Now I will tell you the most important thing that journalists were able to find out from Putin during the 4-hour press conference.
This is not a joke. The 13th press conference of the leader of the nation will be remembered primarily for this anecdote, since he said nothing else interesting. How I didn’t say anything interesting last year, or the year before.
Next year, in principle, it is possible to send a computer instead of Putin, which will generate answers based on neural networks. Putin’s ability to answer a question without answering it has long been known to all journalists. Some people think that everything is orchestrated and the issues are all agreed upon. This is, of course, not true. There is not a single uncomfortable question for the president today. Why coordinate them?
The press conference is increasingly turning into a low-grade show. A cross between "Field of Miracles" and talk shows from federal channels. A bunch of extremely unprofessional journalists and outright clowns are attracting attention. People who call themselves journalists instead current issues spread out in gratitude and some small requests. Thank you, although greetings are not yet conveyed to fellow villagers and jars of cucumbers are not given, as at the “Field of Miracles”.
Of all the questions raised today, two can be distinguished. The first one was asked by Tatyana Felgenhauer, a journalist from Echo of Moscow, who was almost killed by some crazy person at her workplace. Tanya raised a very important topic and formulated the questions clearly, concisely and to the point:
Question from Ekho Moskvy journalist Tatyana Felgengauer @t_felg at Putin's press conference.
— Echo of Moscow (@EchoMskRu) December 14, 2017
Unfortunately, there was no answer to the question. But the very fact that such a question was heard live throughout the country is already a great achievement. If professional journalists were sitting in the hall, then the topic could be pressed. But important topic quickly drowned in “Thank you-Save-Help”!
The second speech is from Ksenia Sobchak. It’s very strange to me that a presidential candidate (not yet registered) came to the press conference as a Dozhd journalist. The question here is not for the candidate, but rather for Dozhd. Sending out a politician so that he can promote himself throughout the country is, of course, a mess.
Interesting: Ksenia fulfilled Navalny’s request.
In general, she is taking a very interesting bite out of Navalny’s audience. Now Sobchak has a rather radical position on all issues. The same Crimea, which is “not a sandwich” for Navalny, is simply and clearly “not ours” for Sobchak. Sobchak says something that no one has ever said on the screen of federal channels to the whole country, and it looks amazing.
But this interesting points are ending. Saved you 4 hours.
The word “briefing” has become very fashionable lately. You've probably wondered next question: “What is a briefing?” The word comes from the English brief - “short”. Therefore, a briefing is a short press conference of officials who solve the main problems and answer questions from the press.
Word in Russian
Briefing - what is it? When did this word appear in the Russian language? And why is it becoming popular in our country? There may be several main reasons for this. One of them is brevity. This term replaces a lot of words and can have a specific meaning. Secondly, this word was taken from English language, therefore it is better in style, more formal, and more suitable for describing economic and political news.
A briefing is not a dialogue, but short questions and the same answers, entirely informational. Therefore, most often such an event is held standing. For example, in the lobby of an airport or hotel. For the briefing to be successful, it is worth conducting the correct and good preparation to him. This can be done by public relations managers. A few days before the upcoming event, they must notify journalists about the location. Before the briefing, they may call back a second time to clarify the main issues and plan the order of all speeches. Before this event, video and audio equipment, as well as the venue, must be checked for functionality.
Short meeting
A briefing is a short meeting of economic, political and cultural figures. The purpose of the event is to inform the press about your position on various issues with subsequent publications in magazines and newspapers. This is a kind of PR campaign that attracts public attention. Most often, it can be collected after some event that recently occurred. A briefing differs significantly from a press conference in that there are no presentation parts and the meeting time is short. Despite this, very often these concepts are confused.
Features of the event
Conducting a briefing may have its own characteristics. A brief topic should contain thoughtful text. The author must be able to quickly and clearly respond to all questions and answer them.
The average briefing lasts no more than thirty minutes. The first ten may be reserved for the introduction of officials present at the meeting, as well as mandatory familiarization with the personal position. The remaining time is most often devoted to answering questions that media personnel may ask. There is no daily briefing. As a rule, the event can be organized no more than twice a week. Briefing preparation:
Selecting a speaker (responsible person of the company) who will voice the information;
Briefing text;
Preparation of a press release or press package.
Briefing or press conference?
A press conference and briefing are meetings between officials. They are held to inform the public. A briefing is a short overview of several events that can last no more than thirty minutes. A press conference is a media event held when there is significant news. It is carried out only in these cases:
The organization has hot news or an important message to make, about which journalists may have many questions;
- arrives famous person who wants to speak to the media;
- information contacts with officials.
Conclusion
Based on the above, we can confidently say that a briefing is not an analogue of a press conference; it has many differences.
Most of the information provided by the media is organized. Some events are organized in the same way. PR professionals are often responsible for creating events that will attract the attention of clients.
One of these “created” events is press conference.
A press conference can be defined as a meeting of journalists with representatives of an organization (government institutions, socio-political organizations, commercial structures), the purpose of which is to provide the media with factual, problematic and commentary information about an event, phenomenon, project, etc. A press conference assumes the authority of the news source, obtaining first-hand information, the ability to check information and clarify versions using questions, receiving an additional package of news (in development, in connection with other events).
