PR 101:When to Say What to the Press

Presented byLibby Post

President, Communication Services

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Why even deal with the media?

• Pro-Active– Get your message out in an “objective” medium– Educate the public– Establish yourself as an expert– Place positive stories about issues– Respond to negative stories

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Defining the Media Print Media

Dailies Weeklies Monthlies News Magazines Topical Magazines Wire services

Electronic TV Radio Web Sites Blogs

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Accessing the Media

• They come to you– Want your comment as

expert– Negative story about you

• You go to them– Press Advisories– Press Releases– Press Events

− Letters to the Editor− OpEd Pieces/Commentary− Editorial Board Meetings

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Types of Press Releases

• Informational– Bulleted and concise

• Media Advisories– Issued a few days before an event

• Media Alerts– Issued right before event as a reminder

• Photo Ops• Stories

– For smaller, local outlets

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• Hard news• News feature• Series• Human Interest feature• Business• Sports• Editorial

Types of News Stories

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• Develop a press list– Address– Telephone– Fax– E-mail

The First Steps

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The First Steps

• Know How the Media Wants to Get Info– Smaller local papers often prefer press releases that are

written as news articles that can be directly placed in their papers

– Larger news outlets (Times Union) prefer press releases with bulleted info that can be scanned for topics of interest

– TV stations want shorter, topical stories with good visuals

– Radio wants shorter, topical stories with good sound bites

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• Find out who covers library/local news– Print: various editors/reporters & beats – TV & Radio: Assignment Editors

The First Steps

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The First Steps

• Decide who your spokesperson is– Press are busy– Make it easy for them– Make sure they have your name and number(s)

• Professional look to communications• Printed letterhead• Graphics file

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• Develop system of distribution based on media outlet preference– Mail– Broadcast fax– E-mail

• Release in body of e-mail• Also as an attachment

The First Steps

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• Revolving Media Door– Type of media market drives personnel turn-over– Keep your lists up to date

• Understand how journalists see themselves– Their job is to uncover and report– They are busy– Do their work for them

The First Steps

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Defining Your Message

• Who is the audience• What do you want the public to hear• Develop talking points

– Reinforce your perspective– Sound bites– Answer how you want to

• Integrate message into all media relations

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Defining Your Message

• Talking Point Tactics: distinguish and add credibility to your message– Facts: statements that describe the way things are– Statistics: effective when easily understood– Analogy or Comparison: make statements more

engaging– Authorities or Experts: adds credibility– Personal Experience: illustrate points

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• Libraries are for everyone• Talking Points

– Children come here to learn– Families come here to have fun– Seniors come here to remain active and vital

Defining Your Message

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Press Release 101

• Who, what, where, when & why• Inverted pyramid

– Most important information upfront– Edit from the bottom up

• Contact information and date for release at the top• Headline before beginning of text• Proofread

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50 Colvin Ave., Albany, NY 12206 518/438-2826

Company President to Give Workshop For OCCC Non-Profit Conference

Libby Post, President of Communication Services, will present a workshop entitled PR 101: When to Saw What to the Press at Orange County Community College’s Nonprofit Leadership Conference on Wednesday, March 26th. The conference takes place at OCCC’s Middletown campus. The workshop will cover the basics of media relations and how building relationships with the media enhances a library’s ability to reinforce it’s message that libraries are for everyone and bring value to the community.

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For more information For ReleaseLibby Post Immediate518/438-2826 March 26, 2008lpost@commservices.netQuick Identifier

Contact Info

Headline

Inverted pyramid style

release

Ending marker

SamplePress Release

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It’s All About Relationships

• Community relations is about developing a relationship with the community

• Media relations is about developing a relationship with the media

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• For your public relations efforts to be effective, you need to develop relationships with media people – Get to know the reporters– Interests/Angles—contribute to them– Deadlines– Two way street– How do they want to cover the news on their beat?– Reach out to each to “chew the fat” at least once a

quarter

It’s All About Relationships

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Tips on Developing GreatRelationships with Your Media Outlets• Be accessible: be sure the media knows when and

how to reach you• Be honest: credibility takes a long time to build and

can be destroyed quickly • Be polite: even if a reporter asks a question you

prefer not to answer• Provide simple, direct responses to all questions

and plan key messages to discuss

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Tips on Developing GreatRelationships with Your Media Outlets• Don’t say “no comment”: Screams “I have

something to hide.” Say “I don’t have an answer to that” or “I can’t comment on that.”

