Effective Media Relations

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Effective Media Relations
The C.U.R.E Workshop January 12, 2006
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• There are only two forces that can carry light
  to all the corners of the globe... the sun in the
  heavens and the Associated Press down here.
• Mark Twain

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Presentation

• Understanding the Media
• Media Strategy and Outreach
• Interview Requests
• Types of Interviews
• Developing and Delivering the Message
• Questions and Answers

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• Once a newspaper touches a story the facts are
  lost forever, even to the protagonists.
• Norman Mailer

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• Understanding the Media

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Media Quiz True or False

• Deciding to do an interview is a strategic
  decision
• An interview is about making yourself available
  to a reporter and answering all the questions
  openly, honestly, and completely
• Newspaper or magazine writers will run the piece
  by you before it goes to print

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Media Quiz (cont.)

• Reporters may rephrase, reframe, and repeat
  questions to get the desired response
• No comment is the best response to a question
  you do not want to answer
• An interview is about keeping the public
  informed. They have a right to know and you have
  an obligation to tell.
• Reporters always find a way to take your comments
  out of context and make
• you look bad

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Why is Media Relations Important?

• The media is a megaphone, reaching thousands or
  millions of people
• They are there to tell a story, your version or
  their own
• Media raise issues on the public agenda
• News coverage has third-party credibility
• You have the power to influence stories that
  impact you

The Media is a Fact of Life
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How Do the Media Operate?

• Consider news provided to them
• Filter, research, verify multiple source
  information
• Operate with 24-hour deadlines
• Keep target audience in mind

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What Makes a Story Newsworthy?

• Who does the story affect?
• To what degree are those people affected (in
  terms of well-being, lifestyle, and financially)?
• How does the story relate to other events
  occurring locally and nationally?
• News is what the media says is news!

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Facts About Reporters

• The reporter will cover news, whether you like it
  or not
• The reporter doesn't know your business like you
  do
• The reporter operates in a
• competitive environment
• Deadlines drive their
• business

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• Media Strategy and Outreach

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Develop a Media Relations Strategy

• Know what your objectives are
• Define roles and coordinate efforts
• Be deadline conscious
• Build relationships and be reachable
• If you cant answer the question, find someone
  who can
• Provide media training FIRST!
• Develop a crisis communication plan

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Planning Media Campaigns

• Form goals for your campaign
• Why are we doing this?
• Who is this message intended to reach?
• What is the best way to do that?
• What is the
• Foundation (the science)
• Platform (your position)
• Key Messages (simple, repeated messages)
• Identify tactics to reach your goals
• Consider timeline and outside events (elections,
  holidays, etc.)
• Identify partners
• Develop contingency plans

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Establish Media Contacts

• Build list of local media outlets
• Contact news desk for reporter and editor
  information
• Request a meeting to discuss ideas and policies
• Follow-up routinely

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Pitching Your Story

• Understand and target media outlets
• Contact reporters on their schedule
• Make it interesting and visual
• Briefly pitch story idea and assess interest
• Follow-up
• Rememberthe relationship is
• worth more than one story

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Media Events

• What is the planned impact?
• Planned and scripted
• Related to the overall message
• Photo ops and visual cues
• Provide press kits

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Getting the Message out

• Press releases, VNRs
• Media advertisements
• Posters/billboards
• Fact sheets
• Public service announcements
• Public events and publicity stunts
• E-vites/websites and soundbites.

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Measuring the Results

• Did coverage
• Reach the target audience? How do you know?
• Feature key messages?
• Did you
• Establish a relationship with a reporter?
• Keep the door open?
• Secure the public response desired?

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• Interview Requests

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The Interview Decision

• Understand the details about the interview prior
  to making a decision, including
• What is it about
• Type of media
• Deadline
• Line of questioning
• Who is the interviewer
• Ask yourself what positive and negative can
  result from doing or not doing the interview

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Sample News Story Video

• If you choose not to make yourself available to
  the press, you have no influence over the story

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Who Should Speak?

• Top person available
• Knowledgeable about all elements that may be
  questioned
• Authority to discuss sensitive information
• Personifies the image of the company
• Has completed media training

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You Establish the Ground Rules

• Limit the number of subjects
• Discuss only things you have knowledge of or
  expertise in
• You determine the
• Location
• Duration

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• Types of Interviews

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Radio Interviews

• Most are done over the phone
• You may use notes in most cases
• Well suited for small pieces of time-sensitive
  information
• Is best form to communicate accurate messages
• Message must have
• interest to listening audience

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Television Interviews

• High impact
• Your personality is on center stage
• Has a visual emphasis
• Your time is limited
• Information is not in-depth Sound bites
• Interviews will focus on the dramatic

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Print Interviews

• Allows for greater depth and explanation
• Easy to lose sight of communication objectives
• Highest risk of being perceived inaccurately

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Elements of Control

• Reporter Controls
• editing
• selection of story elements
• what they write
• what questions are asked

• You Control
• decision whether to do the interview
• the flow of information
• the duration of the interview
• what you say and how you say it

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Common Questions

• Is it a good idea to go off the record?
• Can you believe a reporter when he promises to
  keep confidentiality?
• Is no comment ever appropriate?

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• Developing and Delivering
• the Message

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• Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the
  press. I hope you have questions for my
  answers.

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Developing a Message

• Establish themes and supporting key messages
• Focus on benefits, not features
• Avoid jargon
• Be positive
• Message should be relevant to your target audience

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Focus Your Message - The Bridge

• Way to deal with questions honestly and shift the
  focus back to your message
• Whats more important is
• Let me add that
• I dont know, but what I do know is
• Thats not my area of expertise, but what I can
  tell you is
• The thing to keep in mind here is
• The fact is

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Focus Your Message - The Flag

• Way of helping your audience remember your
  message
• Highlights your points for the reporter
• The most important thing to remember here is
• It boils down to these three things
• Let me make one thing perfectly clear

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Supporting the Message

• Facts
• Statistics (keep easy to understand)
• Authorities or experts
• Analogy or comparison
• Personal experience

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Interview Donts

• Be defensive or hostile
• Guess, speculate or offer personal opinions
• Lie or intentionally obscure the truth
• Discuss hypothetical situations
• Place blame on anyone else

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Example of an Unclear Message

• Focus on Positive
• We are developing plans to minimize impacts to
  residents and commercial interests.
• We are still undergoing an analysis at this
  time. We will have more to share at Novembers
  Public Meeting.

Isnt it against the law to abuse, damage or
torture old ladies?
We cant please everyone. Most major road
widening usually affects somebody.
Its too soon to panic.
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Compared to
There are people concerned about their property
and the whole character of that area changing.
But not one person I spoke with argued that
something didnt need to be done with State Road
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Theyre fully aware of the tremendous growth
that has occurred never mind in the last 20
years in the last five years in this area.
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Delivering the Message

• Say it first, say it often
• Stay on the message
• Deliver up to 3 major points, no more
• Be relaxed and natural
• Deliver your message with conviction and
  credibility

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Delivering the Message cont.

• Anticipate negative questions and prepare
  responses
• Correct misinformation
• Take charge of the interview
• Emphasize facts and provide background
• Rehearse

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• Questions and Answers

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Effective Media Relations
The C.U.R.E Workshop January 12, 2006