Preparing and holding conferences is, as a rule, a voluminous and painstaking work. A special coordination group for its holding can be created directly for holding a press conference. Work on preparing and holding a press conference usually begins several weeks before its official opening and ends somewhat later.
When holding a press conference, it is important to consider:
1. Venue. The criteria for choosing a location are: status(emphasizes the significance of the event), technical equipment(possibility of showing slides, videos, holding a buffet table), convenience of location.
3. A time that should not coincide with other events of this day, and it is also necessary to take into account the future release of the press. The best days for a press conference, in relation to Russian conditions, are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday, along with the well-known disadvantages (the beginning of the week, widespread meetings and planning meetings), also has its advantages: in conditions of a relative hunger for information that has formed over the weekend, the media are much more willing to make information contacts. But if your “Friday” material did not make it into the Saturday newspapers, then by the next issue (on Tuesday, since newspapers are not published on Sunday and Monday), it will most likely “grow old” and not be published.
4. Design. Do not neglect the production of signs: announcements at the entrance to the building where the press conference will be held, indicating the floor and room; arrows with the text “press conference” inside the building, signs on the door of the press conference room and a “registration” sign on the table where the arrival of journalists is recorded. A “wardrobe” sign is appropriate if its location is not obvious.
Signs with their information will be placed on the table at which the participants of the press conference will sit. The most acceptable option is the last name, first name and patronymic of the newsmaker, written in full, in large enough size and repeated in back side signs (so that the press conference participant can easily find his place at the table). On the wall behind the participants’ table there should be a logo or a neatly written inscription with the name of the organization organizing the press conference.
All organizers must have badges (with the name of the structure that is holding the press conference, the surname, first name and patronymic of the employee), so that journalists can see who they can contact on various procedural and other issues.
It is advisable for each journalist to provide as much information as possible in writing in order to facilitate the process of writing future materials. Written materials are compiled into a press kit. Preparing for a press conference also includes compiling a list of possible questions and answers.
The practiced duration of a press conference is 30-60 minutes.
From an organizational point of view, there are three roles at a press conference: presenter, newsmaker and expert. It is necessary to protect newsmakers from communicating with journalists before a press conference, since the latter may try to do so in order to get information first.
Usually the presenter speaks first. His task is to lay the organizational foundation for the further course of the press conference in 1-2 minutes. He announces the topic and establishes the rules for its conduct, which usually includes: speeches, questions and answers and an informal part. The order of questions is usually regulated by the order of hands raised by journalists or notes received. To avoid a situation where there are no questions, you can ask journalists you know in advance to ask questions that will allow you to more fully explore the topic in a direction that interests the organizers. The same can be done to the employees of your organization.
A “prohibited” technique for a press conference is silence when answering an unwanted question. The answer option “I don’t have data right now” or “I don’t know” is significantly better than “No comment” or “I don’t want to answer.” If you do make a mistake, immediately admit the mistakes and apologize, otherwise the mistakes will be “savored” by journalists in every possible way. In terms of behavior, naturalness, moderate emotionality and goodwill are optimal. Don’t be embarrassed by awkward and even provocative questions; start answering them with the phrase: “Thank you for such a pointed question.”
Have printed text in front of your eyes. The well-known saying “The best impromptu is the one that is prepared in advance” at a press conference is very relevant.
Special attention should be given a farewell. Therefore, determine the person in charge, whose task will include: thanking the guests before leaving, presenting some modest (but not useless) gift and inadvertently hinting about possible close cooperation...
We must not forget about such truths that seem simple at first glance, such as the training of additional personnel (both main and reserve) to accompany and serve conference participants; technical support for holding a press conference: equipment of special premises, organization of communication equipment, provision of office equipment, transport, security, etc.; and development of a cultural and entertainment program, organization of leisure, informal communication for persons invited to the press conference.
A short, time-condensed instructive meeting of journalists with representatives of an official structure (state or commercial) is usually called briefing. Here, the transfer of information is one-sided: the official representative either reads out the long-awaited document, reports the very fact of acceptance of the agreement, or sets out the very essence of the position taken during the negotiations by one of the parties. The briefing is carried out both on the results of the completed work (event), and during the process of developing a management decision, position, assessment.
Unlike a press conference, a briefing is a more mobile form of communication with the media, a short official form of notification and familiarization of journalists with a newly released official document or an event. Its duration is on average about half an hour. Briefing is often used in cases where it is necessary to clarify or expand existing information (incidents, emergency situations, accidents, official response/reaction to the manifestation, etc.). In these cases, the briefing allows you to convey to the media, and through them to the entire society, your interpretation of the events that took place.
There are several other differences between a briefing and a press conference. IN classic version a press conference usually ends with a buffet or cocktail party, where communication and discussion of the issues raised by the press conference continue. After the briefing, contacts with the press are undesirable: leakage of unofficial information is possible. It can undo all the efforts of the briefing. In addition, in addition to journalists, other interested parties are often invited to a press conference (representatives of various organizations and institutions working in the same field, business partners, including potential ones, anyone in whom you are interested), to whom it is also necessary to convey information . At the briefing, information is distributed only to professional journalists.