The project manager and the media

The Air Forces B-2 Stealth Bomber program was fraught with media maltreatment from the onset, despite the project mangers use of a public affairs specialist. The B-2 Stealth Bomber program came to be known as the troubled Stealth Bomber due to mismanagement of media relations. Ranging from reported misinformation, to a lack of understanding of the unwritten rules of journalism, some of the problems encountered with the media were exacerbated by not-responding to misinformation, not meeting media deadlines, and failing to have an overall media relations plan well in advance of the project implementation. Using examples from the B-2 Stealth Bomber program, advice on how to handle the media for project managers takes the form of 6 valuable lessons designed to proactively and adroitly manage the media.