Opinion

Why waiting for a crisis is the wrong time to meet the media

25 Mar 2026

Opinion by Nathan Beaumont

For a lot of organisations, media training is treated a bit like fire extinguishers and emergency exits; something you only think about when trouble’s brewing.

When they do finally turn to it, the focus is usually defensive. How to handle the tough interview, answer the awkward question and avoid making a bad situation worse.

That’s definitely a key part of media training but the smarter organisations use it for more than damage control.

Media training should also help organisations get comfortable telling the positive stories that build profile, trust and goodwill before they need to cash any of it in.

Too many businesses only interact with journalists when there’s a problem to solve. That means the first time they show up publicly is often when they are already under pressure. That’s a much harder place to start from.

There are great things happening in businesses across Canterbury and New Zealand every day. New export deals, clever uses of AI, advances in agritech, health tech and manufacturing, and interesting growth stories that deserve more oxygen than they often get.

A lot of them never get told, usually because the people behind them worry it will sound like boasting rather than business development or they just don’t know what journalists and newsrooms are looking for.

Telling your story isn’t about beating your chest. It’s about helping the right people know who you are, what you do and why it matters. Potential customers, investors, Government Ministers, future staff and new markets.

It’s also about building something less tangible but just as valuable: goodwill.

That’s critical because when people already know your organisation does useful, interesting or high-value work, they are more likely to pay attention when you have something to say and more likely to give you some leeway if things get difficult.

In other words, proactive storytelling helps build brand, profile and social licence long before you need to rely on them

You can see this in the way some New Zealand businesses show up in the market.

Halter is a strong example. It hasn’t just built an innovative agritech product. It has done a strong job of telling a bigger story about helping farmers lift productivity, improve sustainability and run their operations more effectively.

That’s clever because people are not just buying the product; they are buying into the idea behind it.

By consistently showing up in the media and in stakeholder conversations with a clear, easy-to-understand story, Halter has built profile well beyond the farming sector.

That sort of visibility doesn’t just help with customers, it can also catch the attention of investors, partners and new markets.

The point isn’t that every business needs to chase headlines, it’s that every business should have a view on what stories are worth telling and who needs to hear them.

A good place to start is simple. Ask yourself: what are the two or three things happening in your business right now that would actually be interesting or useful to someone outside it, and are you doing anything to tell that story?

Then work out who is best placed to tell that story clearly, in plain English, without sounding like they have swallowed the company brochure whole.

Media training should absolutely cover the hard questions.

But it should also help good organisations get more comfortable telling the stories that build profile, trust and goodwill long before they need to cash them in.

If the only time people hear from your business is when something has gone wrong, you’re leaving a lot of reputation value sitting on the table.

Nathan Beaumont runs The Reputation Hub, a Canterbury-based consultancy that helps organisations protect and strengthen their reputation. He advises Boards, CEOs and senior leaders on media, stakeholder, government and reputational issues.

Previous Post View All