Pressing the right buttons: making the most of the media

ENCAMS CSG CONFERENCE 2008 MANCHESTER

Nicola CarrollFreelance journalist and media consultant

The media: Enemy or ally?

• What was your worst media experience?

• What was your best?

Roles and goals

• Political context• Organisational context• Media context• Dynamics between them• Your own role in all of this• What you can and can’t control

• One thing you are trying to promote

The good news

• This stuff is topical

• Your residents are their audience

• The press needs you

• Everyone wants a good environment

• It can be fun - events, people, photos

More good news

• ENCAMS has materials that can be used locally

• Examples of good practice abound…

Bristol food litter

Coverage on ITV, BBC, radio stations, Evening Post

= £17k advertising equivalent

+ 29% drop in letter

Liverpool

• Fun approach - ‘G-Litter’, ‘Glitterbugs Ball’• Targeted messages to audience• ‘Stop the Grot’ in Liverpool Echo• Radio Merseyside phone-ins• Something in it for the press• “Carrots and sticks but more carrot”• All linked to Capital of Culture 2008 • Win, win, win

The bad news

• ‘Good news is no news’• You can’t control the press• Residents’ behavior may need to change• Journalists are under pressure • Competition for audience attention is intense

Getting messages acrossIn theory…

MESSAGE

MESSENGER

MEDIUM

AUDIENCE

TIME

Getting messages across

In practice…

Making the most of the media

• Take a proactive stance - think ahead• Develop clear, concise messages• Have skills/resources to articulate them• Understand the audience• Get inside journalists’ minds• Build relationships • Actively involve press in campaigns• Consider potential pitfalls in everything• Don’t panic!

Inside journalists’ minds

STORIES ARE CHOSEN BECAUSE OF:

• Relevance to audience• Timeliness• Interest• Familiarity• Mix of topics• Novelty

Getting messages across

News is usually written in a pyramid style so it

can be cut from the bottom…

INTRO

STATE THE FACTS

ATTRIBUTE THE INFORMATION

USE A QUOTE TO LIVEN UP A STORY

ADD OTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Planning a press release

Headline

Short, snappy introductory sentence

State basic facts; who, what, where, when why?

Quote from most relevant person

Any relevant background information

‘For further information contact’

‘Notes for editors’

Press release exercise

• Write the introduction sentence of a press release for something you are trying to promote

• Try it out on ‘the editor’• Does it pass the ‘so what test’?• Is there a better way to get the message

across to the audience?

Interview techniques

• Comment or no comment?• On the record/off the record• Make a few points clearly• Stick to key messages• Have killer facts at your fingertips• Think ‘soundbites’• Use ‘rebuttal’, ‘bridging’, ‘sandwich’, ‘flagging’• Consider the implications• Don’t panic

Do’s and don’ts

What are the ‘top ten’ best hints for

dealing with the media?

What are ten ‘absolute don’ts’?

Contact:

Nicola Carroll

Tel: 01422-842470