Your program is public and sensitive to media?

If your program or project is highly exposed to media and press, you need to be extremely cautious on how you communicate information within your project team and to the clients and need to understand that there is near to NO margin for error, misunderstandings, schedule delays, costs overruns.

Manage media and press as a RISK throughout the duration of the program especially if your project has political components or affects the general public.

Having said that, what can you do that will satisfy your stakeholders and will reduce the media pressure on your project? I will give you my two cents on how you could save your program/project from this horrible stress and destruction iceberg you can face.

- At all time ensure that you have a clear program strategy: Have a crisp definition of your strategy and be ready to communicate it all time. People need to have a direction and to understand how the strategy will be executed. Build a momentum, ensure that your vision, the strategy and plans are communicated clearly. REPEAT, do not assume that people understood just because they were exposed once or twice to the vision, strategy and Plan!!! 

- Be on top of issue resolution: Show that you are in control, be proactive, don't wait that issues are escalated! Focus on critical issues and their resolution, work with your stakeholders and team members to prioritize well issues and so that everyone understands the impacts of the issues.

- Work closely with the stakeholders: Ensure that governance is well established, establish clarity in communications, work to get their buy in, involve them in issue resolution and in decision making process. Your relationship with all stakeholders will either help you or kill you, you need to create an environment of trust and a constructive environment where stakeholders will all walk in the same direction than you. Make them understand that they are a key component of the project success. 

- Focus on business benefits: the only thing that matters for your clients is to deliver expected benefits, find ways to bring benefits early in the process.