Round table meeting EFC

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Round table meeting EFC

• Foundations and media

Jean-Paul Collette
Brussels, 23 june
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1. Foundations from a journalist point of view
Personal experience

• Questions
• In my practice did I often meet or need the
  foundations?
• Actors? Sources?
• For useful informations, for background?
• To be quoted? To be used off the record?

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Personal experience

• Answers
• Seldom on hot issues distrust
• Philanthropy absent
• More present from the mid-90s
• Today more and more but confusion

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Observations

• The foundations world appears rich, but complex
• high number of so-called foundations
• (too) various aims, sizes
• difficult to understand what a particular
  foundation is, its role, its identity compared to
  other foundations
• foundations role restricted to grant-making/operat
  ional - not seen as a convener for the civil
  society

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• foundations linked to a company or to a ...
  royal family
• the image of US foundations like Ford or
  Rockefeller
• not always transparency
•  

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• difficult to build a story (for general media)
  around foundations - with exception of scandals,
  allegations...
• difficult to make a link betweens news and
  foundations projects
• difficult to identify/reach the right person(s)
• difficult to emphazise or even mention
  foundations role in a social, political issue
  the media go to the point, ignoring the
  intermediary actor

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2. What journalists/media need/ask from
foundations

• clear messages
• stuff for stories, memorable stories, human faces
  on issues the foundations are dealing with
• faces, voices, persons, quotes, testimonies,
  figures
• make stands, issue statements, know how on "hot"
  issues (political, social, ethical...),
  provocative arguments
• need to meet more and more knowledge foundations

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• work as think tank
• to be more open, to explain more
• more proactive in building communication
  campaigns
• think in terms of market

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3. Tools, solutions

• more experts available for background, interviews
• more interviews by foundations managers
• spokepersons
• participation to debates (particularly on TV),
  public meeting with policy-makers, radio and TV
  appearances

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• communication strategy, clear messages
• more and better (updated) material written
  website
• more proactive in building communication/
  advocacy campaigns with journalists/media use
  the media as partners
• funding media projects journalism training 

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• Does the King Baudouin Foundation communication
  strategy meet these remarks and wishes?