Amplification through traditional media

Illustration by Freepik Storyset

a. Working with journalists

The media is in our organisation’s DNA. RNW Media was established after World War II as the International broadcaster of the Netherlands. Its work was primarily radio but television was added in later years. The establishment of RNW (Radio Netherland Wereldomroep) was to form part of a pro-democracy broadcasting service around the world of former allied powers. Their aim was to spread the influence of liberal democracy in a post war Europe under threat of communism.

How to work with journalists

The gatekeepers of traditional media are journalists. Many journalists have a mixed relationship with media or public relations professionals. They complain that press officers are pushy, don’t return calls, or fail to understand how busy they are. It isn’t enough to assume that you will have a good professional relationship with important journalists just because of your job; you have to work at it.  Below are some practical tips on how to develop solid relationships with journalists.

  • Share information. Journalists will be interested in talking to a source they know is familiar with their area of interest.
  • Take your time and don’t expect instant returns. Make clear the terms under which you are speaking to them. Agree what “off the record”, “on the record”, “on background”, etc. mean.
  • Develop a personalised, friendly relationship with journalists. For example, try to take advantage of any special interest you may share with them (music, sports, etc.).
  • Check which journalists other NGOs are speaking to, for possible contacts. Review newspapers/trade magazines/ websites for who is writing about your area of expertise.
  • Keep your promises. If you promise a journalist material, access or an exclusive interview by a certain time, deliver on it; or at the very least call to explain why you cannot.
  • Meet journalist contacts face to face. Take them out for coffee and lunch. The better they know you, the more likely it is that they will use your material. Don’t just call when there is a big story. Call in quiet times too.

“Sometimes a friend, always a journalist” is a useful saying. Remember – your agenda is to promote your organisation/campaign or cause, their agenda is to publish or broadcast a story that is interesting. Whether it is positive or negative about your cause is not the point.

Journalists are busy people, the typical working day for a journalist is quite structured.

It is a mistake to think that the word “news” implies that journalists are sitting around, waiting for “new” things to happen. Although there are sudden, unexpected events (plane crashes, for example), those “breaking news” items form only one part of the news day. The typical working day of a journalist looks something like the following:

Journalists usually arrive at a newsroom that is already humming with activity. If they come in early in the morning, they are taking over from the nightshift. Most significant news organisations will have at least a couple of people physically in the newsroom overnight, even if they have another office in another time zone. Some journalists come into their office only briefly, so you have to contact them by mobile phone, email or social media. Twitter is usually the best social media to reach journalists. Many journalists come in first thing as there may be an editorial meeting, or a news planning session to attend, or just to see what has come in overnight. This is one opportunity to get in contact.

The editorial meeting is when all the potential stories are considered as a whole, so that the editors can decide how much time or space to assign to each of them. Although you may think this is purely assigned on the importance of the news, that is too simplistic an idea.

A big proportion of the news is planned ahead, especially for television, so that crew assignments and reporting teams can be arranged, and shift patterns modified. It takes time to move people and equipment into the right places, and journalists can need permits that need to be applied for in advance. These pre-planned stories are often called “diary items”. The kind of things that can be planned weeks, or even months, in advance include anniversaries, official items and scheduled company events. This is a great opportunity for you to find a “news peg” – an event or occasion which you can use to get a story published about a longer-term subject or campaign.

A huge news story – for example a missing hiker – will be pushed down the news agenda if there are no pictures, no strong interviews and no new information. If you can supply some of the elements necessary to push your story higher (a key expert, or transport to the location) you stand a much better chance of it getting more attention. The news organisation itself may have a specific bias – for example for or against the government – so you need to find out if there is any particular interest you need to be aware of. And of course, if there is a huge breaking story, such as a fire or a train crash, this is not the day to expect your story to get any attention!

