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Connecticut Water Trails
Program
Connecticut Water Bar
Working With The Media -
How To Shift Focus On A News Story
Some people think that
the only bad media coverage is no coverage at all. In some situations,
and for some people, this is true. More than likely, however, you need
the media and the public on your side. The only people who can really
afford bad press are characters like Howard Stern, not grassroots
campaigns such as yours. In order to get the support of the public, you
have to make sure that your message is conveyed by the media. But what
do you do when you are working on an issue that needs a lot of public
support and the media portrays your viewpoint unfavorably? Here are some
tools for not only dealing with negative media coverage, but also
improving your media coverage over time.
Free
Versus Paid Media
The ability to shift
focus on a story is very important to any type of campaign since you
cannot control the kind of coverage your issues receive. As advocates,
your most powerful tool is free media. This is media time you do not
have to pay for; for example, newspaper articles or radio interviews
that mention your organization. Paid media is, clearly, media time you
must buy. Television commercials and newspaper advertisements are two
examples of paid media. Your goal as advocates is to make the most out
of the free media time available to you.
A
Story Breaks
Imagine that the major
newspaper in the state runs a story about the implications of watershed
pollution. Your organization is advocating watershed pollution control.
Before the story ran, the reporter contacted you for comments but your
quotes are buried at the end of the article. Instead, the story focuses
on the financial costs of watershed pollution control and has
legislators insisting that the watershed pollution control would be
feasible only if higher taxes could be collected. This is not the
position your organization needs to be in to convince the public and
legislators that the watershed pollution control is necessary.
What
Do You Do?
No
matter how you react, you have to move quickly to determine what your
course of action will be. The longer you let the opposition dominate the
press, the more likely the story will stick in the public’s
mind. The opposition
has
already scored the opening shot, so
it’s
important that your return be quick, convincing,
and
on-message.
Before
you do anything, figure out where
the
story broke and what kind of
legs
it had
(how
long it lasted). Having this information
puts
you in a better position to make decisions
about
how to respond.
For
example, say the story broke on a Saturday in the back pages of the
metro section, after pages of advertisements. The likelihood of this
story seriously affecting your program is small since fewer people read
the newspaper on Saturdays. Be very careful in gauging your response.
You don’t
want to call attention to a story that was
overlooked. On the other hand, say the story gets picked up Monday
morning by the popular all-news radio show that everyone listens to on
the way to work. This is much more likely to cause a problem. You may
not have a problem just because a story is printed, but a story that
generates a lot of interest and gets picked up by other newspapers or
radio and television could be a more serious matter.
Think
Before You Speak
In our
scenario, the non-parental expansion story appeared in the front pages
of the major state newspaper this morning. You know you have to respond,
but you’re
not sure
what to do. Your first instinct may be to call up the reporter and give
him or her an earful. This is definitely a mistake. Don’t
vilify or
alienate the reporter who wrote the article. It could be that they did
not understand your viewpoint or maybe their editor was looking for a
certain kind of story. Look to the future: This reporter could be the
only person who covers health care for a newspaper in your city.
You
should call the reporter, but don’t
be
antagonistic. Instead, present your side of the
issue
and add any new information. While it is
unlikely that they will write another story
(and
even less likely that they will receive
permission to do so), it’s
worthwhile to keep a
relationship with the reporter. Perhaps future
articles will be more sympathetic to your side.
You
don’t
have
to be best friends with the
reporter. What you do want is to be the first
person
or group that this reporter thinks of
when
he or she sits down to write a story on.
Now,
let’s
say that the story has broken big
and
has been picked up by other newspapers
and
several important radio stations. You
need
to generate public support and media
attention. You have quite a few options open
to
you. You don’t
necessarily have to use every
tool
at your disposal, but here are some tried
and
true strategies to shift focus.
