Following the ceremony where the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) handed the second national operator (SNO) its licence, the SNO held a short media briefing where it informed journalists that it could not communicate its operational plans yet.
For the news-hungry journalists who had been looking forward to hearing about the SNO`s plans, it was a big disappointment. It also annoyed a couple of journalists who had a deadline to meet and had nothing from the SNO, beyond the warm and fuzzy stuff people say in their acceptance speeches.
For months, the SNO proclaimed that it is well prepared and will be ready to move forward as soon as the licence was issued.
Yet, chairman Karl Socikwa seems to have been caught left-footed by the media`s demand for information. Worse, communication with the media was badly managed on the day: there was no PR person to field enquiries from the demanding journalists and no one to give the executives advice on what not to say.
For months, the SNO proclaimed that it is well prepared and will be ready to move forward as soon as the licence was issued.
Damaria Senne, senior journalist
Granted, Socikwa is a veteran. Yet, he suggested a second media conference, scheduled for 6pm that Friday afternoon, to a group that included journalists more inclined to attend their company year-end functions. Also, the story would have been completely exhausted by weekend papers before the dailies made it to print on Monday.
Furthermore, the date and time suggested was not a definite arrangement: maybe the briefing would take place following the scheduled board meeting, he said.
On Monday morning, a journalist friend from a national daily paper phoned me to ask if I had received a media release from the SNO. No I hadn`t, despite the fact that I handed in my business card before I left so the SNO knew where to find me.
My friend didn`t receive it directly either. It turns out it was sent to her news editor, who quickly read through it and decided there was a more interesting story my friend should cover. ICASA`s media relations people had our contact details in their registration list for the day, so why was it so difficult to send targeted messages to the right people?
I hope that the SNO`s PR company manages this breach rather quickly. The media is an important channel for a company to communicate its news, views and activities and it would be a pity if the news bearers gained a negative impression of the SNO even before it gets started.
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