WHY IS THERE A REPORTER IN THE LOBBY?Media Relations forEmployees of Palm Beach County

MEDIA RELATIONS 101

Media Relations

County Policies

The Ten Commandments

The Interview

MEDIA RELATIONS DEFINED

How we as individuals and collectively as a County interact with the media. Our daily actions are accountable to the public. It is this accountability the media pursue when reporting our activities.

GOOD MEDIA RELATIONS IS GOOD BUSINESS

One responsibility of government is to communicate with residents about city services and issues that may affect their lives. One of the best ways to communicate is through the media; therefore, an important role of government is to establish working relationships with the media that make communication more efficient and effective. We see media relations as a partnership.

MEDIA RELATIONS…HOT!!!

Keep it HOT!!!

HonestOpenTimely

WHY WE NEED THE MEDIA

Inform in times of crisis

Increase awareness of County services

Attract new residents/businesses

Provide understanding of County policy

Convey proactive image of the County

MEDIA GUIDELINES

Employees at liberty to speak with mediaThose who do speak represent the County,

not themselvesInformation should reflect policyKeep personal views personalFollow up with email to staff and/or Public Affairs and your supervisor

COUNTY POLICY

County PPM CW-0-011

Purpose of County’s media relations policies and program:

Ensure the accuracy of the information released

Assure no preferential treatment is given to

one reporter

Avoid dissemination of conflicting information

Minimize the adverse effects of rumors

MEDIA RELATIONS PHILOSOPHY

We are responsive; we talk to the media

We are an open book

We tell the truth

We are polite

We correct mistakes

We do not “blacklist”

We do not go “off the record”

MEDIA RELATIONS PHILOSOPHY

We recognize the media is just one

way to talk to our community

We understand the value of free

publicity

We can’t be perfect

What we give to one, we give to all

THE 10 COMMANDMENTSTHOU SHALL NOT…

I Mislead

II Lie

III Misrepresent

IV Break the confidence of the

reporter

V Clutter the media with useless info

THE 10 COMMANDMENTSTHOU SHALL NOT…

VI Write or speak evasively

VII Give inaccurate information

VIII Hide when news is bad

IX Pester the media with your story

X Repeat the negative

WHAT IS NEWS?

InformativeEducationalTimelySignificantUniqueInterestingOf human interestWhatever you can convince a reporter it is

MEDIA TOOLS

Press Release – factual information

Photo Opportunity – notification of visual event

Media Advisory – notify the media of an immediate event

MEDIA TOOLS

Fact sheet – attached to news release;helpful when there are a lot of statisticsor complicated information.

News conference – to announce significant or breaking news. List speakers. Record questions that needto be answered at a later time.

WRITING A NEWS RELEASE

Use a descriptive headline-make your release stand out

-action oriented headline-avoid over capitalization

Most important information first-Who, What, Where (including

address),When, Why, How?

WRITING A NEWS RELEASE

Anticipate reporters’ questions Minimize use of jargon

-attribute acronyms in first reference

When possible add a quote Two pages or less

WRITING A NEWS RELEASE

Include contact information-should be familiar with the

release and ready to answer questions

Proofread- A.P. Stylebook (abbreviation,

punctuation, capitalization)- verify spelling of names and

verify correct titles

WRITING A NEWS RELEASE

Timely, timely, timely- for planned events, send a

couple of days before- send the news the day it

happens Number pages, mark the end (###) Marketing vs. News Release

UNIQUENESS OF NEWS

Publish a new product every single day

Driven by deadlines; relentless scramble

against the clock

Little time to research and check all the facts

Tough to represent all sides to a story

Size of news hole varies daily, advertising

dependant

THE NEWS RELEASE

“News” is the FIRST word in the term news release

Volume of releases received daily – most

discarded

Quality of releases – accuracy, simplicity and

clarity

Have listed information contacts

It will not necessarily appear exactly as written

PUBLIC PERCEPTION VS PUBLIC REALITIES

County overstaffed and underworked

Well paid with 4 billion dollar budget

Nice, new working facilities

No more than 40 hour work week

Doing a good job or just meeting expectations

PUBLIC PERCEPTION VS REPORTERS

Reporters are even more:

Cynical

Suspicious

Likely to have watchdog role

Likely to hold government accountable

THE INTERVIEW

•Preparation

•Tips

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW?

An interview is not a simple conversation

Fact finding exercise to collect information,

insight, interesting viewpoint not

commonly known

Casual approach used to disarm…who?

