Telling Your Story to the Media
Working with the media
is tough, but ignoring it is tougher. In the end, it's also a losing
strategy. Ease the way by planning ahead: know what you want to say, why
you want to say it, who to say it to, and how to phrase it — and you're
practically there. Next to asking for
money, talking to reporters can be one of the most difficult, even
unnerving, aspects of an organizer's work. But it's every bit as
important. Whether you're trying to shine the light on stealth candidates
or keep books in your local library, the media can play a critical role in
how your story ends. Before you can begin
telling your story, you have to know what your story is. That means being
able to talk easily and succinctly about who you are, why you formed your
organization, and what you hope to accomplish. One way to make sure you
can do this is to formulate a mission statement. Even if it's seldom used,
the process of writing your mission statement helps hammer out these and
other answers. Be able to answer these questions: Why are you doing this? Who are you?
Why should anyone care about this issue? Next, think about why you want to tell this story. Do you want to influence policy makers? Increase awareness among voters? Increase membership? Have your materials
prepared before you approach the press. Your general
information piece should include: a standard one- or two-sentence
paragraph explaining your organization, the names and affiliations of the
people involved in your organization, an address and working phone number.
That means a number that doesn't go unanswered and isn't busy 23 hours a
day. Don't let a small
budget hold you back. Your material doesn't
have to be glossy and expensive — just neat, well-written, and typo-free.
Now you're ready to begin identifying the media in your area. Start a list
of daily and weekly newspapers, radio and television stations, the
Associated Press bureau that serves your area, and college papers that
cover off-campus news. Monitor media coverage regularly
to find out who is most likely to cover you. Smaller outlets,
particularly television and radio stations, are more likely to staff
general-assignment reporters who cover dozens of different stories every
week. This means that it may take more time to develop relationships with
certain journalists. Be prepared to go over background more than once.
It is critical to be
aware of media deadlines. Remember that not only
do different outlets have different deadlines, the same outlet may have
different deadlines depending on the day of the week and the subject
matter. The media can be approached in a
number of different ways: Press release. Ideally, a
one-page, double-spaced news announcement about an action taken, a
position staked out, people appointed to positions, suits filed. Releases
can be used alone or in addition to a press conference. Press conference. While
print reporters are able to work from releases, television needs visuals.
Press conferences allow you to use props to make a point. (Talking about
censorship surrounded by stacks of books that someone is trying to ban,
for example.) Of course, holding a conference is more complicated and
risky than sending out a release. You have to find a good location
accessible to reporters, at a time that makes it easy for them to meet
their deadlines. And you have to have a reason. A release that doesn't
grab anyone's attention will just get tossed in the trash, but a news
conference without news can generate hostile attention. Editorial boards. These
scheduled meetings are on- or off-the-record conversations with a paper's
editorial staff, taken to introduce an issue or organization, scheduled at
your or the paper's suggestion. They may result in editorials and they may
not. Reporters may or may not sit in. They are useful, but be careful not
to assume that discussions with editorial staff are the same as
discussions with reporters. Just as there are
different ways to approach the media, there are different reasons. These
may be broken down into two categories: proactive and reactive.
Proactive means taking the
initiative, ranging from announcing the formation of your organization to
coming out in support of proposed legislation. Proactive means you are
seeking out reporters, which means you have the task of convincing them
that something is newsworthy. Getting your story told on talk shows and in
the op-ed pages is part of being proactive. Don't wait for talk show
producers to call you. Let them know you're available and why. Don't wait
for newspapers to call, either. If you have an idea for an opinion piece,
call the paper's editorial page and find out how to submit an idea.
Reactive involves responding to
actions or comments by opponents. Part of your media work is to make sure
reporters know you're there so you will hear from them when your issue is
the topic of a news story. But you don't always have to wait for a call,
either. For example, if you know that a local antigay group is holding a
news conference on Tuesday at 1 p.m., call the reporters ahead of time to
make sure they know you'll have a response. If you've just settled in for
the evening news and see something that warrants a response, don't wait
until the next day. Call the paper and see who is working on that story.
Call the TV station and see if they're planning to rerun the story.
These suggestions will help you get started. Remember, there are always people out there who have done it before and would be more than happy to help. If you're not sure how to approach the media, call a national organization's press office. Talk to someone locally who has spent a lot of time with the media. The most important point to keep in mind: you have something newsworthy to say … Say it. |