Bad media relations practices, like death, taxes, and the poor, apparently are inescapable among utility communications practitioners.
A good bit of my work at EEC is energy journalism, which means I regularly interact with utility spokespersons as well as spokespersons from commercial, industrial, and institutional users of energy.
In my previous life as a utility spokesperson, I made it a point to return all reporters’ calls or emails within one business day at the latest. Sadly, that practice seems to be going the way of wristwatches, typewriters, and VHS movie rentals.
My background as a utility spokesperson and energy journalist has reinforced this basic message: getting favorable earned media (i.e., news articles) starts with a simple step: Return reporters’ calls, emails, and texts!
If this seems a little “DUH!” to you, rest assured not all media representatives consistently practice this simple step. It may be “Media Relations 101,” but apparently some practitioners did not take that course. So, I will lay out, in a series of blog posts, the step-by-step process to run a top-tier media relations program.
Some may say that the rules of media relations in 2025 have rendered older rules obsolete. I disagree. Yes, the news cycle is shorter now (measured in hours, not days). I agree that the vehicles have changed (social media having eclipsed newspapers and the evening news). And it is certainly true that texting has supplanted phone calls for many reporters.
Does this render the basic elements of media relations obsolete? No. The tried-and-true rules of interacting positively and professionally with the news media, a critical stakeholder group for utilities, have not changed. In fact, the changes of the last two decades make the foundational elements of success all the more important.
Following all of the steps does not guarantee uniformly favorable media coverage of your utility. But failing to follow these steps will guarantee a difficult relationship with the press. That’s not a stakeholder group that should be alienated.
ANSWER your Texts, Voice Mails and Emails
It may be hard to believe, but some organizations, including very large, top-of-mind organizations employ media relations representatives who don’t seem to know the first rule of media relations: If a reporter contacts you, get back to him or her ASAP!
In the not-too-distant past, when reporting a story, I left multiple emails and voicemails for three separate spokespeople for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. None of them reached back. It was the same story at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and BP, to name a few. Multiple media contacts appear on each organization’s website. Despite multiple calls and emails from me, I never received a response from any of them.
That being the case, I was forced to write those stories (about renewable energy, national energy legislation, and trends in crude oil production) without the input of those parties. I had to find another angle, or another source. Would those articles have benefitted from input from NREL, the Chamber, NAM, or BP? Almost certainly yes. Did it matter to those organizations that they were not part of those stories? Possibly.
Answering reporters’ messages doesn’t automatically translate into getting more favorable media coverage. That’s why future blog posts will detail other tips for getting a better shake from the news media.
Becoming a “Go To” Source for the Media
I will say, on the other side of the ledger, that the media reps at some other organizations put their peers to shame. They promptly returned my voice mails. They got right back to me after I sent an email. They were more than happy to schedule interviews with subject-matter experts. In other words, they did an exemplary job!
One of those on the side of the angels is Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the University of California Berkeley. He promptly answered a voice mail from me, an out-of-state reporter he didn’t know, and we were quickly able to establish a time for a phone interview. Because he was so helpful on one energy article, I interviewed him when a second news organization assigned an article to me.
That’s called becoming a “go to” source. Reporters live and die by their sources. Utility spokespeople want to be a reporter’s “go to” resource on anything pertaining to their utility and customers, and possibly even energy or local economic development issues. Your utility may or may not choose to play on a particular topic, but you want to be asked.
Communications Tip: Media relations is the quintessential people business. Bad media relations practices in any organization — such as not returning reporters’ texts, emails, or calls, not becoming a “go to” source, and making it hard to find you — need to be removed if your utility cares about news reporters as a stakeholder group that needs to be cultivated.
Make it Easy to Find You
Media relations is the quintessential people business. Technology is best used to overcome the obstacles of time and space. It’s not supposed to create new barriers.
Sloth may be the reason why some spokespeople don’t return calls, emails, or texts from a reporter. But more often, I think this is a consequence of replacing people with technology. When you go to some utilities’ media resources page, there is a requirement that a reporter fill out a form online or leave a message with a toll-free number. There’s always the cheery promise that “We’ll return your message in one/two/three business days.” In my experience, that almost never happens.
For example, did you know that reporters who contact a shareholder-owned company’s investor relations department almost never receive a voice mail or have to fill out a “we’ll get back to you” form? That’s because there is a person actually answering and directing calls, and further, the investor relations department is responsible for interacting with those who own the company. Yes, a critical stakeholder group for investor-owned utilities! The comparable departments for public power utilities would be called “Community Relations.” For electric cooperatives, it would be called “Member Services.”
There comes a time when too much technology displaces too many people. Companies that do that risk losing their “voice,” alienating critical stakeholders, including customers, the news media, and even employees. Why employees? Who wants to work for an organization that is out-of-touch with its stakeholders?
For utilities, a reporter’s missed message could be the difference between a story that reflects positively on the utility —– or negatively. Even with the broad experimentation with generative artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT occurring now, it’s vital to develop and keep the “people business” in your media relations activities.
So, remember…
- Answer your texts, emails, and voice mails!
- Become the “go to” source for the media!
- Make it easy to find you!
Call to Action!
Whether you are a seasoned media relations manager or a newbie foot soldier, you can improve your utility’s media relations function by conducting an inventory of your current technologies, practices, and policies. I queried Google about a media relations inventory and got dozens of links. But Google’s friendly chatbot boiled it down to five buckets:
- review your media list
- evaluate your pitching strategies
- assess communication protocols
- determine metrics for success, and
- analyze results, identify gaps, and take steps to close the gaps.
Photo credits: iStock unless otherwise noted
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ADDITIONAL EEC RESOURCES
Media Relations: 10 Tips from Two Pros
The utility media relations function can help turn stakeholders into advocates, producing a wide range of benefits: lessened frictions, lowered costs, enhanced customer relations, increased customer satisfaction, and improved brand equity.
But when utility spokespersons have a tin ear or a heavy hand, they can create problems internally and externally: for executives, for customer service representatives, for legislative and regulatory affairs managers and for departments seeking to build infrastructure.
Read more here.
How to Write a Press Release: Tips from Both Sides of the Laptop