Peapod
22-05-2005, 08:27 AM
from the IDASA website - hugely informative.
I vote we adopt these guidelines as our own;
What Is The Context In Which The Media Operate In South Africa?
The South African Constitution guarantees to individuals, groups and therefore, the media, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. This means that the media are free to comment on public affairs and to criticise the government, the public service and any other stakeholder. It also means that the media have a responsibility to inform and educate the public in a balanced fashion, not to act as a propaganda machine for any particular stakeholder. In this key period of South African history -- that of transformation -- the media have a rare opportunity to record, interpret and even to influence the evolution of our society.
Critical thinking and reflection are important in this crucial period. The media play a significant role in shaping people’s opinions and values.
What Do We Need To Know About Using The Electronic Media (Radio, Television and Internet)?
Radio, television and the internet are very powerful tools of communication as they reach a wide audience. With the advent of community radio, the restructuring of TV, and the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s commitment to greater access to both media, it should become easier to get public interest stories covered. With the development of regional and community TV and radio, there will be far more interest in local stories. The internet has been hailed as the most democratic form of media as anyone with access can publicise their story or their campaign.
Keep up to date with developments within your field. Often news and current affairs journalists are given very short notice to get a story together and will call you at the last minute. If you are able to respond to these requests they will call on you more often. Television news deadlines are very tight – today’s news may not be news tomorrow. Insisting on a week, or even a day, to prepare may well be a golden opportunity missed.
What Should Civil Society Organisations Ask Themselves Before Seeking Media Coverage?
When you work with the media, it is important to remember that your media efforts are simply one means toward your ultimate policy goals -- one tool amongst many. Every contact you make with the media - a press release, a phone call, a statement, an interview, a press conference, a press event, a community presentation - should be part of your overall advocacy strategy. Media coverage of your issue (or your organisation) is not enough. The media is a means to an end not an end in itself.
Questions you should ask yourself:
Why are you doing this?
What do you want to get out of it?
What is the strategic goal?
• Is it part of a campaign?
• If not, why are you doing it?
• What is you Key Message? (do you have one?)
• What are the likely consequences of the media exposure (trade-offs)? Weigh up possible “collateral damage”
• How are you going to structure and organise your media strategy?
• Can you and your programme cope with them?
What Does the Media want and how does it operate?
What Makes News?
What is “newsworthy” changes from day to day, even hour to hour. What you feel is news will have to compete with many other events and stories for coverage (space, time, etc.). Reporters, editors and producers have to decide on the basis of what will sell their publication or programme. Therefore, how you frame your story is crucial to arousing media interest.
Examples Of Different Types Of News Stories:
Hard news story: Contact the media the next time a rural hospital has to perform surgery without water. It is hard news because it is immediate and has impact -- no one wants to be operated on without running water.
Human interest story: Take a reporter to a rural area and show her/him how the local women have to carry 25 litres of water a day from a source far from their homes. Help the reporter interview all those affected -- the women who carry the water, the families who don’t have enough water for their basic daily needs, and the officials who should be resolving the problem.
What are the elements of a good pitch?
• Localise; Personalise; Popularise
• Provide a “hook”
• Know the market; know the style and format of the media you’re dealing with
Related to the framing of your story, the following elements will help you to pitch your story effectively, in other words, make it appealing to the media:
• Stress the NEWS value of the story.
• Emphasise the human interest angle.
• Explain how it is timely, seasonal, and relevant.
• Provide a local angle, especially for media with local focus such as a community radio station.
• Make sure that you have identified a credible, articulate, well-briefed spokesperson who will make him/herself available.
• Provide visuals for newpapers and TV.
What are some ways to get the media’s attention?
1. What is a press alert?
This is usually very short, less than one page. It should be faxed to the media a few days before an event or publication. It answers the questions: Who? What? Why? When? and Where? It should have a layout and text that can be read very quickly and easily. Its purpose is to alert the media to an event that is going to happen some time in the relatively near future in the hope that the reporter will begin planning her/his schedule so as to be able to attend the event or cover the forthcoming publications.