If you miss journalists at the start of their day, they are likely to be outside of the newsroom for a good chunk of the day doing interviews, attending press conferences, doing vox populi, research or data gathering. News rarely happens in a newsroom! Many journalists don’t get a lunch break, but if they do, they will always be pleased to meet you and catch up with any good gossip. Don’t always push your stories; you can be friendly and interested without constantly expecting immediate stories. You might have more luck asking them out for a quick coffee, or a drink after work, if that is something which is acceptable in your culture.

Early afternoon is another good opportunity to get hold of journalists in the office, as many organisations have an afternoon news planning session to arrange things for the next day or finalise the evening editions. Remember that as it gets close to the end of the day, the closer and scarier the deadlines will appear. The deadline might be the evening news show, or the time the newspaper goes to be printed (“putting the paper to bed”).

Try to call or e-mail them in the morning whenever you can. A common mistake is to spend all day crafting a press release then sending it at the close of business, right when reporters and editors are rushing to beat their deadlines. Radio reporters and agency journalists are constantly filing stories, so they can be hard to get hold of. If you’re dealing with a weekly newspaper, ask about their deadline day and try to talk to them on different days. Ask them about their schedule, they’ll appreciate it.

If you are thinking about using Twitter, remember that timing is really important because tweets flash past so quickly. It isn’t email, so if you post once a day there is a good chance that people will miss what you posted because they weren’t looking at the right time.

It isn’t a good idea to put up a lot of posts to ensure that yours is seen; you need to time your tweets correctly. Consider whether a busy journalist is looking at Twitter at all during the day, when they are out and about interviewing and writing and filming. First thing in the morning may put your tweet in the middle of too much information, so around 10 a.m. may be smarter

Pitching Stories to Journalists

Once you have got hold of your journalist you have to get their attention. That means giving them a story that they can get past their editors and into the bulletin or newspaper.

There is no point complaining that journalists should care about your story because it is important, and it matters. To a journalist with a full inbox and an editor shouting at him or her, your story will not stand out unless you sell it hard, and you don’t make the journalist work too hard to find out what the story actually means.

If you speak to a journalist, or contact them in other ways, you need to make “a pitch”.

A pitch is a description of a potential story idea that you want to be used. A pitch lays out why a story matters. It essentially makes the case for doing a certain story at a certain point in time. A good pitch should quickly and succinctly summarise the story the author wants to write and explain why that story matters to the journalist or society, not why it matters to you.

The time to make your pitch is not the day an announcement is made, or a report comes out. Do it the day before, two days before, a week before, so that the journalist can make plans and get a marker down for space in the relevant issue or bulletin.

A news peg is what makes the story timely or newsworthy now. You may have been running a vaccination campaign for months, but then the government releases infant mortality data. That is the element that makes the story timely and important now. This is what will make journalists want to use your story. Most journalists need some kind of news peg before they can consider using your story idea. If there isn’t an obvious one, you must try to find one or risk your hard work being rejected as irrelevant, and random. The lack of a news peg is one of the fastest ways to make journalists lose interest in your story.

As well as the releases of new data, there are other kinds of news pegs. For example, a celebrity coming to visit one of your projects, or a change in policy, or new funding.

Journalists also need a “sound bite” or a “golden quote”. It doesn’t matter how profound your message is, if you don’t give it to them in a 20-second clip, they won’t be able to use it. This is particularly true of television and radio. It doesn’t have to come from you – in fact it’s usually better if it doesn’t – a specialist or a front-line aid worker or activist carries more credibility than a public relations official. But one way or another, you have to provide that material for them.

You might find this short “sound bite” approach to be superficial, and feel your subject needs more time and depth – but the reality is that the attention span of news audiences will not support long pieces. Documentaries and features will give you a longer period of time to get your message across, but they are expensive and time- consuming so news organisations cannot do many of them.

