Does your facility/chain of facilities/company have a policy on employees talking to the media?

Might want to check out:
http://www.insideselfstorage.com/art...f-storage.html

...and

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John Carlisle
Community Manager, Self-Storage Talk
Virgo Publishing LLC
jcarlisle at vpico dot com
312-623-9395

Our "unofficial" policy is we don't talk to them -- any response is "no comment at this time"

We are a single family facility so we have no official documents outlining these types of procedures - we just use common sense.

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Wayne
All American Self Storage
Palmdale, CA.


All arguments can be resolved ... with high explosives and Humor!!!

In our P&P manual is a 'procedure'. Our manual details how to handle certain emergency situations. We also have the SSA's Emergency Preparedness Book. Link

Do NOT speak to the media.

1. Secure any area needed and make sure people are safe first & foremost.
Lock down the site if need be.

For us that would probably be due to something along the lines of a major earthquake or if the test drilling to measure stability of the earthen dam above us were to cause a catastrophic collapse. Scary thought, but that is occurring right now. If that happens forget the manual and run for high ground!!

2. Phone me and apprise me of any situation.

3. Do NOT speak to the media.

4. All employees have access to the list of appropriate telephone numbers to reach myself, or the owners.

Even if something happens there should be time to work with local law enforcement prior to the media catching wind of anything, which also gives you time to secure & lock down if need be and phone your superior.

Simple reply that is safe for anyone to use is; "I do not have the answer, but I can find out and get back to you..." Then phone your superior.

No ambiguity, just secure people first, property second and be on the telephone while securing life and property!

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Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

just a reminder folks, from someone who used to be a professional comment-seeker, that saying 'no comment' does not make the story go away, it just means that your side of it is not articulated. If you don't have a policy, draft one, and make it as explicit as possible. Best idea is to have a single designated spokesman, whether that is an owner, high level manager, or someone else, but have someone to fill that role. This also includes what happens on the ground, i.e. what 'line' photographers have to stand behind. One thing in your favor - you are on private property so such a line already exists; be firm but polite, and solicit police help (if necessary) in enforcing this.

If the media shows up at your site, it's because something happened, not because the reporter decided to paint a target on your back that day. There are lots of ways you can deflect comment till enough is known to intelligently talk about an incident. "We are still working on accurate assessment of what happened so we are not in a position to offer a definitive statement right now" is just one way of offering a comment without really saying anything, certainly not anything damaging.

Point is, don't act as though brushing reporters off constitutes policy. When the live truck is camped by the curb and your sign is over the reporter's shoulder during the live shot on the 6 pm news, it will be to your advantage to have offered up some comment, no matter how benign or even if it's a written statement till your spokesman knows enough to do an interview. The spokesman can either read the statement or recite it if comfortable doing that, begging off questions till more is known.

From my experience, 'no comment' always had the effect of make me dig a little deeper because it implied that there was an adversarial relationship. While the media isn't showing up to be your buddy, per se, it's also not showing up to write your obit. Something happened on your property to create a story and the story is more about the actual event than it is about your company. Here's your brief outline of what to do:
--have a designated spokesman
--when in doubt, saying less is better than saying more
--saying nothing is a bad plan
--don't say anything till you know something...this is where the written part or a benign "we are investigating" comment comes into play
--this isn't personal; it's a story and tomorrow, there will be a new one somewhere else

This is an interesting video to watch of the report on a robbery at an Augusta, Georgia facility. Gives us all some insight into the way a story gets covered.

http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/crime/a..._thefts/12619/

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Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

I have dealt with the media in various capacities for the past 35 years. There have been some good suggestions and comments posted already on this thread. I just wanted to add two things to the discussion.
It can be very tempting to get caught up in the glamour of dealing with a reporter that you have watched on your local newscast every night. They are not there to become your friend although many will have a very pleasant demeanor until they try out a few "gotcha questions". They are there to get the story and remember it is typically negative news that gets on the air not positive stuff.
I agree that the strict “No Comment” is not always the best course of action. A polite – “This is the name and telephone number of our owner” (if you have been authorized to give that out to the media.) or alexlekas’s observation of a positive prepared statement until an owner or spokesperson can arrive on the scene will take pressure off you as the manager in the cross hairs.
The second point I wanted to add to the discussion is that a TV Crew or some media type with a Press Badge does not have a right to access your property. Always remember that it is private property and you have every right to refuse them entry. A simple remark like “We are working hard to protect the property of our customers as well as their privacy. Thank you for understanding that I am not authorized to allow you access to our property at this time.” You can’t stop them from shooting their shots from the other side of the fence on the sidewalk or from doing their stand-up live shot from underneath your sign. What you can stop is some reporter putting the camera and microphone in the face of a customer who is going through some difficult situation that results in that customer making some offhanded remark that comes back to bite you.
Dealing with the media is definitely not as much fun as you might think. And trust me seeing yourself on the nightly news is almost always not a good thing. An owner is allowed to make all the mistakes they want in front of the camera or in print because he or she is the one signed personally on that big mortgage. Bottom line – everyone needs to think through this scenario and have a game plan in place. It is just good business and hopefully you will never have to activate the game plan.
MisterJim444

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Learning Never Ends, But Will Time?

this one took the personal approach, focusing on the soldier's loss of possessions. I would have liked for the manager/facility rep to have been on camera saying something, even if it was the part about reviewing security footage and working with authorities. Did anyone else infer otherwise? I don't see the facility as put in a bad light; its name was mentioned almost in passing with the focus being on the victim of the crime.

Did you notice as the reporter was talking about 'the manager' they flashed a shot of a blond lady walking by head slightly lowered. That was what struck me. It almost made it appear she was unwilling to talk to them, but from the reporter's comments she or someone there must have spoken to the reporter. They also did several seconds of footage on the facility sign. Gee, don't store here, they let our service members items be stolen was the underlying message I got from the piece.

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Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

could be that the manager is not authorized to go on camera but CAN give basic information, like "we are reviewing our security footage...", that sort of thing. Of course, the reporter could have stated that within his story, too, so as to eliminate confusion.

This story is a good exercise in perception - you saw a facility being, to a degree, slammed over a robbery; I saw the story of a soldier having things stolen. The name of the facility had to be mentioned; it's part of the who-what-when-where of any story. I thought the inclusion of studying surveillance footage and the anchor's subsequent tag about the possibility of suspects was interesting, but then, I work for a vendor on the security side. Interesting how our respective roles within the industry help to shape our perceptions of the story.

As a former police/fire reporter, I can tell, they are a devious bunch. The news editors do not care how their reporters get the quote, just so long as they get it. I encourage EVERY self-storage facility to have a plan in place, including who will talk to the media and what they will say--in WRITING. Reporters will pretend to be your friend so they get the story and the angle they want. And believe me, editors want DIRT. If you're prepared and stick to your guns, all they can publish are your words.