Reporter monitors everything said, unsaid

Observes gestures, tone of voice

INTERVIEW APPROACHES: FUNNEL This is the most common of all question

sequences for all types of interviews.

In this sequence, the interviewer begins with broad, open-ended questions and moves to more narrow, closed-ended questions.

The interviewer may also begin with more general questions and gradually ask more specific questions.

INTERVIEW APPROACHES: INVERTED FUNNEL This question sequence is effective when an

interviewee needs help remembering something or to motivate an interviewee to talk.

In this sequence, the interviewer begins with narrow, closed-ended questions and moves to more broad, open-ended questions.

The interviewer may also begin with more specific questions and gradually ask more general questions.

INTERVIEW APPROACHES: DIAMOND The Diamond question sequence combines

the Funnel and Inverted Funnel sequences.

Used when dealing with topics interviewees may find painful or difficult and therefore are reluctant to discuss.

Begin with specific, closed-ended questions about a situation similar to the interviewee's, then ask general, open-ended questions about the interview, and finally ask specific, closed-ended questions.

INTERVIEW APPROACHES: TUNNEL In this sequence, all questions have the same

degree of openness.

Also called the "string of beads" questions sequence, the Tunnel sequence allows for little probing and variation in question structure.

It can be useful for simple, surface information interviews, but not for in-depth interviews.

WHO SHOULD SPEAK?

Credibility index (average: 61.5) Supreme Court Justice: 81.3 Member of the Armed Forces: 73.0 Ordinary citizen: 71.8 Network TV news anchor: 66.8 Local news reporter: 65.8 Local elected official: 65.2 (PBC 40% ???) Head of a local department: 62.9 Public relations specialist: 47.6 TV or radio talk show host: 46.6

REPORTER TECHNIQUES

Repeated question

Either/or

Hypothetical/What if…

False facts

Interruptions

Silence

Critics say…

TYPES OF INTERVIEW STORIES

Straight news

News feature

Profile

Investigative

THE INTERVIEW: PREPARATION

What are the goals of the interview?

What will the tone be?

What are your key messages?

Do your homework!

Prepare background information

Rehearse…call staff

THE INTERVIEW: TIPS

Answer the question!

Share your message early and often

Avoid jargon

Remember: you are talking to

residents

Be friendly & courteous

Silence is golden

THE INTERVIEW: TIPS

Keep your cool

Bridging

Don’t repeat the negative

Never “off the record”

Never “no comment”

THE INTERVIEW: TIPSListen – hear the whole question.

Understand it. Clarify if needed.

Pause – Select key points. Keep eyes

up.Present – Give direct answer first.

Give support explanation. Stop when you’ve answered the question to your satisfaction.

THE INTERVIEW: FAILURES

If you fail to: Take charge Anticipate questions Develop key messages Stick to the facts Keep calm Take the interview seriously

TV TIPS

Assume the camera is always running

Speak clearly, concisely

Look at the reporter, not the camera

Know your key messages

Dress conservatively

Avoid contrasts in color; no sunglasses

RADIO TIPS

Ask if the interview will be live or on

tape

Use conversational tone

Speak concisely

Don’t ramble. Don’t try to fill “dead

air”

TIPS FROM REPORTERS

Use media as a communications tool

Use media to “straighten the record”

If County is open and helpful, stories will

be more positive

If County is not open, stories will be more

negative

Reporters want access to people and

information

WHAT REPORTERS WANT

The elements of news

Sometimes, just the facts

What’s not said

What you know right now

To scoop the competition

To get the story straight

To feed the beast

TO CORRECT OR NOT CORRECT Is it important enough?How damaging is the error?

Do nothing Ask for a clarification, correction, etc. Talk to the reporter Talk to a supervisor Go to the competition

TO CORRECT OR NOT CORRECT Correction: Usually a factual error. Your goal is

to have the correct information printed or aired. Clarification: Conflicting or confusing

information was originally presented and this

clears it up. Omission: Something relevant to the story

(usually a fact or name) was left out and is

now included. Retraction: To some media outlets, this is a legal

term. On advice of legal counsel, the outlet

admits an error and apologizes. This is usually done in a large box marked “Retraction” placed where the original was.

ALWAYS REMEMBER…

If the media doesn’t get the facts from you, they will get the “story” from someone

else.

AND…

If you help the media when they call you, they will help

you when you call them.

USEFUL PUBLICATIONS

USEFUL PUBLICATIONS

INTERESTING VIDEO

Anchor Hates Reporter

QUESTIONS