Go to Assignment 9.13: Prepare a pitch

The Press Release

The Press Release remains at the heart of an organisation’s media output Not the old-fashioned piece of paper sent to all and sundry through the post or handed out at media “events”, but a carefully prepared version of what you want to say so as to be as effective as possible. It may well form the core of your “message” across all media and social media formats. Despite this, a surprisingly large number of press releases contain no news, are badly written and are too long. It is worth spending time getting them right, so that they are informative and interesting not just to the traditional media, but to direct audiences via social media as well.

Writing a press release is a deceptively difficult task. It needs to be done well and has a lot in common with writing a good news story. While you write it to be instantly publishable for the general public, your primary target is the journalist or editor, since they are the gatekeeper to a wider audience.

Structure

When you are structuring your press release, keep in mind the structure known as the inverted pyramid, which is used traditionally by media organisations for news stories. The pyramid’s broad base at the top of the figure represents the most substantial, interesting and important information we are trying to convey. This kind of material should head the text, while the tapered lower portion illustrates that other material should follow in order of diminishing importance.

The format is valued in writing news because readers can leave the story at any point and understand it, even if they don’t have all the details. It also allows less important information to be more easily removed by editors so the article can fit a fixed size. This was historically very important when stories were being fitted into newspaper pages but is still important to ensure discipline by reporters in sticking to a set number of words. The same principle is valid for writing press releases.

Headline

Your journalist readers will make a judgement about whether they are interested in your press release in about five secondsor even less. An eye-catching, punchy, simple headline will give you an immediate way to grab the journalist’s attention. Conversely, a weak, boring headline can condemn your announcement in an instant to the wastebasket.

Why do we have to fight to get people’s attention? People have a shorter attention span now because they are being bombarded with information from all different sides, internet, TV, radio, blogs. This applies to your journalist primary targets even more than the general public.

A headline is like the shop window, it invites readers in by putting interesting goods on display. It does tell some of the “story” in your press release, but it also has to sell that story. No-one is going to want to read a piece with a headline such as “NGO holds its annual donor conference”. Remember, headlines are short. For many news organisations, you would expect a maximum of about 50 characters, including spaces and punctuation. So, you must be very short, succinct, and capture the essence of the story. For a press release you have a little more latitude. And you are targeting journalists at broadcast media as well as print. So, it is more important to be clear than to write a slick newspaper-style headline. But many publications, especially those with fewer resources, may want to publish your press release almost unedited. So, a publishable headline is a good way to start.

Don’t worry if you find this hard. Good headline writers have spent a long time practicing their skills, and many newspapers have staff whose only job is to write great headlines. A bad headline will stop people from reading your press release, so you have wasted your time writing it!

Some people find it easier to write the text before the headline. Others find that once you have explained the point of the story or press release simply to yourself, the headline will come! Don’t try to be too clever, or cryptic.

Lead

Just as in writing news, after the headline comes the Lead (in the US often spelled Lede) and it is your chance to deliver on the promises made in your attention-grabbing headline. This basically means your first sentence of text, sometimes two short ones. Now you must seize your readers and hold them. If they are bored or confused, they won’t read on. Tell them something they don’t know. Writing good leads is a great skill, for press releases just as for news stories. An active verb is vital. Have a key word close to the start of sentence, and bear in mind the 5 w’s of traditional journalism – Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. A good length is 25-30 words.

One method is to try making a list of 10 key words without which you simply could not write your “story”. They don’t have to be the exact words you will use. Think more of the facts or concepts which must be there. So, a story about water would definitely have the key words water, safe and drought. Once you have that list of keywords you have the essence of the story. Most or all should appear in the first sentence. All should appear by the end of the second paragraph.  A variation on this is to try reading your lead and then count the number of words you use before you reach one that is strong and essential and cannot be thrown away. If you go beyond three or four words before reaching that “must have” word, then stop and rewrite. You should be hitting strong, essential words very quickly after you start to read the first sentence.

