HANDLING THE PRESS, P.2

What do you do when you get such a call? "Handle it is as diplomatically as possible," says former board president Tumminia. "Be professional and responsible. Don't get into defending your position yet, because you might not be aware of the whole situation and you want all your facts in a row. The last thing you want to do is make a statement that is inaccurate. Say, 'We're sorry to hear something might have occurred. I'll look into it and see what transpired and get back to you.' Or, 'I wasn't aware of that; let me get my facts straight and call you back.'

"And then," he emphasizes, "you call them back."

No "No Comment"

"I don't say, 'No comment,'" says Kelley. "I say, 'Let me call you back, let me make sure we're all on the same page.' And then call back as quickly as possible and address it." For newspaper or online reporters on a tight deadline, call back within an hour. Otherwise, it's usually okay to take a day if necessary.

In preparation for your calling back, your next step is to confer with fellow board members and come up with appropriate talking points. Let your managing agent know, and get his or her input if you think it will help. In very serious or delicate cases, confer with your attorney. Collins suggests having a publicist on retainer, to whom you can essentially hand off everything to be dealt with on your behalf.

If you're in the right, then getting

the pertinent the facts out only helps

you look reasonable and responsible.

Here's the next, final and perhaps most important tip: actually address the situation that the shareholder, unit-owner or other party has brought up.

"You're going to have to deal with it one way or the other, and it's best to deal with things sooner rather than later," advises Kelley. "Speak with the shareholder," she suggests. You needn't try to negotiate a solution at this point, but you do need to "deal with them so that they calm down. But make it sincere."

If you're legitimately in the wrong — maybe you misunderstood a provision in some complicated law — then apologize and take steps to remediate the situation. If you believe you're in the right, apologize for the hard feelings without apologizing for your actions.

"It doesn't have to be a public apology, but it's important to address their concerns first," says Kelley. "Explain it's nothing personal, it's policy. Then when the press asks about it, you're able to say, 'We've apologized for the way it was handled, we never meant to have any hard feelings, we've come to a compromise,' or 'We're negotiating a solution.' As opposed to saying, 'Oh, well, they're being ridiculous and we're not dealing with them.'"

Then, she suggests, "Try to resolve [the issue] in a way acceptable to the shareholder as well as to the co-op." If it's a gray area, compromise. If you're unequivocally in the right, then getting the pertinent the facts out to the shareholder and the press only helps you look reasonable and responsible.

Notes of Caution

"If it's an investigative thing, you have to be careful not to hurt yourself," Kelley cautions. "But if you're sharing accurate information, that should be helpful to you."

Tumminia suggests particular caution during times of "litigation going through the legal system." If you can tell the press honestly that the matter is being worked on by each party's attorney, and that speaking at length about it may jeopardize negotiations, then do so. "Ultimately, the facts are going to drive your response."

And before any of this even comes up, board members can practice speaking with the press among themselves. "If you don't have your own publicity person it may help to practice with someone – to go over your talking points or the mission of your board or the key things you want out there," says Collins.

The pen is mightier than the sword. It's also mightier than the board. The trick is to understand the pen – and to use it so that nobody draws the wrong conclusions.

Adapted from Habitat December 2010. For articles going back to 2002, join our Archive >>