Everyday media engagement—not major crises—is where many public sector organisations quietly lose control of their narrative.
Despite having robust strategies and approval frameworks in place, too many still struggle when faced with routine journalist enquiries, tight deadlines, and stories built on incomplete or incorrect assumptions.
In this interview, Blair Speedy, Head of External Communications at Airservices Australia, shares a clear-eyed view of where media strategies most often fall short in practice. He outlines why overly cautious processes can do more harm than good, how everyday enquiries can quickly become reputational risks, and what organisations need to change if they want communications teams to operate effectively under pressure.
Many organisations invest heavily in crisis plans and high-level comms strategies, yet still struggle in everyday media interactions. Where do you see the biggest disconnect between strategy and real-world media engagement?
In the willingness to talk to journalists in a frank and open way, which seems to be informed by a view that media or specific journalists are hostile or have an agenda. It’s true that the majority of media coverage is negative, regardless of topic, but for the most part journalists are just trying to tell a story. If your organisation is restricting interaction to approved statements you’re missing the best opportunity you have to influence the shape of coverage, which is to pick up the phone.
You describe the “4pm Friday call” as a far more common reputational risk than black swan events. Why do organisations continue to underestimate these moments, and what does that say about how preparedness is currently defined?
Many people think that the stories you need to worry about are the ones regarding actual problems. This means the risks that get managed are the ones that relating to operational risk – what will we say when the system goes down? But a lot of the things journalists call about are not true – they’ve heard a rumour, seen something on social media, had an idle thought about how two things might be connected and got it completely wrong. Unless you can convince them quickly that they’re barking up the wrong tree, they could well publish or put it to air, and from there it begins to multiply.
Asking journalists to submit questions in writing remains standard practice in many organisations. At what point does this approach stop protecting the organisation and start actively damaging its position?
When the story is fundamentally misconceived. Providing a detailed response to a list of questions where the underlying premise is that the organisation is doing the wrong thing when that is not the case only gives credence to the claim. The outcome will be a headline full of accusations and two paragraphs at the bottom of the story noting the organisation’s denial.
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You argue for empowered media managers who can engage quickly and off-record. What governance or cultural barriers most often prevent organisations from trusting people with that level of autonomy?
Comms is still an afterthought for many organisations, particularly for operational staff. They don’t engage early enough and too often they underestimate the complexity of the task. There also aren’t many roles where a relatively junior member of staff can have such an impact on the reputation of the entire organisation, so it makes sense that people have trouble getting to grips with the idea that they need executive-level access to information. For me what makes the biggest difference is having a CEO who understands the value of the function and is willing to champion it at an organisational level.
If an organisation wanted to move away from a strategy-heavy, approval-driven model toward a more responsive media function, what is the first practical shift leaders need to make—and where do most get it wrong?
As someone who spent two decades in journalism it’s tempting to say ‘just hire a journalist’ because they understand the rhythm and language of media. But probably the most important thing is to have comms in the room so that they understand how the sausage has been made, and can provide input on the reputational impact of operational decisions. They should also have direct access to the CEO and ELT for quick consultation when issues are breaking – this is a two-way benefit because no CEO wants a call from their chairman asking about a story they’ve just read online.
What are the key takeaways attendees can expect to gain from your session during the event?
Don’t confuse a well-documented strategy with preparedness, hire people who can talk journalists off the ledge, and keep them inside the tent.
Blair’s insights reinforce a simple but often overlooked truth: preparedness is not defined by the volume of strategy documents, but by how quickly and confidently an organisation can engage when scrutiny arises. Empowered teams, early access to information, and trust in professional judgement are what ultimately shape outcomes.
These themes will be explored further when he speaks at Public Sector Comms Week, taking place 12–14 May 2026 at the Rex Hotel. His session will focus on the practical realities of modern media engagement and what communications leaders need to do differently to protect organisational reputation in real time.
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