The Body

Many of your target audience will stop reading at this point, unless your lead is so good you have given them a reason to stay with you. That’s the reason we devote so much attention to it. The second paragraph is usually easier to write because it contains a lot of the detail which you couldn’t fit into the lead, the “leftovers”. This may be the point at which the press release introduces the role of your CSO. For instance, a doctor may be working on a project run by your organisation, or be speaking to support its fund-raising campaign therefore you should mention its name.

The third paragraph in a press release is traditionally given to a quote. The readers may want to hear another voice instead of just that of the journalist. Quotes give credibility, human interest and a different voice. But they must add something new. A quote which just repeats what the lead said is not adding anything. In our example of the doctor you don’t want a quote that merely says, “Hundreds of children will die”. You want something with more power, such as “The children are the life and voice of the village, but soon they will fall silent, too weak to cry out anymore.” For your journalist-reader, this quote is a key part of your press release; they can write their own version of your story around that quote, it is raw material for them. If it is a good quote, it is a powerful lure; if they can contact that doctor to record their own interview with her or him, they will get similarly good material to broadcast.

The fourth paragraph in a news story it is often called the nut graph. This is the paragraph which explains context, relevance, the purpose of both a news story and a press release. When you are writing this paragraph, it should answer the question… I am writing this press release because “This is the first time a foreign donor has entirely financed a project”, for example. I am writing this press release because…… “Foreign aid workers have been banned from the country, as the government says it cannot guarantee their safety.” If you, as the writer, cannot complete… “I am writing this press release because…” it is probable that you don’t know why you are writing it. And if you don’t know, how can you tell journalists why it is important?

These first four paragraphs are the crux of your press release, the rest is extra detail, the order is less important. Remember to keep your press release short. If you need more than a page of text to make your case, you haven’t written it properly.

Information

It is essential to include all contact details and links in a press release. The basics, such as your name, job title, mobile phone number and email address, should already be on your organisation’s template. But for each specific subject there may be specific details and links you need to include. These should come near the bottom so as not to clutter up your prose. Don’t forget links to video and photo material.

The press release has a specific format, ensure your press releases follow this format:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(This could also say: HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL/EMBARGOED UNTIL XXX TIME AND DATE)

Eye catching headline
What do people need to know? Capitalize the first letter of each main word (not conjunctions or articles). Usual rules: One sentence which is memorable and eye-catching.
BAD: Study Released about Water Security
GOOD: World’s Water Supplies at Critically Low Levels

Sub-headline (if you want one).
This should not repeat the headline, but expand on it in a longer thought.
BAD: 900-page study on water security is released.
GOOD: Threat to global water supplies “far worse” than previously thought.

Give the location and date of the story.
Underneath the headline/sub-headline, list your city and country. Follow that with today’s date, including month, day, and year.
BAD: 11/12/2015 Press release
GOOD: Lagos, Nigeria 10 November 2020

Body of the press release.
Remember that you are supplying sufficient, attractive information to grab the journalist’s attention and allow them to write a story about it. Remember to follow all the ‘W’s. Who, what, where, when why, how. Use short, punchy paragraphs. Include quotes and keep it around 500 words. *Maximum of one page. Explain all acronyms and jargon terms.
BAD: The externality analysis methodology of this study shows the TBL assessment required for effective TWCM planning and implementation at regional and sub-regional scales. This is a result of its ability to incorporate the extensive range of interconnected environmental, economic and social factors that must be considered in integrated total water cycle management approaches.
GOOD: Groundwater accounts for more than a third of the world’s water supply and is relied on as the main source of water by 2 billion people. Water security is an important component of regional security and sustainable development and it significantly affects regional development strategies. Flood security, water resource security, and water environment security are the basic elements of a water security system

BAD: “The biophysical emissions and water quality consequences, linked to quantitative water supply changes from the range of potential options, has established the basis for more detailed externality analysis and economic valuation assessment of the options being considered in the study area,” said Professor Eau Aqua.
GOOD: “Many of the largest underground water sources on most continents are being mined,” Professor Eau Aqua said. “Without a sustainable groundwater reserve, global water security is at a far greater risk than is currently recognized.