Spin
The most important
thing to remember is that everything you say and everything you do has
to portray your issue in the most favorable light. This is basically
what spin is. In order to do this effectively, you have to know what
words and aspects of your issue resonate with the media, legislators,
and the public. Listen carefully when your issue is attacked. Pay
attention to what words are used to portray your issue in a negative
light and then use that information to your advantage.
For example, if the
opposition characterizes your proposal for watershed pollution control
as increasing costs taxpayers, show how by not dealing with watershed
pollution control causes an increase in costs to taxpayers for clean
drinking water. If cost is your weakness, downplay it and find other
ways to show that the proposal would benefit the community.
Focus on convincing
the media that we would all would benefit from watershed pollution
control. Be careful to use language that reinforces the positive aspects
of the watershed pollution control.
It is a good idea to
sit down and draft some talking points for you and your supporters.
Talking points clearly define your message. They are short, sound-bite
sized phrases that contain the main points of your message.
They are easy to write
and save organizations lots of time. The idea is that you write down the
three most important things that you want to be known about your issue.
For example, in the non-parental expansion, the three main points might
be:
Over 100,000 tax
payers who et there drinking water from wells – fed by watersheds
would benefit from watershed pollution control
These are the main points that you want to be everywhere: in
newspapers, on the radio, on the tongues of legislators. The only way to
get this message out is to be disciplined about it and stick to the
points.
Editorial Boards
No matter where the story broke, try to organize a meeting with the
editorial board of the local newspaper. This is very easy to do. Call
the editor of the newspaper and tell them that you would like to sit
down with the editorial board to discuss your issue. Set up a date and
time and start working on your presentation. The presentation should be
concise, persuasive, and on-message at all times. The ease with which
you get a meeting with the editorial board belies the importance�
and the opportunity
such a meeting presents your organization.
The editorial board includes editors and some staff members who approve
the editorials the newspaper prints. These are the people who decide the
perspective of the editorial and assign someone to write it. Your
objective in meeting with the editorial board is to persuade them
with statistics, facts, and your strongest arguments
to take a more favorable opinion toward your position. You may see
results quickly, such as an editorial favoring your proposal; or you may
see a general change over time with better or more sympathetic reporters
covering your events.
Op-Ed Piece/Guest Columns
Guest columns and op-eds are two great ways to get exposure for your
point of view. An op-ed appears on the page opposite the editorials,
hence its name. Guest columns also appear on the op-ed page but are
distinguished from op-eds by a few minor differences.
Op-eds are usually written about an issue that has recently been
reported in the newspaper. It’s
a great idea for a few groups to sign and submit one op-ed. Guest
columns are written by one person. They can be about anything and are
not limited to issues the newspaper has recently covered. What sells
newspapers on guest columns is the notoriety of the author and the
quality of the writing.
Generally, these pieces are long
about 700 words. Each paper has different criteria, so it is best to
call the editorial department before submitting your piece. Make sure to
attach a cover letter explaining what you are sending and who you are.
In the letter orguest column, provide your best, most persuasive arguments for the
proposal. Be as clear and jargon-free as possible. Remember that
newspapers are written for a 5th or 6th grade reading level, so you need
to write simply to reach the maximum audience.
Letters To The Editor
Letters to the editor give citizens a forum for commenting on newspaper
articles. Anyone may write them but there can be some limits on how many
one person may write in a year. While it may seem to you that the more
letters written, the better coverage you will receive; you have to be
careful. These letters must always be authentic, meaning that if an
editor receives 400 identical letters, they will not print them. This
doesn’t
mean that you should limit your supporters. It is advisable that each
person write his or her own letter, possibly drawing from some talking
points that you may draft for them. References to a recent article in
the paper make your letter more likely to be printed.
Letters to the editor are generally short, about 250 to 300 words, and
can be written from an organization or a citizen. You must, identify
yourself and provide necessary contact information. Without this
information your letter will not be published. Newspapers usually print
their requirements on the editorial page, so you can easily find out who
to send your letter to and what information you will need to provide.