• Respect deadlines: get back to them on time, even if it is to tell them you don’t have the info they want

• Avoid speaking off the record or on background

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Reporters Have the Right to

• Evaluate and report the story as s/he sees it• Reasonable access to news sources• Receive timely response• Have deadlines and other needs respected• Receive concise and direct answers• Redirect the interview if it strays

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Reporters Have the Right to

• Conduct follow-up inquiries, as needed, for clarification

• Receive available collateral material to help build the story

• Receive corrected information if incorrect info is inadvertently given

• The same kind of courtesy and respect you expect

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P.R. Professionals Have the Right to

• A measure of control over the interview• Have advance knowledge of interview topic(s)• Know the reporter’s identity and affiliation• State Your Key Messages and restate when

appropriate• Finish responses without interruption (your answer

should be concise and relevant)

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P.R. Professionals Have the Right to

• Discuss relevant topics and messages not specifically asked for in the interview

• Correct misinformation and misstatements during the interview

• Know how the interview material will be used and whether others are being interviewed

• Respond to allegations

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• Be prepared• Have your talking points ready• Answer the questions the way you want to answer

them• If you’re called to respond to a story, you can call

them back after preparing• Don’t lie

How to Speak with the Press

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• Print: clear, concise, a bit more depth• Radio & TV: 30 second (or less) sound bites

– Be prepared– Radio: most interviews done on phone unless there’s a

press event of some sort– TV: come to you, look at reporter not camera, don’t wear

a lot of jewelry

How to Speak with the Press

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How to Avoid a Negative Comment

• Dismiss: don’t fall for the leading question the first time around

• Re-Assess: take a step back from what the reporter has just said to draw you in to a negative response and reframe the issue as something bigger and more important

• Re-Spin: Statement should be positive and strong in light of circumstances

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How to Avoid a Negative Comment

• You say nothing but positive comments• Message reader receives is implicit and

understated

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Negative Comment Spin Process

• Feb. 2003, US Ambassador to France was interviewed by French TV and asked whether U.S. citizens would boycott French goods because of the country’s opposition to the Iraq war.

• Response: “I don’t think there will be a serious boycott against French products. It’s perhaps an emotional and isolated reaction. Americans like the French. France remains the #1 destination for Americans traveling outside the U.S.”

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Negative Comment Spin Process

• Dismiss: “emotional and isolated reaction”• Re-Assess: Ambassador adds his two cents on

U.S.-Franco relations which also provides a bridge for his re-spin: “Americans like the French.”

• Re-Spin: “France remains the #1 destination for Americans traveling outside the U.S.”– Shows strength in relationship between countries but

also leaves door open for more tenuous future

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Pitching Stories

• Know what is going on in your agency– Meet with dept. heads, find out what they are doing– Watch internal e-mail reminders and announcements for story

ideas• Develop unique angles and have everything in place

(interview and photo ops, releases, etc) before pitching– Media are busy/lazy

• Know who the reporters are, who covers what beat– Develop relationships

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Pitching Stories as Relationship Building• Pitch the exclusive: find a newsworthy topic, call a

reporter on a “slow” day and offer an exclusive.– Don’t push too hard, open the door for saying no– “I know you have a lot going on and if the story interests

you, I’m happy to get an interview going. If not, no big deal, just let me know so that I can offer it to someone else.

• Win the war, not the battle.– They know you’re thinking about their interests.

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How Often?

• Balancing act—busy journalists will ignore daily releases. Find the right balance for each media type.

• Don’t wait too long in between—you’ll go off their radar screen

• Try for 2-3 releases per month on new hires, human interest, events, etc.

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How Long?

• Try for one page, two max unless you’re explaining something complicated or charged– SUNY Central’s release when they decided to divest

funds from S. Africa, long but informative• Release for TV and larger news organizations

should be written to be scanned, rather than read– Bullets, bold print for emphasis

• No cover sheets for faxed releases, please.

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Keep Momentum Going

• Send thank you notes to reporters• Tell them what a great job they did and how you’d

love to work more with her or him in the future• Send follow up thank you letter to the editor• If you know a national story is breaking, call your

local paper to see if they want a local angle

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How Not to be a Good On-air Guest

1. Never get to your main point2. Be totally unfamiliar with (or ignore host’s style, format & time

requirements)3. Use insider jargon, obscure facts and as many big words as

possible4. Overuse statistics5. Speak rapidly and don’t repeat or explain what you say6. If you don’t know the answer, just make one up7. Sound rehearsed, tired and bored8. Speak softly with a monotone

Source: Roberta Gale, from Nonprofit Communications Report

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Crisis Communications

• Have a plan in place before a crisis hits– Client suicide, Staff abuse of clients, fiscal mismanagement, etc.

• Have one person responsible for speaking with the media• Let everyone who needs to hear about the crisis internally

(board, staff) know, not just a select group of stakeholders– They’ll be asked by friends and neighbors– Need a consistent message

• Have a message and stick to it• Stay ahead of the crisis

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• Editorials:– Meet with Editorial Board, present your case– Send Editorial Page editor/writer information asking for supportive

editorial• Letters to the Editor

– Won’t print without name• Op Ed pieces

– Opportunity to reach opinion leaders in the community– Can present your message thoughtfully, in-depth– 1000 words

Power of the Editorial Page

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• Establish a press room on your site– Post press releases– Promote events

• Establish a blog– Fast becoming a source of news and opinion– Competing with mainstream media– Explore other Web 2.0 venues

Using the Web