Newspapers are looking for a headline and individuals, companies or teams facing the media spotlight have to realise that.
As media professionals, PRs may have not have invented the game, but they do know how to play by the rules.
Roy Hodgson seems to have forgotten the basics this week. Attacking the newspapers when they are looking for the headline - however outrageous they may be - is an own goal.
He needs to fill the void by giving this hungry mob the food they require. And he should not have been deterred from his line of thinking whatever the provocation.
Saying a reporter's suggestion that England were poor because they only had two shots at goals was a load of fucking bollocks, is not going to endear him to the Press nor the public whose support he needs.
His answer should clearly have defined what the positives were from the game; he could talk up the performance of John Stones, who made an excellent debut, he should have discussed the growing confidence of Phil Jones since he confirmed his place in the Manchester United team, he could also explain how it takes time to build a new team.
He needed to explain that winning is important and when lesser sides come to Wembley they pack the penalty area and look to avoid heavy defeat. That is a reality of international football.
Negative reactions in the public media will only lead to further negative commentary such has has Roy lost the plot; is Roy rattled, or RAGING ROY as one of the paper's described it.
Ultimately he has a young team which is finding its way and Hodgson has to work at building strong behind-the-scenes relationships with key journalists so they are aware of the issues he is trying to overcome.
A performance like his will only act to rattle his team. Yes it is true Sir Alex Ferguson could be rude and aggressive in a Press conference if he felt attacked, but he had a weekly relationship with journalists and he knew how to play an audience by bringing humour into his anger.
Roy does not have that trick up his sleeve and must therefore rely on planning what good stories or opinions he can offer to the media, what facts and figures he can use to support his position (for example do England teams always struggle when they are young and new to one another).
He also needs to relax. There are some big games approaching for England, and a rebuilding process to go through. Showing calm and confidence in a Press conference does ripple through to the mood and confidence of the players.
Maybe there is a new tactic the England team need to adopt? It is not 4-4-2 or 5-4-1... it is called the charm offensive.