“Communications on a Shoestring”

Sean Curtis-WardCommunity Outreach Manager, Media Trust

June 12 Newcastle

What is the Media Trust ?

Why am I listening?

Could this be ‘Death by Powerpoint’?

“The discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”.

CIPR

What is PR ?

• Man bites dog• ‘New’ news• Topical stories• Controversy, ‘scandal’• Human interest • Information relevant to their audience• Experts• Facts and figures• Exclusive story

Building Relationships with journalists

WHY?•Increase (favourable) coverage

HOW?

•Twitter and Linked-in

•Become source of credible stories

•Keep regular contact (but avoid sending non-news)

•Offer an exclusive story ?

•Be contactable after hours

•Don’t complain if they don’t write about you

News Stories:Why now?

•Topical•Event driven•Factual•Shorter•Spokesperson quotes

= Press release driven

Features:Why this topic?

•Less time sensitive•Longer, discursive•May not be based on a news story•Can be opinionated, emotive•Has to include case studies•May include multiple spokespeople

= Phone/email approach

News Stories vs. Features

Planning a Good Press Release• Why is this a story – and who cares? • Work out what your story is

• Headline – tell the journalist, but don’t be too clever

• Work backwards from your headline

• Do you need a sub-heading?

• First paragraph explains the story

• Date• Headline• Opening Paragraph• Context/Facts• Quote• Background• Contacts• References

Most important information

Least important information

Key messages?

•Always three – people lose interest after that

•What do you want to people to remember?

•No point in coverage without getting your

point across or your message out

•Weave key messages into a quote or a call to

action

• Keep the tone positive• Use an active voice where possible• Use headings to make a point• Cut out unnecessary words• Check grammar and spelling• Avoid clichés like the plague!

Style which communicates

• Who?

• What?

• Why? • When?

• Where?

The Five W’s

• What is it?

• Where you can find?

• How you can use it? • And Yes, it really is free!

The Community Newswire

www.mediatrust.org

Go to the “Get Support” section and then the “Community Newswire”. Follow the upload instructions.

alexd@mediatrust.org

or Twitter @del24