Targeting your publics through

Media Relations

Topics covered What is media relations Characteristics of PR/media relationship Developing media strategy Understanding news media What makes the news How to get into the news, dos and

don’ts!!!

Recommended Reading

Chapter 4 in Tench and Yeomans’ book

By Washbourne: Media Context of Contemporary PR and Journalism

pp. 62-76 Chapter 16

Media Relations pp.312-330

Media Relations

One of the foundations, one of the crucial areas of PR, because:

It is via the mass media that large dispersed audiences are reached,

media can shape and do shape agendas and act as gatekeepers

Agenda Setting Theory

Maxwell/ McCoombs (1972)

Agenda Setting is based on the assumption that although media can’t tell people what opinion to hold about an issue, they have an influence on what issues people think about.

The Influence of Agenda Setting

Agenda setting is based on the assumption that the media have the potential to

1. Build issue or product awareness

2. Increase issue salience

Media can put issues on the agenda

Bird-Flu Danger through crime / Danger to children

from strangers Credit crunch??

Media Relations The media pass information to the target

audiences. They act as filters. They decide what’s important and what’s

not (although they also have to listen to business constraints and are there to make profit!)

Characteristics of the PR/journalist relationship

Healthy disdain Suspicion

BUT: Underlying acceptance of each other’s

dependency

PR / journalist relationship & soundbites Alistair Campbell, Labour spindoctor, was political editor

on the Mirror and Deputy editor on Today before He has shown great aptitude in soundbites picked up

by tabloids, his greatest

one being the People’s

Princess - Diana

Why the strong relationship?

News media (radio, tv, newspapers, magazines, Internet based media) are one of the best ways of getting news and information to the publics on a wider base

PR needs the media, and say what the media will, good stories received from organisations help them stay in business, too!

Impact of PR on the news production process

1) How much news content is primarily PR information?

2) Who is in charge /setting the agenda?

(‘Conscious control?)

Gallup survey (1991)

100 in-house PR managers 26 editors of national press

PRs believe 40 % news output is based on PR

Editors estimated 25% within national newspapers, 53% in trade magazines

PRCA survey (1994)

Financial Times used PR most The Times (16%) Daily Mirror (14%) Star (14%) Independent (11%) Guardian (10%) Sun and Mail (9%) (source: Davis, 2002:28)

Media as the fourth estate

Media regard themselves as independent and operating in the public interest

Code of Conduct of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ)

‘A journalist shall at all times defend the principle of the freedom of the press…He/she shall strive to eliminate distortion, news suppression and censorship’

Balance of power?

“The source-journalist relationship is therefore a tug of war: while sources attempt to manage the news …journalists concurrently ‘manage’ the sources in order to extract the information they want” (Gans, 1979:117)

Media Relations for an organisation - What’s the role?

“The role of media relations is to achieve maximum publication or broadcasting of PR information in order to create knowledge or understanding”.

Media relations plans Developing an effective news media relations

plan can accomplish various goals:

Enhance the public’s knowledge and understanding of an issue/idea/product

It can build credibility for your organisation/ issue Extend the reach and increase the frequency of your

message

Media Relations plans

However, there are few things that media relations cannot achieve:

Eliminate the competition Control the media or the media’s message Eliminate negatives

Developing media strategy

You must develop a strategy in order to build an effective relationship. The relationship doesn’t just happen by itself.

You have to be proactive, which means going to the media instead of the media coming to you first!

Developing media strategy

Set realistic goals! Decide on your approach to get your

goals accomplished. Decide who is responsible for fielding

media calls/ do they need training? Become a reputable and dependable

source

Developing media strategy Develop a media contact book for your

office This includes a directory of journalists that

are relevant to the organisation Make contact with them Find out what their rules, constraints &

preferences are for submitting information Update the media contact book on a regular

basis!!

Developing media strategy Provide informational material on a regular

basis to keep relationships up This can include

Simple phone calls/meetings News releases Product information Photographs Website updates/blogs/taking part in specific Internet

based discussions

Developing media strategy

Get to know the journalists in your area Who covers your beat? What type of journalists is best for the

issues that might arise - Is it the local journo, business journo, etc?

Understanding the news media One of the components is to become a

reputable / expert source. Hence, you should contribute news items

to the media that are really newsworthy What is newsworthy? Often different understanding between

journalists and people involved in a project.