2. What is a press release?
A press release is a concise, attention-getting news bulletin describing a current / immediate event or issue of significance. It should not be more than one page long, and the first paragraph should include the most important information. It should use short, fact-filled sentences. Use facts and figures as appropriate. Avoid using direct quotations in the first paragraph. However, they can be very effective when used sparingly in later paragraphs and when attributed to a named person. To make it more newsworthy, stress the controversial aspects of the campaign. Always provide a contact name and telephone number in case a journalist wants further information. Provide statistical data, pictures or graphs if necessary.
Press releases are used to:
• Create news;
• Help news journalists to prepare;
• Help with background information to the story;
• Enable news journalists to assess newsworthiness;
• Help the news journalist to identify an angle of a story.
3. What is a press conference?
A press conference is a meeting to which relevant media are invited. Usually a spokesperson makes a preliminary statement explaining the event or story and then answers questions from the media present. A press conference might be held to launch an exciting new programme, release the findings of a major study or report, make an announcement in reaction to a new policy or law, or celebrate an important event.
To organise a press conference for a planned event:
• Issue a press alert five to seven days ahead of the event.
• Send any additional information you may have, such as the major findings of a new report.
• Phone the journalists a day or two before the press conference to remind them and offer any additional material they may require.
Dates for press conferences should be carefully chosen so that they do not conflict with other known events. However, it is not always possible to predict such conflicts, and the best antidote is careful preparation and follow-up with invited journalists. Or, it may be preferable to target individual journalists and forego a conference.
Speaking to the Media: the Ground Rules of Engagement
Understand these principles:
• On and Off the Record
• The Concept of Attribution
• Background
• Key variable: Exclusivity or not
SOME GUIDELINES FOR WORKING WITH THE MEDIA
Establish and maintain relationshipsKnow who to contact Know the storyRespect deadlinesTime press releases or tip-offs for relevance and impact Respect exclusivityBe honest, prompt and professionalSet the record straight before a publication goes to press rather than trying to undo damage afterwardsUnderstand the media environment and cultureBe accessible to the mediaMaintain your objectivityHow to create news: Tie in your media products with the news events of the day, be they press releases, alerts, statementsEstablish partnerships with newspapers, radio stations etc. on mutual projects, eg., the Sowetan’s Nation Building, Reconstruction, Sunday World, Soul CityUse celebrities, personalitiesSay something around important events Remember that the media is a watchdog - they have a right to information
I vote we adopt these guidelines as our own;
What Is The Context In Which The Media Operate In South Africa?
The South African Constitution guarantees to individuals, groups and therefore, the media, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. This means that the media are free to comment on public affairs and to criticise the government, the public service and any other stakeholder. It also means that the media have a responsibility to inform and educate the public in a balanced fashion, not to act as a propaganda machine for any particular stakeholder. In this key period of South African history -- that of transformation -- the media have a rare opportunity to record, interpret and even to influence the evolution of our society.
Critical thinking and reflection are important in this crucial period. The media play a significant role in shaping people’s opinions and values.
What Do We Need To Know About Using The Electronic Media (Radio, Television and Internet)?
Radio, television and the internet are very powerful tools of communication as they reach a wide audience. With the advent of community radio, the restructuring of TV, and the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s commitment to greater access to both media, it should become easier to get public interest stories covered. With the development of regional and community TV and radio, there will be far more interest in local stories. The internet has been hailed as the most democratic form of media as anyone with access can publicise their story or their campaign.
Keep up to date with developments within your field. Often news and current affairs journalists are given very short notice to get a story together and will call you at the last minute. If you are able to respond to these requests they will call on you more often. Television news deadlines are very tight – today’s news may not be news tomorrow. Insisting on a week, or even a day, to prepare may well be a golden opportunity missed.
What Should Civil Society Organisations Ask Themselves Before Seeking Media Coverage?
When you work with the media, it is important to remember that your media efforts are simply one means toward your ultimate policy goals -- one tool amongst many. Every contact you make with the media - a press release, a phone call, a statement, an interview, a press conference, a press event, a community presentation - should be part of your overall advocacy strategy. Media coverage of your issue (or your organisation) is not enough. The media is a means to an end not an end in itself.
Questions you should ask yourself:
Why are you doing this?
What do you want to get out of it?
What is the strategic goal?
• Is it part of a campaign?
• If not, why are you doing it?
• What is you Key Message? (do you have one?)
• What are the likely consequences of the media exposure (trade-offs)? Weigh up possible “collateral damage”
• How are you going to structure and organise your media strategy?
