think like a reporter!

“Think Like a Reporter”* (* The presentation was given to an audience comprising of NGOs officials & individuals working in field of sustainable transportation issues )

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normal day in life of a Reporter begins in NIGHT only.

The First Step to a Big Story for a Reporter…

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**First Source of Information

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normal day in life of a Reporter begins in NIGHT only.

The News Gathering Exercise…

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normal day in life of a Reporter begins in NIGHT only.

• Umpteen calls to reliable sources to get a news angle or an interesting news.

• Scavenging through numerous press notes or press releases in mail box and faxes.

• Making /Attending calls from public relation officials from different organizations (Govt. & Non Govts) to get a lead for the story.

• Organizing appointments with experts, government officials, corporate and other concerned persons for one particular story.

• Following up on leads and new developments in their individual beat.

• Using Social Media Platforms to gauge recent trends, posts or tweets from people who matters.

• Google Alerts to keep a tab on their beats (domain of experise)

Modus Operandi of Reporters(1)…

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normal day in life of a Reporter begins in NIGHT only.

“Dog bites man is not the news; man bites dog is news” – This still holds true !

Something Never Changes

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 • Sourcing their contact numbers and fixing an appointment on

phone or meeting them personally.

• Jotting the points or recording the conversations of the interviewees for future reference.

• Coordinating with a photographer or cameraman for visuals suited for the article or visuals.

• Cross- checking the facts and figures mentioned in the article. Doubly cross –checking them.

• Writing a balanced article with relevant data, quotes and views.

• The catch is – reporters need to be multi-taskers.

Modus Operandi of Reporter (2)…

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Reporters are always running against TIME.

Reporters are always running against TIME.

What a reporter wants?

You Can Help Reporter By…• Be specific on what you want to communicate in person/in phone or through

email.

• Be prepared with relevant facts & figures.

• Answer their five Ws’ (Who. What. When. Where. Why.)and one H (How)

• Avoid Jargons & Technical words. Communicate in Simple & Lucid Language.

• Follow reporters with your official quote through emails to ensure you get quoted correctly with correct spelling & designation.

• Send a press release on email. Post your quote & press release on your organization website /link it from social media platforms

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• Reporter main objective is to gather news which is NEWSWORTHY, they are neither your friend and nor your enemy.

• Provide them NEWS (new, unique, different perspective, interesting case study, progress on development projects, facts & figures ).

• Reporters are generally skeptics. It takes time to get them convinced about anything. Answer all their queries convincingly.

• Reporter’s job is to know what’s important to readers and provide information that helps them make better decisions in their story.

• Reporters are not experts. They report.

• Most of the Reporters files more than one story in day. It varies organization to organization & nature of publication.

Understand the Professional Need of a Reporter..

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Communicate Well…

Things You Need To Consider Before Media Interaction Establish goals : Before getting started, clearly articulate your

goals. The goals we have going into our communication and outreach campaign will drive the media relations work.

Identify NEWS : What reports, surveys, or briefing papers can

we produce or release that provides a new perspective? What media event will communicate our news in a novel and effective way? What information can we provide that offers a new ‘take’ on the issue?

NEWS is bigger and broader than one organization or its issue/cause. News is about the drama of everyday life. How can we present the issue in a way that will be informative and dramatic without becoming sensational?

Craft your messages : Concepts ideas into a small number (2-

3) of manageable, easy-to-explain and understand key messages.

Appreciation: A congratulatory message, a pat on the back. In case of misreporting, highlight the mistakes / suggestions.

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Reporters are humans. They have a job to do.

Reporters are HUMANS. They have a job to do.

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Get Connected :Kumar ManishCommunications & Public Outreach Professional &Head, Communications, Centre for Green Mobility kumarmanish9@gmail.comTwitter : @kumarmanish9Linkedin : http://www.linkedin.com/in/kumarmanish9Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/kumarmanish9Blog : www.communicatekaro.wordpress.com

Credits Google Spin Works by Robert Bray

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