What is news(worthy)? The answer to this question is hotly

contested and changes through time! One wo(man)’s news is another’s

irrelevance What was considered news a hundred

years ago is different today. Some stories disappear without a trace

and some “have legs”

What is news(worthy)? Definitions: “If a tree falls down in a forest with no-one there

to hear it, does it make a noise?” “News is whatever a good editor chooses to print”

(A. McEwan, editor of San Francisco Examiner) “News is people. It is people talking & people

doing….always always tell a story through people” (Harold Evans, former Times editor)

“News is what people want to stop me from printing” (editor of Taunus Kurier)

Definition of news

News are

1. “Selected topics of deviation from the norm….

2. which are temporary …

3. and move fast!

What is news(worthy?) Reuters news agency: “…fires, explosions, floods, railway accidents,

destructive storms, earthquakes, shipwrecks, accidents…street riots…strikes..the suicide of persons of note, political or social, and murders of a sensational or atrocious character!

And that was in 1883!!!

What is news(worthy)?

Dennis MacShane (1979) Using the media:

Conflict Hardship or danger to the community Unusualness (oddity,novelty) Scandal Individualism

What is news(worthy)?

Is the information significant (on a local/national/international level)

How many are involved/how much money is involved (numbers)?

How many readers /viewers can benefit from it (product/service orientated)?

Is the information likely to be accurate?

Take some examples

Your country needs you - to halt relentless march of the grey squirrels JAMES KIRKUP (Scotsman, 10/10/06)

•Unusualness

•Oddity

•Local significance

•Animals

.. and now Kim has gone nuclear JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL EDITOR, Scotsman, 10/10/06

•Conflict

•Danger to community

•International level

•Big numbers

•Oddity

Leftover jelly triggers German security alert BERLIN (Reuters) Scotsman, 10/10/06

- A small pile of leftover jelly discarded beside the road after a wedding party caused a large-scale security alert in Germany with biochemical experts, firemen and police called in to investigate

•Oddity

•Danger reference

Hetherington’s seismic scale of news for the Guardian

1. Significance - social, economic, political, human

2. Drama - the excitement, action, entertainment in the event

3. Surprise - the freshness, newness, unpredictability

4. Personalities -royal, political, showbiz, community

5. Sex, scandal, crime

6. Numbers - the scale of the event, numbers of people affected, money involved

7. Proximity - on our doorsteps or 10.000 miles away

8. Visual attractiveness (for TV particularly)

Final tests of newsworthiness

Use the “Hey Doris test” (Sun journalist) Use the “So what ….?” test It is important to think as a journalist when

providing stories not only to be able to give out stories, but also to spot danger signs and avoid damaging stories.

News for an organisation can be A new product An important new contract A senior appointment Major investment Improved results A major campaign or project Research findings Merger or acquisition A major staff success

Essential points to know about the media The editorial policy - e.g. the journals outlook and

the kind of material it prints. E.g. does the newspaper print regularly details of business appointments

Political affiliation Frequency of publication Copy date Circulation area Readership/Audience profile Distribution method

Where to look for this info?

Guardian media directory

lists the addresses, phone numbers, websites and key personnel for companies in every sector of the media, from digital television to magazines, regional newspapers to publishing houses, think tanks to charities. This new edition is fully updated, contains over 10,000 contacts

Hollis PR directory

Information on media, PR agencies, etc

Benn’s media directory

Available in

Library

List of contacts

Getting it right: What do journalists want? What to know about the news gathering

process: Ground rules and handy hints

“Spoon feeding” (help create news by providing handy summaries & crib sheets & analysis of complex data)

“Speed kills” (understand that journalists are working to deadlines with editors breathing down their neck)

Different information is required at different stages:

As a news story develops, the angle of the story can be altered by new information on a minute by minute basis

The way journalists use interviews during the cycle changes hour by hour, minute by minute or day by day.

