As you can see from our biographies, Bob and I are “alumni” of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The Department has been much in the news lately, facing allegations of having provided improper health care to Veterans, and long delays in making decisions on claims for benefits.

Both of us (along with most other current and former VA employees) have been frequently asked for our opinions on what’s been reported in the news.  Although we are following events closely, as they affect fellow veterans, friends and former colleagues, we’ve been gone from VA a long time (five years in my case; even longer in Bob’s), and we really don’t know what’s going on there these days.

What we do know about, and have written about in our book, is how to work with the news media in a crisis situation, as this situation clearly is for VA.  At times like this, VA’s public affairs professionals receive dozens of news media calls every day requesting comment on the latest revelations, or on comments made by elected officials, representatives of veterans service organizations, or others. 

The public affairs people will answer some questions themselves, and will ask other VA employees, designated as subject matter experts, to handle responses of a technical nature.  In our book, we offer four templates for how to respond to media inquiries.  The fourth template involves special considerations for sensitive and controversial situations like this one. 

Here are some things we hope those responding to media inquiries are doing:

• Correcting any allegations or misconceptions that are built into reporters’ questions at the beginning of their responses.
• Recasting negative questions in a way that sets up a more positive or neutral answer.  In our book, we use the following example: if you’re asked “Aren’t some manufacturers hiding behind your company’s lax consumer reviews to produce unsafe products?” begin your answer by saying, “You’re asking if independent scientific evaluation of products has an influence on manufacturers.  Our data indicate that…”
• Not accepting artificial either/or positions constructed by reporters.
• Not answering hypothetical questions.
• Bridging from contentious questions to answers citing their main points, summarizing and casting positive light on VA’s mission.
• And, perhaps above all, not losing their temper and maintaining a calm, positive demeanor.

VA media relations representatives are good, solid professionals.  Many of them learned these rules at the same time we did, facing the same crises we faced.  (And a few of them actually learned these rules from us directly: at one time, I was the chief of VA’s newsroom—now it’s Media Relations Service.)  Hopefully, they can get VA’s ship righted and on a course to success soon, so that the faith of veterans can quickly be restored in VA’s ability to provide them with world-class health care and timely and correct benefits decisions. 

Lat updated: 27 June 2014 16:00