CCM 737

1
CCM 737

• Media Relations

2
Introduction

• Media relations
• Agency
• Corporate communications
• Government communications
• Understand basic functions of news
• How news rooms work
• Journalist jobs
• Interviewing techniques
• Media Training (victims required!)

3
Introduction Continued

• I want you to think like a reporter
• I want you to write like a reporter
• Reason?
• To successfully relate with media (reporters)
  you must understand what it is like to BE a
  reporter
• You will need to know
• Basic understanding of wire services, who feeds
  the news wires, media outlets, newsroom
  structures, how to send out a media advisory,
  pitching stories, follow up

4
Introduction - Continued

• Reporters Communicators the relationship
• What reporters think of communicators/pr
  professionals
• What they want from us
• How to help them do their job and how to balance
  their needs with your objectives
• Always a balancing act
• Good PR professionals do the balancing act well
• Not easy to do!!

5
Introduction - Continued

• PR functions - what you need to be able to do by
  end of semester
• ( News releases, fact sheets/backgrounders, media
  advisories, the pitch, media events, follow up)
• Media Clips what you should always be doing,
  even when this course is over
• (follow what is happening in the news, read
  papers, watch tv news, listen to radio, social
  media!)

6
What To Expect

• Understand the news media
• Be able to pitch a story to a reporter
• Write a news release, fact sheet, media advisory
  (the way a reporter would write it)
• Understand your own agency/job requirements in
  doing so
• Balance client/reporter needs
• Be interviewed by a reporter and stay on message

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What To Expect Cont

• Editorial slants
• Reporter bias (is there such a thing?)
• Communicator/ reporter relationship
• Credibility of communicator relationship
  building
• What reporters like dislike

8
What To Expect Cont

• News writing
• Importance of leads
• Quotes
• Key message development
• Plain language
• Social media

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What I Expect Weekly

• I want you to read the news!
• Bring in newspaper stories
• (Every week we will review stories and discuss
  our impressions, thoughts, questions, comments,
  concerns)
• Think beyond headline and what reporter may be
  considering
• Who is the spokesperson in article? Is it clear?
• Where did the story come from? News release,
  report, reporter idea?

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Assignment 1 2

• News Release/Fact Sheet 25 done individually,
  not in groups DUE Feb 24th
• Media Clips Analysis 35 - in Groups
• Assemble weekly stories (newspaper, radio, TV) on
  a topic currently in the news, or recently has
  been in the news
• Follow story from beginning to end (end being
  when it is due, story may still be going on.
  Get a time frame and make it beginning and end)
• Report on how the story develops in the news

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Assignment 2 Cont

• Stories to be gathered and presented to class
• You are going BEHIND the story in the paper. I
  want you to star backwards. Read the story
  first, do the research to find out how it got in
  the paper.
• How did it begin to develop (news release, report
  etc)
• If news release - was it clear with its
  messaging?
• Key messages were they picked up in story? (in
  full or part)
• Presentations begin Mar 17th

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Assignment 2 Cont

• Did different outlets cover story differently?
• Editorial slants?
• Overall impressions
• Hand in also required
• We will be covering these issues at the beginning
  of every class.

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Assignment 2

• Hand in portion
• Title
• Introduction one paragraph on story chosen
  why which media to be analyzed
• One paragraph on how the story unfolded
• Outline the stories, in sequential order as they
  appeared, in papers
• Outline the quotes from the spokesperson in the
  articles

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Assignment 2

• Questions about quotes
• who is the target audience (in your opinion)?
• is the message clear?
• Do you think the reporter accurately captured
  the message in the overall story/article?
• was the quote/clip different in different
  papers/media outlets?
• 1 -2 paragraphs on overall impression of news
  story, spokesperson messages. Conclusion

15
Assignment 2

• KEY things I will be looking for
• WERE the quotes picked up in the news story? In
  other words, if a news release was sent out by a
  hospital, did the reporters pick up the quotes
  directly from the news release or were the quotes
  from an interview? (What I want is for you to
  determine if the story that played out in the
  papers the way it did in the news release as it
  was sent out)
• IF the story doesnt have a news release attached
  to it, then answer if you think the quotes were
  what the spokesperson wanted to convey.

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Assignment 3

• Media Advisory, Pitch 25
• The media advisory is to invite media to a news
  conference in a central location downtown
• Qs and As to be answered in groups
• Fake news topics to be assigned
• Package to be presented to class, the
  presentation will be considered part of the
  pitch
• Due week April 21st

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Assignment 3

• Choices of fake stories to present
• 1 - you work for a pharmaceutical company and
  have a new acne medication that works instantly
  on acne within hours of application, the pimple
  disappears. You want media attention because
  your company feels it is a breakthrough
• This pharma company is buying time on TV, Radio
  and Newspapers to advertise this medication

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Assignment 3 Cont

• Choice number 2
• You work for fast food chain (make up name,
  pretend its small - medium and offers lots of
  fast food)
• You are introducing new food products that are
  healthier and will be offered for sale
• You want media attention on the new line of food
  products for sale
• Your company is also going to be buying ad time
  on TV, Radio and in Newspapers

