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Chapter 3 News Media
Snappy Page Essence Develop your credibility and reputation with the news media. Write to the editor, write a news release, give interviews, or dress up and do stunts for photo opportunities, but make your story newsworthy: original, with a new twist, or bubbling with human interest. "Don't hate the media, become the media." Attributed to Jello Biafra, alias Eric Reed Boucher, rock band singer and political activist. Why the News Media? Make use of the news media - press, magazines, radio and television - for broadcasting your activities and developing your group's credibility and reputation. Many local newspapers have a free What's On section; advertise your meetings and events in it. But you can go a lot further. Newspapers largely depend on the public to supply them with a constant stream of news. Indeed, reporters would be unemployed without a public to give them news. So the media need you as much as you need them and there is no need to be timid when approaching them. Whether you are a solo campaigner or a group, engaging with the news media can range from writing letters to the editor, providing information, and giving interviews, to dressing up and doing stunts for a photo opportunity. Media publicity reaches a wide audience and can make your campaigning issue a public topic for discussion. The more frequently you figure in the news the more impression you will make with the public. Publicity for your group will raise group member moral (��we�re in the news again - must be getting somewhere!�) and could bring in more members. Make it Newsworthy Your news story must compete with umpteen other stories to get into the media, so you should make it newsworthy. A newsworthy story tends to be something original or with a new twist, something exciting with a human interest. A newsworthy story concerns people, is happening now or soon, and is controversial or dramatic. The media thrive on disputes and a reporter will contact opposing parties for their opinions. Help the reporter by having to hand the phone numbers of a few people who oppose you. Give the reporter a few names because not everyone may be available for comment when the reporter calls them. Media Tips Here are some tips to help you when reporters come round to interview you about your activities.
A Feature Article? When your campaign really gets going and you have something substantial to report, a newspaper might want to run a feature article, a detailed story, on what you are doing. Be willing to talk about your experiences, to give a human face to the issue, or you could offer a profile of someone who is involved with running your campaign. Photos are important when trying to attract the public�s attention. Have some unique, relevant, quality pictures that the newspaper can publish with the story or make an impressive photo opportunity for one of their photographers. This is a �publicity stunt� that could help your campaign; the newspaper is paying for it so make the best of it. The Letters Page A newspaper's Letter to the Editor page is one of the most well read pages of any newspaper. Write to the page as an individual or on behalf of your group. Make your letter stand out and memorable.
Check the page for responses from readers to your letter and follow-up with a second letter to the editor in reply to them. Tell members of your group to write their own independent responses to keep the discussion going and spin it out. As a bonus, send a copy of the published letters to newspaper reporters at other newspapers, suggest they write a feature article, and include the latest information about your campaign. Write letters regularly, get other group members to do so. See Chapter 4: Media Watcher. News Release Sending news releases to your national or local news media is one of the main ways of communicating with people broadly. Tell the media something newsworthy about you or your campaign and what you are doing, such as organising a coming event, like a demonstration, picket or other direct action. Your news release (see the example below) will compete with hundreds of other news releases from other people. So write it in the approved style and in a professional manner for it to stand a chance of being acted on. It may only be scanned briefly for content then chucked out by a harassed member of the newspaper's staff if you do not. There are many books and web articles about the do�s and don�ts of news releases but the gist is simple. Most news releases follow this ten step format.
Constantly keep close to the phone in the couple of days after they receive your news release. If the newspaper does not phone you during this period then no dice. Try again another time with a different news release. Example of a news release:
The Radio Local radio stations are often keen on discussions and phone-ins and want local people to talk about their local issues. Send your local radio stations suitably adapted copies of the news releases you send to newspapers. If you get on the news you will probably be broadcast live. Actual interviews may only be a few minutes long so stay focused to deliver your two or three key points. But should your interview be recorded, news editors will cut down mercilessly any long message to a few seconds; therefore make sure you deliver a few sound-bites that go straight to the heart of your issue, and be ready to come up with more snappy phrases just in case. Make them simple and memorable so that they stick in people's heads. Humour can sometimes help: Question: "Do you really think everyone should be a vegetarian?" Answer (rhyming): "Yes. For man and woman; A veggie diet is healthiest, From the poorest to the wealthiest!" Radio Tips
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