Media Relations 101

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Media Relations 101

• Todd McGee
• Director of Communications, NCACC
• Diane Sawyer,
• Public Information/Citizen Affairs Director,
  Currituck County
  
• Dave Hardin,
• Public Information Officer, Catawba County

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Why work with the media?

• Educate

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Why work with the media?

• "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers
  of the society but the people themselves and if
  we think them not enlightened enough to exercise
  their control with a wholesome discretion, the
  remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform
  their discretion.
• Thomas Jefferson

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Why work with the media?

• Educate
• Persuade

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Why work with the media?

• The media's the most powerful entity on earth.
  They have the power to make the innocent guilty
  and to make the guilty innocent, and that's
  power. Because they control the minds of the
  masses.
• Malcolm X

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Why work with the media?

• Educate
• Persuade
• Relationship

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• There is a curious relationship between a
  candidate and the reporters who cover him. It can
  be affected by small things like a competent
  press staff, enough seats, sandwiches and
  briefings and the ability to understand
  deadlines.
• Ronald Steel

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Shaping Public Opinion

• Write letters to the editor
• Put it on the agenda
• Utilize your own media
• County Web site
• Public Access television
• Weekly citizen e-mail newsletter

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Role of County Commissioners

• Get to know your reporters and editors
• Localize the issue

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Tips for Dealing with the Media

• Return phone calls promptly
• Never go off the record
• No Comment is a No-No
• Stick to the point
• Never ask a reporter to review the story

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Top 10 Tips for Dealing with the Media

• Remember who the expert is
• The truth shall set you free
• Dont speak in acronyms or jargon
• Be the bearer of bad tidings
• The Sound of Silence

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Know the reporter

• All the Presidents Men
• Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an
  excellent place for it.
  
• Russel Lynes

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Media Relations 101

• Todd McGee
• Director of Communications, NCACC
• Diane Sawyer,
• Public Information/Citizen Affairs Director,
  Currituck County
  
• Dave Hardin,
• Public Information Officer, Catawba County

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HOW TO WRITEAN EFFECTIVEPRESS RELEASE
Diane Sawyer Director of Public Information, Cu
rrituck County
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WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
IS YOUR STORY NEWS?
ITS EASY TO MAKE YOURSELF NEWSWORTHY!
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• NEWS
• Is anything that other people find
  interesting
  
• An event
• A change in policy or
• procedure
• Recognition or
• educational achievement
• Etc.

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• IDEAS FOR PRESS RELEASES
• Organizing an event
• that is open to the
• public
• Hiring or promoting an
• employee
• Moving or opening a
• new office

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• IDEAS FOR PRESS RELEASES
• Explaining a
• departments services
• Offering a new service
• or program
• Honoring an employee
• for receiving an award

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Do you have the RIGHT STUFF?
WRITE IT RIGHT!
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10 ESSENTIAL TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR PRESS RELEASE
MAKES THE NEWS
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TIP 1
Develop a good working relationship with your
local media.
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY
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TIP 2
Make sure the information is newsworthy and
doesnt sound like an advertisement, or its
likely to be discarded by editors / producers.
GONE WITH THE WIND
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TIP 3
Be concise and grammatically correct or you wont
be taken seriously.
DUMB AND DUMBER
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TIP 4
Make sure the first ten words of your release are
effective, as they are the most important.
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
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TIP 5
Deal with the facts dont make things up.
LIAR, LIAR
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TIP 6
Provide ALL of the necessary information, even if
some facts arent so pleasant.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
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TIP 7
Make sure your quotes are accurate and never put
a quote in quotation marks unless its exactly
what the person said.
RISKY BUSINESS
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TIP 8
Provide as much contact information as possible,
including the contact person, address, phone,
fax, e-mail, and website.
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS
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TIP 9
Wait until you have enough information and
substance to issue a release something you can
sink your teeth into.
JAWS
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TIP 10
Make it simple and as easy as possible for media
representatives to do their jobs.
SIMPLE MINDS
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EXTRA TIP
Mondays are typically slow news days, so aim for
sending out your press releases on Fridays.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
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• BASIC FORMAT OF A PRESS RELEASE
• Contact Information
• For Immediate Release
• Headline
• Dateline
• Strong Leading
• Paragraph

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• BASIC FORMATS OF A PRESS RELEASE
• Who, what, where,
• when, why how
• One to two pages in
• length (400-500 words)
• Concluding paragraph

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• USE HEADLINES
• TO GET ATTENTION
• Grab Your Beach
• Towel and Sunscreen
• New Department Promotes
• Tourism
• Hold the Salt Please
• New System Providing
• Water to Outer Banks
• Customers

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• BUT IS THIS THE ATTENTION YOU WANT?
• Taxes to Increase
• Commissioners Blame
• Board of Education
• Board Retreat Gets
• Underway with Dinner
• at Hooters

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• SEND IT OUT
• E-mail
• Postal mail
• Broadcast fax
• Post on your website
• Thank you! ?