Court Community Communication

1
Court Community Communication

• Workshop

2
Court Community Communication

• Public Opinion and Communication Techniques
• Assessing Stakeholder Views and Matching
  Programming
• Working With Media with PIO and without
• Communications Strategies

3
Public Opinion about Courts

• What are the opinions?
• How do people form those opinions?
• Why do we care about public opinion?
• What is the role of media in formulating public
  opinion about courts?

4
Public Reaction Long Ago

• Anger and Hostility
• Know little to nothing
• Cases take too long
• Cases cost too much
• Gender and Ethnic Bias
• Judges Prejudiced, calloused, uncaring

5
Modern Surveys RECENT

• Anger and hostility
• Cases take too long
• Cases cost too much
• Gender and Ethnic Bias
• 44 say judges out-of-touch
• 81 Judges are political

6
OLD METHODS OF FORMING OPINIONS

• 61 Newspapers and Magazines
• 60 Television News
• 40 Schools
• 24 Television Entertainment Shows

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NEW METHODS OF FORMING OPINIONS

• 60 Electronically
• 50 Print
• 26 Television Dramas
• 18 Reality Court Television

8
CHANGING LANDSCAPE

• Newspapers decline 1 per year for past 18 years
• Nightly newscasts declined 34 percent in last
  decade
• Local television news declining too

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Upward Trends in Media

• Online traffic in news increased 70 in one year
• 90 of Americans still get some news from radio
• Local newspapers and special papers are thriving.

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People Dont Trust What They Dont Understand!
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WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

• Budget Connection
• Constituency Building
• Leverage with Other Branches
• Public Trust and Confidence
• Programmatic Reasons
• Overall Court Functioning

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SIX KEYS TO BETTER COMMUNICATION

• Develop and Convey A Positive Message
• Be Credible in What is Produced
• Be Honest in Response to Inquiries
• Be Accessible in 24 Hour Information Cycle
• Be Open
• Be Understandable