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The best way to prevent "bad press" is to take steps to avoid it in the first place. This requires carefully defining what is bad press and examining why it happens. Bad press is rarely due to the media's profit motive. The business side usually does not -- and should not -- interfere with the news room.

There are four general types of bad press. First is reporting which is factually accurate, but has a tone unfavorable to your agency. The second is inaccurate reporting, with facts wrong, or with incorrect conclusions drawn from correct facts. The third is overly selective or unbalanced reporting. And the fourth is reporting that strays over the line between news and opinion.

In most of the above cases, the cause is ignorance, not bias. Luckily, ignorance can be dealt with in a variety of non-confrontational ways -- ways which, incidentally, complement the mission of your agency in disseminating information to the public.

The most effective techniques are those used before the fact:

Return phone calls. Leaving questions unanswered invites errors and unintentional bias.

Be prepared. This means creating in advance of meetings a very succinct written summary of the issues to hand to the media. Make sure it explains acronyms and jargon. Be sure to include a thumbnail sketch of the legal basis for your decision -- the most commonly misunderstood aspect of planning and regulatory actions.

Do not duck controversy. You have to conduct your business in public, and attempting to shy away from controversy will only whet a reporter's appetite.

Do not try to dictate a story's content or tone. Instead provide enough information so that the story tells itself. Very few reporters set out to write an unfavorable story. Usually it is ignorance or laziness that produces one.

Cultivate a good source relationship with reporters who "get it right." They like to be rewarded for their work, just as you do.

Alert the media to favorable stories. If you never call them in advance, then all they will cover is meetings, not all of which go smoothly. Contrary to popular perception, good news goes in the paper too.

When things go wrong, these techniques work after the fact:

Promptly ask for the correction of factual inaccuracies. But be brief and specific, and don't get into a debate over the tone of the article; it will cloud your request.

Ask for an appointment with the reporter. Discuss the issue and explain the overall function of your agency. Do not use this session to achieve corrections to a story. Instead, use it as a way to repair the source relationship the reporter has with you.

Ask for an appointment with the editor/news director. Discuss a future opinion piece on the issue, and discuss suggestions for future coverage of your agency. Now is the time to talk about tone, using the "offending" story as a constructive example.

Alert the press to good stories well before they break, and supply lots of facts.

Write letters to the editor. Rebut factual errors or an unfavorable slant. But it's important not to adopt a defensive or complaining tone. Why not use the letter to quickly set the record straight and then add some good news about your commission?

By knowing in advance what message you wish to convey, and supplying it in a concise form to the media, you can make a reporter's job easier and yours less stressful.