Writing Op-Ed’s And Letters To The Editor
Humanize The Issue
No matter what you do, you must remember to humanize your position as
much as possible. This could be your strongest asset. The media will be
interested in interviewing people who would benefit from your proposal.
They will want to see what will happen to these same people if the
proposal does not pass. Try to collect stories of people who would
benefit from the program and let reporters know that these people are
willing to be interviewed. It’s
great to have lots of people volunteer to speak to the media, but you
have to carefully choose who will actually be interviewed. The person
you choose will be representing the program to thousands of people. He
or she will be the human face that is associated with your efforts to
expand coverage. It is important that he or she be sympathetic. Be sure
to verify all the information this person gives you if you do not know
him or her personally. Take time to speak with him or her before you
allow any interviews. You might want to ask possible interview questions
and practice responses. It’s
better to spend more time beforehand and prevent a mistake than to try
to clean up after one.
Press Event
If you want to stage a press event to offset negative coverage, the most
important thing to remember is to make it newsworthy. All the time and
effort you put into organizing will be futile if you can’t
generate some media interest; after all, that’s
what you’re
after.
A few days before the event, send out a
media advisory. This will inform reporters of who will be participating,
when, where, and what the event is all about. You should make follow-up
calls right before the event, making sure that they received the media
advisory, asking if they have any questions, and reminding them about
the press event. The day of the event, send out a press release
(embargoed until the time of the press event) and have releases to hand
out at the event.
As for the substance of the event, if at all possible, try to refute the
opposition’s
claims with hard facts. Take the example of the expansion. Find
academics willing to speak about the feasibility of the expansion. Prove
that watershed pollution control would actually save money, especially
out of the taxpayer’s
pocket. Provide statistics to refute the opposition’s
claims. Have environmentalist and health experts speak about how
important watershed pollution control is. Be sure to have someone
present who would benefit from the program. It’s
easy to deny numbers on paper; it’s
harder to confront a real person whose water would be affected without
watershed pollution control.
Invigorate Advocates
Do what you can to shift focus on the story, but remember that negative
press can be a powerful tool in motivating advocates to work together.
There’s
nothing like anger to get people working for a common cause. Use the
media attention to pull together different groups who might not
ordinarily work together but who have a vested interest in getting the
proposal approved. For example, after a negative story appears, approach
outdoor organizations, Sierra Club, local water trail groups, as well as
your traditional partners, to form a coalition.
Conclusion
The ability to shift focus on a story is an important tool for
advocates. As in a debate, you have to be quick, clear, concise, and you
have to use your opponent’s
arguments against him or her. This takes discipline to accomplish, but
employing these tools will strengthen the reporting your organization
and issues receive.
How To Get The Most Out Of Free
Media
Free media is an advocate’s best friend. With your limited budgets, you
can’t afford to run frequent ads in newspapers or buy television
air-time to publicize your issues. What you can do is employ free media,
so named because it costs nothing but the effort you put into it. Here
are some examples of free media:
Press Advisory
This is written on your organization’s
letterhead and advises reporters of an upcoming event.
Press Release
This is also written on your organization’s
letterhead and informs reporters of the release of new information.
Press Statement
Also on letterhead, a press statement gives your organization an
opportunity to respond to something; an event, a speech, a report, etc.
It should be attributed to the director of the organization or someone
equally well known. All it contains are quotes from the director. This
gives reporters covering the event, speech, report, etc. an opportunity
to quote you.
NOTE:
You should use press statements, releases, and advisories judiciously
because reporters hate to receive a lot of unsolicited material.
Web Site
There are places on the web that will help you set up a free website.
One such site is {www.homestead.com}. Web sites are really useful
because you can direct reporters, legislators, and other advocates to
your site for current information. You can also set up a guest book
where people can write comments about the issue. It’s
a great way to share information, target possible partners, and locate
real people with similar problems.
Developing A Rapport With Reporters
You know why. Here’s
how:
1. Return phone calls promptly.
2. Provide information, if you can.
3. Direct them to other resources.
4. Respect deadlines.
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