List company and contact information.
This allows the news reporter to contact you if they have more questions, or they want to arrange an interview. Provide basic information about your organization that will help readers know what your company does.
BAD: The Water NGO creates collaborative hydro-expertise solutioneering across sustainable, multi-faceted domains.
GOOD: The Water NGO is an international non-governmental organisation seeking to improve access to safe water, provide effective sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people, and influence policy at national and international levels.

Follow this with personal contact information: your name, title, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, web address, and physical address.
BAD: If you want more information, check out our Facebook page.
GOOD: If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Professor Aqua, please contact Mary Smith on XXX-XXX email [email protected].
Suite 201, Water Towers, Main Street, Lagos.

Write “END” at the bottom of the last page of the press release.
This lets journalists know that this is the end of your press release.

Place “###” underneath “END”
These symbols appear at the bottom of most press releases. You could also put the word count of your press release here instead.

Go to Assignment 9.14: Prepare a press release

b. Amplification through Radio and Television interviews

Radio and TV interviews are a crucial part of what any NGO does. Even if you don’t have to do them yourself, you should ensure that you understand the basics and that everyone in your organisation who may have to be interviewed has had some basic training in how to look and act. The wrong way to approach an interview is to think “I’ll see what questions they ask, then answer them”. The right way is to think “What is the best use I can make of this opportunity, what is the most important thing I want that audience to hear”. This “most important thing” is usually known as the Key Message.

Try to avoid anything that sounds like an advertising slogan or mindless cheerleading. Back it up with some evidence – usually numbers, and what is often called the “soundbite”.

It lasts between 10 and 45 seconds, depending on the style of the broadcaster; as a rule of thumb, aim for about 20-25 seconds. When journalists are going through a recorded interview, they are looking for a quote to include in their package which both sums up your argument and is clear and interesting. It’s in your interest to give them a good “soundbite”, something that best represents your Key Message. This needs preparation.

To get to your message, use a “bridging” technique. This involves acknowledging the journalist’s question briefly, then using a linguistic device or phrase which carries you on to what you want to talk about. These devices, or “bridges”, are phrases like “our chief concern at present”, “what we are focusing on”, or simply “however” or “but”. Try to think what questions you are likely to be asked and write down as many ready-made answers as you can. Most difficult questions can be anticipated ahead of time. This will increase your accuracy, and make you look more professional. Try to pass on to your positive messaging as soon as you can, but do not try to minimise serious issues such as deaths as though they are not important.

If you don’twant to answer a question, (or you cannot answer it for legal or other legitimate reasons) you should use a “close-down” technique. This can be a ready-made phrase such as “It is too soon to speculate” or “We cannot speak for the ministry”. This makes it clear that you will not talk about a subject at all. If you simply don’t know the answer to a question, it is best to simply say so; promise to find out the information and deliver it later. Do not use repeated close downs if you can avoid it, only one or two in a whole interview.

Here are some practical tips for an interview:

  • Avoid the phrase “no comment” because people think it means the organization is guilty and trying to hide something
  • Present information clearly by avoiding jargon or technical terms. 
  • Appear pleasant on camera by avoiding nervous habits that people interpret as deception.  A spokesperson needs to have strong eye contact, limited disfluencies such as “uhms” or “uhs”, and avoid distracting nervous gestures such as fidgeting
  • Brief all potential spokespersons on the key message points the organization is trying to convey to stakeholders.

c. Amplification through Press Conferences and Events

A press conference is a staged public relations event in which an organisation or individual presents information to the news media. It serves as a focus for your agenda and when used with Twitter or webcast can become a live “news event” in its own right, available to the general public too. Communications officers use press conferences to draw media attention to a potential story. They are typically used for political campaigns, safety and health emergencies and promotional purposes, such as the launch of a new product or campaign. They can be a waste of time and money – and damage your credibility with your journalist contacts, if the story is not newsworthy or they are poorly organised or carried out.