• Can you and your programme cope with them?
What Does the Media want and how does it operate?
What Makes News?
What is “newsworthy” changes from day to day, even hour to hour. What you feel is news will have to compete with many other events and stories for coverage (space, time, etc.). Reporters, editors and producers have to decide on the basis of what will sell their publication or programme. Therefore, how you frame your story is crucial to arousing media interest.
Examples Of Different Types Of News Stories:
Hard news story: Contact the media the next time a rural hospital has to perform surgery without water. It is hard news because it is immediate and has impact -- no one wants to be operated on without running water.
Human interest story: Take a reporter to a rural area and show her/him how the local women have to carry 25 litres of water a day from a source far from their homes. Help the reporter interview all those affected -- the women who carry the water, the families who don’t have enough water for their basic daily needs, and the officials who should be resolving the problem.
What are the elements of a good pitch?
• Localise; Personalise; Popularise
• Provide a “hook”
• Know the market; know the style and format of the media you’re dealing with
Related to the framing of your story, the following elements will help you to pitch your story effectively, in other words, make it appealing to the media:
• Stress the NEWS value of the story.
• Emphasise the human interest angle.
• Explain how it is timely, seasonal, and relevant.
• Provide a local angle, especially for media with local focus such as a community radio station.
• Make sure that you have identified a credible, articulate, well-briefed spokesperson who will make him/herself available.
• Provide visuals for newpapers and TV.
What are some ways to get the media’s attention?
1. What is a press alert?
This is usually very short, less than one page. It should be faxed to the media a few days before an event or publication. It answers the questions: Who? What? Why? When? and Where? It should have a layout and text that can be read very quickly and easily. Its purpose is to alert the media to an event that is going to happen some time in the relatively near future in the hope that the reporter will begin planning her/his schedule so as to be able to attend the event or cover the forthcoming publications.
2. What is a press release?
A press release is a concise, attention-getting news bulletin describing a current / immediate event or issue of significance. It should not be more than one page long, and the first paragraph should include the most important information. It should use short, fact-filled sentences. Use facts and figures as appropriate. Avoid using direct quotations in the first paragraph. However, they can be very effective when used sparingly in later paragraphs and when attributed to a named person. To make it more newsworthy, stress the controversial aspects of the campaign. Always provide a contact name and telephone number in case a journalist wants further information. Provide statistical data, pictures or graphs if necessary.
Press releases are used to:
• Create news;
• Help news journalists to prepare;
• Help with background information to the story;
• Enable news journalists to assess newsworthiness;
• Help the news journalist to identify an angle of a story.
3. What is a press conference?
A press conference is a meeting to which relevant media are invited. Usually a spokesperson makes a preliminary statement explaining the event or story and then answers questions from the media present. A press conference might be held to launch an exciting new programme, release the findings of a major study or report, make an announcement in reaction to a new policy or law, or celebrate an important event.
To organise a press conference for a planned event:
• Issue a press alert five to seven days ahead of the event.
• Send any additional information you may have, such as the major findings of a new report.
• Phone the journalists a day or two before the press conference to remind them and offer any additional material they may require.
Dates for press conferences should be carefully chosen so that they do not conflict with other known events. However, it is not always possible to predict such conflicts, and the best antidote is careful preparation and follow-up with invited journalists. Or, it may be preferable to target individual journalists and forego a conference.
Speaking to the Media: the Ground Rules of Engagement
Understand these principles:
• On and Off the Record
• The Concept of Attribution
• Background
• Key variable: Exclusivity or not
SOME GUIDELINES FOR WORKING WITH THE MEDIA
Establish and maintain relationshipsKnow who to contact Know the storyRespect deadlinesTime press releases or tip-offs for relevance and impact Respect exclusivityBe honest, prompt and professionalSet the record straight before a publication goes to press rather than trying to undo damage afterwardsUnderstand the media environment and cultureBe accessible to the mediaMaintain your objectivityHow to create news: Tie in your media products with the news events of the day, be they press releases, alerts, statementsEstablish partnerships with newspapers, radio stations etc. on mutual projects, eg., the Sowetan’s Nation Building, Reconstruction, Sunday World, Soul CityUse celebrities, personalitiesSay something around important events Remember that the media is a watchdog - they have a right to information