PricewaterhouseCoopers Center for Innovation in Professional Services  

"Next Question Please" 
Third Annual  Mock Press conference
March 25, 2004

FACULTY LEAD Lynn Hamilton  Assistant Professor McIntire School of Commerce

As business news headlines have made all too clear over recent years, it is vitally important for executives to be able to respond effectively and quickly when they or their organizations are the target of heavy media scrutiny. Gone are the days when executives could plan a response on their own terms; the global information explosion and round-the-clock media coverage mean executives must possess the skills to respond immediately to crises, accusations, and rumors. The corporate press conference is an important strategic tool and presents executives with both opportunities and challenges as they face demanding questioners who will send messages.

In 2004, we built upon our 2003 mock press conference event. McIntire students played the roles of corporate executives from The Walt Disney Company, Massachusetts Financial Services, and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and, working in teams, held corporate press conferences, taking questions from business journalism students from The University of North Carolina. Students were required to anticipate likely questions, including hostile ones, plan responses, and consider the reactions of various audiences beyond the immediate one consisting of reporters. As was the case in 2003, media and public relations professionals, including Gregory J. Gilligan, Retail Reporter, Richmond Times-Dispatch; John W. Milligan, Senior Editor, Bank Director; Amanda M. Orr, Director, Technology, Burson-Marsteller Washington, DC; Angus Robertson, Independent Business Consultant; and Dail Willis, Editor, Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions, SNL Securities were invited to observe the mock press conferences and to provide feedback after a lunch in which McIntire students and business journalism students discussed the press conference experience.

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