MEDIA POLICY - WHAT MEDIA POLICY

Every year since 1982, Naturewise Apparel has donated $400,000 to charity through its Corporate Giving Fund. This year, Dana Osborne, founder and CEO of the children's clothing manufacturer, decided to allow each of the company's regional divisions to decide for itself where the money should go. Her goal was to include all employees in the program and to pay back the various local communities that support the company. Dana's good intentions backfired, however, when an abortion clinic in Illinois was bombed and the bomber claimed affiliation with a radically pro-life group called TermRights. Naturewise's Midwest division had inadvertently provided donations to TermRights through a nonprofit umbrella corporation called CHICARE. To make matters worse for Naturewise-which has consistently supported environmental and antiviolence programs-the local TV station and the regional paper reported accounts of the incident in which they accused the company of condoning the violent action and of knowingly funding TermRights. When the TV station and the paper had called the Midwest division, all the head of corporate communications would say was, ''No comment.'' As the head of the division offered her resignation and Naturewise's communications manager suggested issuing a press release, Dana's assistant interrupted them to say that a reporter from a major city paper was on the phone and wanted to talk to Dana. How should Dana handle the media? Should she take this call? Should she continue to go with ''no comment''? Should she issue a formal press release? If so, what should its message be? Five experts consider this fictitious scenario and give advice on forming an effective media policy.