YakimaHeraldPhotos.com

Press conference 101

Just got back from a press conference held by a local lawyer announcing his candidacy for district court judge. To be fair to everyone we treat all candidate declarations the same – head shot and stories of equal length. We attend these affairs mainly to get a nice head shot of the candidate. Also, you never know when a candidate is going to do something really different or perhaps something strange happens at the press conference.

Bronson Faul

The candidate. Seems like a very nice fellow.

But he could use a few tips on how to hold a press conference. I don’t want to pick on him, specifically, because lots of other political candidates have made the same mistakes.

So, just a couple of tips for those planning a press conference.

Generally speaking, the better the physical  arrangement of the press conference the better the photographs. And while we may not use anything other than a head shot for the initial announcement there’s no telling when we might need some sort of file photo of the press conference for later use.

Backgrounds that relate to the subject at hand are good. A judicial candidate might announce on the steps of the courthouse. A press conference on the water quality of a river should be held by that river.

Mr. Faul’s press conference was a good example of where not to hold a press conference. It was held in one corner of our local indoor arena, at the same time a home and garden show was being set up.

Attorney Bronson Faul declares his candidacy for district court judge in a press conference March 19, 2010. He speaks with Herald-Republic reporter Phil Ferolito, the only member of the media to attend.

The backgrounds were lousy and show vendors kept walking through the scene.

Mr. Faul says he held the conference there because he has a booth at the show and because his wife works for the trade group sponsoring the show and he wanted to give the show a little press exposure. Admirable thoughts, perhaps, but not the best decision for a visually pleasing press conference.

For a campaign announcement, having family members present is nice. Again, it tells something about the candidate and his personal life and gives us photographers more visual possibilities.

Carly Faul holds her son and watches as her husband Bronson Faul declares his candidacy for district court judge position no. 4 March 19, 2010 in Yakima, Wash.

There was a cacophony of background noise at Mr. Faul’s presser as booths and displays were being set up for the home and garden show.

It’s best if press conferences are held in relatively quiet places so good audio can be gathered. Audio with lots of background noise distracts from the message of the press conference. You can minimize the intrusion of background noise by the use of a wireless microphone  but not every multimedia journalist can afford such gear.

There’s lot of other dos and don’ts for visually successful press conferences. Professional PR people can usually (but not always) stage a visually pleasing press conference but those without such professionals are on their own.

–Gordon King