"Getting the Media’s Attention"

A prime goal of every member of the IAAPA should be to win editorial support and positive news treatment of your facility’s objectives and messages. To do this, you must first get the media’s attention. As stated earlier in our series of articles, one way is to build rapport and maintain contact with reporters in your market and industry publications. Be sure you always respond to their requests in a timely manner. There are ways you can be more assertive in building a strong relationship with the press. For example, a good way to build a relationship is to talk with them even when there is no specific story to talk about. By calling members of the press just to “touch base” or to talk, you demonstrate your accessibility. If the media knows you are accessible, they will be more likely to contact you in the event a media story is developing.

When reporters call you, you’ve become a “source” – a direct result of establishing mutual trust. With mutual trust, you avoid situations where stories appear to ignore your side of the issue simply because reports did not know: (1) that your organization existed; (2) you or your industry had a position on the issue; and/or; (3) you or your industry would be affected by the issue.

One of the most effective ways to become a “source” is to meet with reporters and editors for an editorial background. The techniques of conducting an editorial backgound also applies to feature or news interviews.

In working with the media, the most important thing to remember is deadlines. Do not call to touch base when a reporter is on a deadline and remember, when you have a story to tell, don’t tell it to a reporter after the deadline. Industry statements have the greatest impact on the day a major story breaks. A day’s lag dilutes much of the impact of your organization’s statement.

Armed with an understanding of how the media works, you are in a position to disseminate your messages to them.

As a member of a highly visible industry, you may be participating in a variety of pro-active and reactive situations including one-on-one interviews with print and broadcast press, press conferences and speeches. To garner positive coverage of your issues, consider producing materials and events that will pique the interest of reporters and editors.

The basic elements in your arsenal will include the following:

Media advisory. A media advisory is a document, generally one page long, that alerts the media to an event such as a press conference or the release of a report.
Press releases. A press release is a document that announces a news items in a news story format. It is written in such a manner that if it were reporter verbatim, it would tell your story precisely the way you wanted it told.
Fact sheet. Fact sheets are just that – concise documents that isolate and explain the individual developments of your facility.
Backgrounders. A backgrounder is a lengthy, detailed document that tells the story of an issue or event in a broad context, tying all the relative historical, political or legislative factors that shaped it, and positioning it as topical and newsworthy.
Letter to the Editor. Letter to the editor is a means of positioning your perspective on an issue in a credible public media forum - the letter page of a newspaper or periodical.
Op-Eds. An Op-ed is written to position your opinion on the editorial page of a newspaper or periodical.
Press conferences and media tours are the most commonly organized media events. Planned in advance and communicated to the media in a way that lets them know you have something newsworthy to announce will insure you a positive turnout for the tour or press conference.

With a well-established line of communication in place with your local and industry media, you should be able to get their attention when you require it.

Next month – “Editorial Briefings” – how to be most effective.

"Editorial Briefings"