ML20080U453

Guidelines for Interview with the News Media

ML20080U453
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/14/1995
From:	NRC OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OPA)
To:
References
NUREG-BR-0202, NUREG-BR-202, NUDOCS 9503140362
Download: ML20080U453 (2)

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The NitC has a longstanding practice of Guid:linas nE.m m, N 7'm layman's t:rm2. es iryou were talking to o making available to the public, both di- ~ ma, member ofyour family, F' Establish in advance the ground rules for the Provide accurate information. Do not guess. rectly and through the news media, accu-mterview. There is nothmg wrong with saying,"Let me rate and t.imely m. formation on NRC ac-tm.. ties. We encourage our professionals - What you say will be quotable as coming check that and call you back.. If you have from the NRC. the facts, and they are publicly available or to be open to news inquiries and to try to releasable, provide them. be as helpful as possible. It is not only - The reporter may quote you by name and _w good poh.ey to be candid, within reason-position-D n't under any circumstances allow your-self to get badgered into talking about pre-able constraints, but it also serves our - You will only deal with matters m.which you decisional information, pending agency interest in maintaining credibility as an have appropriate expertise. actions or other matters beyond your re-agency whose primary mission is to pro- - You will not venture opinions on policy or sponsibilities. tect, public health and safety. political issues related to the subject matter. T Stick to your area ofexpertise. If a question - Youwillnotspeculateonpre-decisionalCom-goes beyond whatiou are familiar with, it is hiany of you, in the course ofyour work, nussi n matt rs or mf rmatmn und r r - fine to say,"I really don't know, but perhaps may deal with reporters from local news-view by the stafT-I can refer you to someone who may " The papers, rad.io and TV stations or maga-p Ifyou are particularly pressed byyour workload question should be referred to a more knowl-zines either m. person or over the tele-at the time, politely make this clear. You may edgeable staff person or to OPA. Notify the phone. The NRC has an unportant re-wish also to ask whom else in the NRC the person or OPA that a call will be coming from sponsibility to respond promptly to in-reporter has talked to on the same subject. that reporter and identify the area ofinter-quiries. For most reporters,"promptly" est. n If you receive a call from a reporter and are in a means the same day if possible in order meeting or involved in a time. urgent project, n Try to put factual information into perspec-to meet their deadhnes. offer to call back as soon as possible that day or tive. For example,in discussing a radiation refer them to the Ofnce of Public AfTairs (OPA). release of 1,000 millicuries, it would be help-However,you should not feel pressured to accept a reporter's request for an inter-Reportus gennaHy aye on tight deadlines, so ful to point out it is equal to 1 curie which is timely responses are important. The next day a small percentage of what is safely allow-view. Should you be queried and, for may be too late for the story unless you're told able under federal regulations. Otherwise a whatever reason, do not wish to personally the reporter is working on a longer project. Get reporter unfamiliar with radiation might respond, by all means refer the reporter to the reporter's name, affiliation, telephone num-jump to the conclusion that 1,000-anything the nearest Public Afrairs OfIicer. Do this ber, and subject to be discussed. suggests a huge release. courteously and without delay. Telephone r2 Ifyou are personally unfamiliar with the quality 9 If a reporter asks "what if* questions to nu mbers for the headquarters and regional and accuracy of the reporter's previous coverage understand t he safety significance ofa prob-Public AfTairs ofTices are provided at the and would like some background, consult with lem or incident, provide perspective in your back of this pamphlet OPA before you return the call. answer. If a number of things have to occur P Give complete answers to questions asked; leave in order for a particular problem to have Most reporters are primarily looking for direct safety s,gmficance, make that clear. out extraneous information that is not germane i mformatm.n and are not m. tent on mak-to the question. Stay on track and avoid rambling. However, do not downplay a problem that ingyou or the agency look bad. There are does have safety significance. P I{eep your answers clear, concise and s.imple. exceptions-more on that rollowing. For You work m a highly technical field. Try to avoid 9 A reporter may not know the right questions those ofyou who are comfortable answer-technical jargon and acronyms which are con-to ask to fully understand an issue or prob-ing news queries when approached, here fusing to those outside the agency. Ifyou men-lem. Make sure thatyou provide a complete are some basic guidelines: tion an acronym such as"ALARA," explain what response and do not withhold important infor-you mean. Try to present your information in mation. It is not in the agency's best interest u a

.L N h I t for the resulting news story to be incomplete i or inaccurate because the reporter didn't Public Affairs Assistanceymmg. ~ n i rum nw m i i ' know what to ask. c i Toreiterate.overarchingpolicyandpolitical The need for help can work both ways. Although l matters are not your province. Ifasked such OPA routinely informs the media by issuing public + ( i announcements, arranginginterviews and press con-questions, there's nothing wrong with say-i ' ing so or referring the reporter to OPA. ferences, explaining actions taken by the Commis-l i g sion or staff, assisting with public meetings, and - tr Don't speculate on future agency actions. ' researchingquestionsfromreporters,thercaretimes ] i; That is notyour responsibility. Rather than ! when OPA needs staff people to explain technical respond with,"No comment" which may be l used by the reporter as, " Jones refused to issuesin detail to a reporter. When that need arises, deny a rumor that...,, simply say somethm, g you may find OPA tappingyour shoulder. It is OPA's f. like: It a not appropriate for me to speculate practice to notify a staff person in advance of a on that.. "or,"That's a decision that will be reporter,s call or to ask the staff person to call the made at a higher level." t reporter. Ask the reporterifhe understands orneeds P t i further clarification. It is better to take a few extra minutes during the interview As you may know, another responsibilityof0PA is to a than to read unintentional errors in the answer daily inquiries that come directly from the next day's newspaper. general public. Typically these are handled by pro-i. viding fact sheets, brochures and pamphlets that Generally, do not talk "off the record." Con-cover such topics as the NRC's mission, nuclear i n sider everything you say as "on the record." Don't say anything you do not want to see waste, licensing of nuclear power plants, radiation { quoted and attributed to you. protection, a n d the process for petitioning thc agency If a reporter's question is not clear or doesn't for a review of potential health and safety issues. l l J make sense, ask that it be repeated or clari-These publicatior.a are available to the stafrand the { public as well. fled. Otherwise, your answer could be inac. i curate or off the mark and the resulting story skewed. Feel free to call on the Public Affairs staffin head-If you believe there is a need to identify an quarters or in the regions ifyou would like assistance s t upcoming internal discussion on a matter of in responding to media or public inquiries. For easy f mterest to the reporter, you may wish to ofter a reference, the telephone numbers for OPA are listed i summary afterwards. Avoid tellinga reporter below. g that there will be a specific meeting to discuss i y that subject, but the reporter is not invited. After the interview, briefly inform your su-Office of Public Affairs ff W pervisor and OPA about the subject of the Headquarters - 301/415-8200 l! interview and the publication involved -an Region I-610/337-5331 i'; E-Mail message works well. Such a heads-l Region II-404/331-5503 l up serves as a useful indicator of budding press interest in a particular subject or is-Region III-708/829-9663 f rua. It also helps prepare the Public Afrairs Region IV-817/860-8128 staff to deal with inquiries from other re. Walnut Creek Field Office - 510/975-0346 lp porters on the same topic. h v e m - - a h - maren=== = m m a l l t NUREG/BR-0202 t + I - --~ ~.}}