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Professionalism

• Participate during class
• Current events media analysis
• Attitude/ behaviour
• Adhere to deadlines (vitally important in PR
  field)
• Quality / integrity
• Work well in groups another key in PR field
• Show up!!
• The 15 can mean a difference between an A and a
  B it is an important component of the class

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My Background

• Former journalist
• (Radio background 680 News/ CJAD Montreal,
  Global TV, Producer/CHUM/ award-winner for
  coverage of University of Montreal massacre)
• Press Secretary to Jim Flaherty, current Federal
  Minister of Finance/ Former Provincial Finance
  Minister other portfolios
• President mychoice.ca tobacco funded lobby
  group for adult smokers (a.k.a tobacco lobbyist)

21
My Background Cont

• Currently run my own business
• Many clients doing media relations, government
  relations, writing, strategic planning
• Also work here!

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Conclusion - Intro

• Enjoy this class
• Lets make it fun
• Role play lots Reporter/Communicator
• Review news stories impressions no right or
  wrong answer
• Practice in groups in class lots
• Not always lecture!

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Part Two CCM 737

• Books required
• In the News, The Practice of Media Relations in
  Canada, William Wray Carney
• The Canadian Press Stylebook
• The Canadian Press CAPS and SPELLING
• The Canadian Oxford Dictionary

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Part Two CCM 737

• What is the News?/ What Reporters Do/ Newsroom
  structure
• What is news
• Group discussion
• How journalists learn about what is news

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What is News Read Chap 1 2 of In The News

• Earned media - Basically means you earn media
  get story into the news/ free publicity
• Means going after the media to get attention/seek
  out publicity for an issue, cause
• Needs to be controlled, crafted and clearly
  articulated with reasons, objectives (will get
  into that later in the course, but be aware of
  objectives target audience

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Earned Media

• Pros gets your message out,
• Free publicity/ raise profile of your group or
  organization/ (this is important for some
  associations or groups that just want to let
  media know they exist)
• Gets your issue into the news can be
  product/service (agency work), can be important
  information (Maple Leaf), political issue
• Delivers the message to a huge audience (esp. if
  you get radio, TV, newspaper)

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Earned media

• Cons
• Not necessarily going to give the story lots of
  depth
• Other people will jump into your story
• You need to filter your message through a
  reporter, they instantly judge you, your
  organization, your message
• May not help your company/organization, could
  hinder

28
Earned media

• Reporters think Who are you? Why are you
  releasing this information to me?
• What is your organization and what does it stand
  for?
• (Ive never heard of you or your group, why
  should I speak with you or get your opinion?)

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What is News

• Softer stories
• Human interest young boy, aged 8, graduates
  from high school
• Rags to riches/ riches to rags (Conrad Black)
• Sports
• Entertainment
• Business
• What is colourful news - Discuss
• All of the above can become hard news, front page
  stories -DISCUSS -

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What is News

• Very often the most basic becomes what is news
• THE LOCAL ANGLE
• If it is happening locally, then it will very
  likely dominate.
• An international story about a conflict in a far
  away country Toronto reporters will go to the
  local community for reaction to give it the local
  angle
• Anything that can be localized will become news
  IMPORTANT to remember when doing PR pieces

31
What is News?

• Question is innovation news? Should reporters
  write stories on new products/services?
• Think if you are a reporter what would you
  say to your boss about a new product/service and
  why you think the paper should run the story
  (Discussion)
• THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH PR NEWS
  PROFESSIONALS news reporters think PR dont
  know what is news because PR professionals
  constantly try to sell reporters on non-news
  stories.
• This will be your challenge with assignment 2
  finding news value in the issues I assigned
• This is why reporters refer to PR pros as spin
  doctors

32
What is News

• From the CP Stylebook, Page 66/This is what
  reporters are taught about innovation stories
• Guard against promotion. Manufacturers and
  retailers have an outlet for promoting new goods
  and services its called advertising. Be wary
  of pr practitioners sales pitch. Some new
  products or services are newsworthy. Others are
  not. .the litmus test is Who will benefit from
  the story the source or the reader? Always aim
  to include outside sources.

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Important for Assignement 3

• Read Page 66 -67 of CP stylebook
• Medical stories (keep in mind for assignment 2)
• What do you think reporters are asked to think
  about when writing about new drugs?

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Who tries to get into the news?

• Large institutions university academics love
  getting name in news research
• Experts polling firms (name in news)
• Sales experts
• Governments
• (former assoc. news)

35
What is news

• PR professionals not seen in good light
• This is why I want you to read the news every
  week understand how reporters approach their
  stories
• This is why I want you to think about what is
  news to a reporter
• EVERYTHING you do in media relations, must be
  done with this in mind. Think NEWS.
• This will make you a credible PR professional
  more likely to get pick up of your pitch

36
What is news

• PR professionals often have to pitch stories that
  are often not true news stories
• Challenge is to find the true news story and make
  the pitch credible (find the news in it)
• Decreases credibility of PR professionals
• Creates mistrust between the two (go into that at
  a later date)
• For assignment 3 make your pitch credible
  and news worthy!
• Everything in PR field to be filtered through
  the skeptical lens of reporter