Jan 19 2009
Content May Be King but Context is Disgarded
My Sixteenth Rule of Media Relations is Saying “I was taken out of context” means “I don’t like the reaction I’m getting to what I said.”
Don’t be the one who makes some off-color, tasteless or controversial remarks, gets lambasted by the press then complains you were taken out of context. You might have had a great reason during an interview for comparing Barack Obama’s election campaign and Adolf Hitler’s concentration camps since both were well-organized.
Most of us won’t wait to hear that reason before denouncing your train of thought. Trying to explain that Obama is good and Hitler was evil won’t save you.
If you have to say “no offense but…” before making a comment, you should keep that statement to yourself because you know you’re about to offend people. If you didn’t care, then there would be no reason to offer the “no offense” disclaimer.
People have a short attention span, especially involving politics. Few businesspeople have lost money underestimating the ability of Americans to be attracted to the lowest common denominator. Ask Larry Flynt and Joe Francis. Also ask if you can get a portion of the $5 billion bailout they want from Congress.
Subtlety is important to passing legislation. Nuance is key to making billion-dollar deals happen. Just don’t expect reporters to spend much time trying to explain why you said you said. Instead anticipate the pundits will debate how quickly you’ll be forced to resign in disgrace.