Here are some tips to help you as you plan a press conference:

1. Decide if it is necessary.

If you could do it another, cheaper way, consider whether that would be better. Decide exactly what your story is. The best way to do this is to draft your Press Release – that will be the key message of your press conference. Senior executives sometimes have to be dissuaded from demanding a press conference when there is insufficient “news” to announce to justify one.

2. Selecting an appropriate venue to hold your press conference is crucial.

Ask yourself the following:

  • Have you got enough space?
  • Is there parking for TV trucks and journalists?
  • Is there adequate seating?
  • Is there a stage or a podium?
  • Have you got enough power points for people to plug into?
  • Is there audio-visual support?
  • Is there space for TV cameras, and radio mics inside?
  • Is it close enough to where journalists have their offices?

3. Decide who you are going to invite

Your journalists contact list is a good starting point, but this is also an opportunity to invite a few more people on the off-chance they may be interested. Avoid sending mass email invitations – it looks unprofessional and unfocused.

There are lots of methods to contact journalists – some traditional such as mailing, some creative ways such as sending an invite on a bar of chocolate. Make sure you have some idea of who is coming by following up the initial invitation with a reminder.

4. Make sure the speakers are good at dealing with the media

Don’t have more than two speakers to avoid confusing the audience. Tell the speakers not to speak for more than about 10 minutes at a time, and to keep focused on the key messages. Go over the material with them beforehand so they don’t introduce anything inappropriate. You can anticipate a lot of the questions in advance so the speakers should have ready, clear answers to those questions. Visual aids can be powerful – but don’t let them overwhelm the conference and turn it into a lecture.

5. You will need a “moderator” or “facilitator”

This is to introduce your speakers and make the question and answer session run smoothly. Often that person will be the communications lead in the team. It’s an important job. He or she needs to prevent more aggressive members of the audience from dominating the questioning, protect nervous speakers from bullying questioners, keep the conference on the main topic, make sure each question is clearly understood (some accents can be hard for visiting speakers to decipher) and ensure you keep to the allotted time.

6. Put together “press kits” in advance.

These should include as a minimum the press release, any other background material on your organisation, paper and a pen. Free gifts such as mugs and hats can be put in too but avoid expensive or showy goods which may suggest you are trying to bribe people (even if you are not!). You could also prepare name identifiers on stiff card to place in front of the speakers so that the audience is always aware who is speaking.

7. Get to the venue at least an hour before the start

This is to set up an “accreditation” table – so you can monitor who is present and who has yet to turn up – and to check the technical and physical logistics of the room and other facilities. Don’t forget the bathrooms, which may need to be labeled! A good press office has a “primary school teacher” kit with pens, scissors, tape, paper, clips, etc. just in case something goes wrong and you have to improvise.

Provide someone to greet people as they arrive and show them where to set up – this is particularly important for technical teams. It is not necessary to provide food during a press conference, but coffee, tea and water will always be acceptable, and inexpensive to provide. After all, you want the journalists to be in a good mood! In some developing countries, poorly paid journalists will welcome something a bit more substantial. Stick to the timetable, and don’t let it last for more than an hour, including the question and answer session. Ensure that people identify themselves when they ask a question, and the moderator is prepared to repeat the question both to give the speakers time to think and to allow everyone in the room to hear.

Thank everyone for coming, and make sure you follow up quickly afterwards if you have said you will provide extra information. You should also offer private interviews after the press conference if you care to give TV and radio journalists the chance to ask more targeted questions.

8. You could also do tweeting “live” from the press conference.

That would help spread the “buzz” beyond the journalist community and put pressure on them to issue a report. You cannot do this while moderating, so you might need to dedicate a member of staff to do it. Not everyone will approve of your speaker or your campaign. So, while you want to be as open as possible, make sure that hostile groups do not infiltrate your press conference to disrupt it and prevent the speaker from speaking. Only bona fide journalists and other invited guests should be allowed in.