporter.
Sharing resources: Even if you’re saying no, you could still send along a link to a report, data, or other information that might make their jobs easier or make the case for your work. In your email back, you can just share that while you’re not able to work with them on the story, you wanted to pass along some resources that would be helpful while they write the story.
If you’re sending along a lengthy report, it’s nice if you flag certain pages or sections that the reporter would find useful.
Share what’s coming up next: If you have upcoming relevant work on the topics the reporter covers, but they aren’t ready yet, feel free to preview them with the reporter and let them know you’ll send them along when ready. That would look like this: “We don’t yet have our annual homelessness report ready, but I’ll be sure to send it along when it’s published.”
All that said, if the journalist is not someone you’d like to work with in the future (for example, if they aren’t values aligned, or they misrepresented your work in the past and you don’t want to work with them again), then all you need to do is politely thank them for reaching out and let them know you’re not available for an interview right now.
As overwhelmed as communicators and leaders are right now, where you spend your time is valuable. Not every media opportunity will be worth your time and attention. Be wise with your yeses and quick to a “no.”
With these four steps in mind, you can say no with confidence!
PS - Responding “no comment” is not a best practice. Over the years, “no comment” has been so overused that it now sounds like you may have something to hide, or are unhappy with a project or result.
