no pio, no problem: media management with minimal resources · taped vs. live visual storytelling...

No PIO, No Problem: Media Management with Minimal Resources

6.22.18

Navigation for Strategic Communications

OUR TIME TOGETHER

Understanding the Media Best Practices

Putting your Skills to the

Test

THE MEDIUMS

The Media Landscape

Photo Credit: Christian Science Monitor


Taped vs. live

Visual storytelling

Short turnaround time, stories usually air the same day

BROADCAST JOURNALISM


More in-depth storytelling

Turnaround time can be longer than other mediums

Opportunities to provide background information for side-bars

PRINT JOURNALISM


Auditory storytelling

Stories are short & concise

Stories typically air the same day

RADIO


Non-stop news cycle

Social media means news travels at the speed of thumbs

NO set rules for bloggers/tweeters

Anyone can be a reporter

MULTIMEDIA REPORTERS


Two-WayStreet


Timeliness

Proximity

Impact

Conflict

Prominence

Unusualness

Human Interest

WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY?


Best Practices


Identify your champion


Know the reporters in your community


Know exactly what you want to accomplish with media outreach.

ESTABLISH YOUR GOAL Are you trying to…. Promote a new initiative? Increase community

awareness? Raise the profile of elected

officials? Change citizen behavior?


Know what you want to say and stick to it.

DEVELOP YOUR MESSAGE Messages are short – just one

to two key thoughts

Use anecdotes and supporting data

Your message should be the headline you would want to see in a newspaper


Scenario: The city is asking taxpayers to pass a bond to build a new facility for the police department.

Message 1: Investing in our community today will help keep us safe in the future.

Third-party validation: Our community has one of the lowest crime rates in Idaho. To keep our community safe we need to invest in our future. A recent report by Rand Corp. shows spending money on police facilities can reduce homicide rates by 10 percent and robberies by 6 percent.

MESSAGING EXAMPLE



Message 2: The current facility is not designed to keep up with the demands of our growing community.

Story: My grandfather was a police officer in this community. He worked during a time when there were no bulletproof vests, no advanced DNA testing and all of his crime scene reports were written by hand. He worked out of our current police headquarters. A lot has changed since my grandfather was on the force and a lot has changed in this community. It is time to invest in a facility for our future.

MESSAGING EXAMPLE



Message 3: The new facility will have a huge impact for our police officers but it won’t have a huge impact on families’ bottom line.

Example: If the new police department bond is passed, it would coincide with the end of a construction bond for the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Currently, a typical single-family home is paying $49 each year for that bond. We anticipate the police department bond would be the same amount.

MESSAGING EXAMPLE

ACTIVITY Develop your Message

Write one-two messages you want to share with the community

What stories, data or third-party validation do you have to tie it all together?

An employee in the payroll department has been arrested for embezzling $265,000 from the city. The arrest has just been made and you know the media will be calling soon.


Make it easy for reporters to understand what you are saying.

SPEAK THE LINGO Avoid acronyms & technical

jargon

Provide enough context that you cover who, when, where, what, why & how

Make your communication conversational

Write in AP Style


HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

Most Newsworthy Information(Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?)

Important Details(Supporting information to provide context)

Background Information


Consider declining the interview if you believe the story will be a hatchet job, or you’re in a no-win position

If you decline an interview, provide the reporter with a brief written statement

Never subject yourself to the speculation associated with “no comment”

UNDERSTAND WHEN TO SAY NO


You don’t need the media to connect with your constituents

Ask your friends & neighbors how they want to receive updates from you

Monitor your results & adjust accordingly

SHARE YOUR MESSAGE WITHOUT THE MEDIA

Final Questions

no pio, no problem: media management with minimal resources · taped vs. live visual storytelling...

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