What all crisis PR practitioners should know about dealing with the media

Today on the show we’re talking to media lawyer legend Jonathan Coad about what PR folks need to know about the law. 

Jonathan Coad graduated from Jesus College Cambridge with an MA in law and is one of the UK’s highest profile media lawyers.

His practice areas are copyright, defamation and privacy. His media clients have included Disney, ITV, Sky, Viacom, MTV, Channel 4, Sony, Huffington Post and Newsweek. He has undertaken reputation management work for corporate clients such as Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Gucci, GlaxoSmithKline and Cambridge University. He has also acted for high-profile business moguls, senior politicians, music, TV, film and sports stars and members of the Royal Family. 

He’s had 30 years experience at the intersection of media and law and today he’s going to talk about PR practitioners should know about dealing with the media

Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 2nd.

Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.

Also, the final entry deadline for The Creative Moment Awards is 20th June. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.

Here’s a summary of what Jonathan Coad and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:

What does the client want when a media crisis kicks off?

What is the role of the corporate PR firm and what is the role of a media lawyer in a PR crisis situation?

“The key tools for any PR crisis practitioner (in the UK) are The Independent Press Standards Organisation Code and Ofcom. And less important but none the less as (essential) background the law of data protection, defamation and privacy. Those are my work tools.”

Why does media regulation play a vital part in crisis response in the UK?

Who makes editorial decisions where contentious issues arise?  

What are the criteria on which editorial decisions are made? 

“99 times out of 100 the editor will take the advice of the in-house lawyer.”

What are the sources of perceived risk for media owners? The applicable regulation (press/IPSO, broadcast/Ofcom) or the law (privacy/defamation/date protection)?

Who creates perceived risk for the media owners? Is the appetite for risk the same across the media?  

Should PR folks treat broadcast and press the same?  

How should PR folks treat social media crises for their clients? 

Where can PR folks learn more about PR, journalism and the law, including Jonathan’s book, Reputation Matters.