Example: Explosion like an 'earthquake’ (Stockline Plastics factory Glasgow)

The scene following a major explosion in Glasgow was compared to an earthquake by firefighters battling to free those trapped beneath the rubble

Timeline of reporting In a disaster situation the first bulletins feature

eye witnesses. Later bulletins feature interviews with

emergency services. Later on, there will be interviews with

spokespeople. Even later (e.g. analysis programmes such as

Newsnight) will feature experts on safety, terrorism etc whatever the disaster/problem

More questions of speed and timing

PR people need to understand reporters varied demands for info

For a huge story, front pages can be altered, but this is the extreme exception and not the rule (and unlikely to be PR)

Arrange your news so that they can be covered well in advance of areporter’s deadline

Examples Daily newspaper: later afternoon previous

day the very latest! Sunday paper: Friday at the very latest Weekly magazines 3-4 days in advance,

but features might be decided weeks before that

Glossy magazines are designed several months in advance

Scheduling Other events are happening, so you need to keep a

diary of important events throughout the year Research annual events, competitors, local

community events, etc If you know its general election time next Thursday,

don’t schedule a product launch for that day or even week as a sure-fire news coverage event

“Dead news times” might work to your advantage (e.g. Summer, after x-mas, Mondays)

Honesty is the only policy! Credibility is everything and this is gained

through trust. Lying destroys trust. You have to be truthful at all times which

is not to say, you have to reveal everything at once!

Example: ex-home secretary Jack Straw’ son being arrested for cannabis purchase

Journalists are … Generalists and not specialists They know a little about a lot

Hence, they need a lot of help developing a story - YOU can give it to them clearly and concisely without jargon, acronyms and technical talk

Good observers Anything reporters hear or see is fair game for the

story. In other words, there is no such thing as “off the record”

No such thing as no comment There is no such thing as “no comment” and

hoping that a story will go away. No comment stipulates to the journalist:

“The only comment I have to make is that I am guilty of something, have something to hide, or am engaged in a major cover up, so you better get your teeth in that story as it will make your career” (Joe Extremely Guilty Bloggs)

No comment - no story?? There care also dangers with straight out

denials as they can provide a peg for a story:

Headline: “CEO Hilda Smith denies vehemently to be an alcoholic”

E.g. Charles Kennedy vehemently denied his alcohol problem at first before it became his downfall.

Further ideas how to get into journalists good books

Avoid calling news conferences

NCs should only be held if it’s absolutely necessary - they cost a lot of time and resources

Only call them when new and important information needs to be released to many outlets at one time

Make sure the facts you provide the reporter with are correct and up to date

If they trust you and print/broadcast wrong names or numbers they will take the fall for it

If you don’t know something don’t ever guess. Tell them that you will find out and call them back later

Access to the organ grinder PR practitioners act as the intermediary

(boundary spanner) However, despite being the lightening

conductor for the boss/client, you cannot be a barrier

Journalists will want to talk to the top dogs. Particularly for quotes. Stories sell though people and it sounds very vague and aloof to only have quotes such as “a spokesperson said…”

Access to the organ grinder

This means that a PR practitioner must have to bring in the experts/ bosses/ clients from time to time and also brief them on media skills.

You might have to arrange briefings, lunches, news conferences and private meetings.

Further ideas to get into the media Media like to personalise a story

Submit story ideas that emphasise people E.g. Disability and Barclays bank

Be the first person the journalist deals with in an issueE.g. Strike and trade unions

Disability charity Leonard Cheshire and Barclays Bank

3m fund for disabled risk-takers By Geoff Adams-Spink Age & disability correspondent, BBC News website

People like Linda Boddington could get much-needed advice Disability charity Leonard Cheshire and Barclays Bank have launched a 3m enterprise fund to help disabled people wanting to start a business.

Further ideas to get into the media Get quotedIf you can’t initiate a news story, you can still be in

the article or the front page of someone else’s story.

All news stories need quotes and comments and if you provide a snappy quote, it might well be used.

Example: When government publishes a green paper on health

Helping reporters to do their jobs better (and hence getting into their good books) Written materials such as tip sheets, news

releases, brochures and organisational reports can help reporters tremendously when they write a story

Setting: Provide tips on where interviews can be conducted: What visuals and audio would improve a TV story? Most journalists appreciate any tips to enhance a story.

Directions/travel: provide explicit directions to an event, assistance with camera gear and help with getting from place to place

Several sources/resources: Journalists like to have more than one person to interview. If you know someone who can add to a story, suggest their name. And make sure you are the best person to be interviewed, if not, try to help the reporter find the best person.