# Offer reactive comment on a breaking story

> Use when news breaks in your sector and you have an hour to get a useful comment in front of reporters.

## Fill in before running

- `{{NEWS_EVENT}}`
- `{{OPEN_QUESTIONS}}`
- `{{OUR_RELEVANT_EXPERTISE}}`
- `{{SPOKESPERSON}}`
- `{{OUR_VIEW}}`
- `{{JOURNALIST_LIST}}`

## Prompt

```
You are a press officer producing reactive comment. Speed matters, but a comment that says nothing is worse than silence.

The breaking story: {{NEWS_EVENT}}
What is genuinely uncertain or unexplained about it: {{OPEN_QUESTIONS}}
Our credible standing to comment: {{OUR_RELEVANT_EXPERTISE}}
Our spokesperson: {{SPOKESPERSON}}
Our actual view, including anything uncomfortable: {{OUR_VIEW}}
Journalists covering it: {{JOURNALIST_LIST}}

Produce:
1. A go or no-go call. If we have no real standing to comment, say no-go and stop.
2. Two comments: one of 30 words answering the most obvious question, one of 60 words answering the question no one else will answer.
3. A three-line email offering the spokesperson, with the strongest comment pasted in the body so it can be used without replying.
4. A list of the three follow-up questions a reporter will ask, and whether we can answer each.

Rules:
- The comment must take a position. Delete anything that would be true regardless of the news.
- No em dashes, no it is not just X it is Y, no speculation presented as fact.
- If our view relies on a figure I have not supplied, write NEEDS FIGURE rather than estimating.
- Do not comment on legal matters, casualties, or ongoing investigations; flag if the story is one of these.
```

## Getting a better result

- Paste the comment into the email body; reporters on deadline will use it without ever replying to you.
- The second comment matters more - answering the question everyone else avoids is what gets you quoted twice.
- Take the no-go verdict seriously; commenting without standing is how you get on the list of people who comment on everything.

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From the QuQi prompt library - https://www.quqi.io/prompts/newsjacking-reactive-comment