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Why the Media? The purpose of this chapter is to offer some thoughts about outreach to a very important segment of the community: the media. It’s no secret that the media represents a crucial vehicle for conveying information and affecting attitudes. The media can also be a useful tool for raising awareness about, and acceptance of, the issue of substance abuse prevention, demonstrating the benefits of your coalition to the community, and motivating others to get involved. Without making full use of the media, you can not achieve optimal effectiveness in approaching your mission. Developing a media profile is a vital link to institutionalizing your coalition, but more importantly, making your community safer, healthier and drug-free. You’re not tooting your own horn or being immodest. You’re advancing your cause with every available tool. Part One – Develop your Message Whether you’re just getting up the courage to draft your first press release or establishing a relationship with reporters and local editorial boards, your first step before engaging in any outreach to the media is to craft your message. In crafting that message, consider some of the following questions:
One Message, Many Messengers At this point, or before, you have given great thought to the message you wish to convey and some of the key phrases you will use to convey that message. You’ve manipulated the language in a way that furthers your mission and contains the essence of the coalition’s identity. It’s not flowery or sappy or technical; but instead, it’s human and real. You know what you’ve been doing for all of these years and now so too will anyone you target with your message. In order to be effective in communicating your message, that message must be consistent, clearly intelligible, communicated with feeling and present in all communications originating from your organization. Competition among messages is fierce, so when you get your chance you’ll need to take full advantage. Return to top Part Two – Know your Audience What is news? What is newsworthy? News is dynamic and defies a simple definition. In the end, news is whatever the news director or other decision-maker at a media outlet decides it is at that moment. Is a double murder a top story? Probably, unless a plane crashes killing someone famous. These examples are gruesome but instructive, as there is much truth to the old news axiom, “if it bleeds, it leads.” There is no constant to what news is, but there is some degree of constancy to what news feels like – and it is a feeling on which those who present the news base their work. It’s a feeling of being new, shocking, funny or ironic. It’s based on a public official or matter of pressing concern to the community. It’s based on an action or event that is unique and is rich with visual images, especially kids. It is not someone unknown reading a speech in some room with a few unknown people standing behind him or her. It is, in the view of those making the news, urgent and crisp and presented in an entertaining and compelling format. To get a feeling for what is newsworthy, watch the local and national news on television, read newspapers, listen to the radio and access news information on the Internet. Keep an exhaustive file of press clippings to remind you of what is newsworthy, as well as to track stories and trends. Observe the content of the news and examine its characteristics. Do you notice similarities? Can you imagine some person making the decision that yes, this story is airing on our program today because…? Not until you get the feeling for what is newsworthy can you really tailor an appropriate strategy for your coalition to break through in the media. Return to top Part Three – Reactive and Proactive Media Opportunities Media coverage, broadly, comes in two forms: reactive and proactive. Reactive press is when a news agency requests comment in response to a story they are already working. One example is a coalition leader being asked to comment on a local student’s arrest for a crime committed to support a drug habit. Another is when you open your front door at 6:30 in the morning to find twelve microphones and thirteen television cameras in your face asking for your reaction to the news that your monkey’s uncle has run off with the Mayor’s grandma and the two were last seen on a flight to Tahiti by way of the Jerry Springer show. Anyway, you get the idea. A key to reactive press is to present your coalition as an always-accessible and accurate source of interesting and succinct views for reporters. Have quick, hard-hitting sound bites prepared in advance on pertinent issues, i.e. a synopsis of a new survey on youth substance abuse. Being quoted in the news and becoming the preeminent local source of information on substance abuse, prevention or related issue goes a long way towards establishing the legitimacy of your coalition and your cause. Reacting to hostile or aggressive press inquiries in the face of a “crisis” can make or break your relationship with the media. Closing off, being evasive or dishonest is a big mistake that can send the wrong signal and result in damaging coverage. Take a look at your coalition membership to see if anyone has training as a media consultant, and if not, see if a media consultant may coach your leadership team on a pro bono basis. Generally speaking, you should have a team in place with a plan for doing damage control. Proactive, or self-generated, press involves courting the press and prompting a media outlet to do a story. This is a bit more difficult than responding to a request, but can be done provided that your coalition presents a message that is clear, compelling and relevant. The next section of this chapter describes several tools you can use to generate media coverage, such as press releases or a news conference. The following are some thoughts to keep in mind when pursing these proactive press opportunities:
Part Four – Communicating your Message There are many vehicles for delivering your message, but you must first determine where to target your message. To do that you’ll need a media list. Developing a media list is a must, and a good method for you to introduce yourself to local media. Your media list will contain the names and pertinent contact information for every reporter, photographer, columnist, editor, and editorial board within the media market you are targeting – anyone who might do a story on you, take a picture of your event or editorialize about the effectiveness of your approach. The following are some media-specific suggestions for your list:
Note – Every entry on your media list should also include a section for comments about how the outlet has covered your issue or organization. It should also include a log of every interaction you have had with that outlet, and the outcome of that interaction, i.e. “faxed release on 11/9, did not cover.” Develop an e-mail list and program fax numbers into your machine so you can send a group e-mail or “blast fax” in a moment’s notice. Your local library or book store will have media directories you can use to develop your list, though accessing someone else’s list can also be helpful. Either way you’ll need to follow up with each outlet to make certain that your contact information is current, or to update your list every six months. News – if nothing else – is timely, so you’ll need to be properly positioned to pounce on a news opportunity at a moment’s notice. Return to top Generating Media Attention Now that you know where your message is going, let’s take a look at some “proactive” ways to send your message and generate media attention. 1. The Press Release The press release is one way for you to communicate a message to the media. The concept is analogous to fishing. You’re casting out a succinct but enticing piece of information about your coalition, one of its upcoming events or reports, or a major accomplishment with the hopes that a reporter somewhere will nibble and do a story based on your release. Depending on the size of the media market, the amount of other news floating around that day and any number of other factors, your release could end up verbatim in a newspaper or, as is more often the case, unread at the bottom of a trash can. The point is that a press release represents an opportunity, big or small, for your coalition to break through in the media. The content should be factual, with all opinions included in quotes, and should be based on a “newsworthy” event. Make the most of it by considering the following for your release (see sample at end of chapter):
The media advisory is a good way for you to notify a media outlet about an upcoming event your coalition is hosting. The media advisory is essentially an abbreviated version of the press release that provides just enough information for a news organization to cover the event. You might include the following in your media advisory (see sample at end of chapter): Print the advisory on coalition letterhead with the name of a contact person and their contact information, especially phone number, clearly displayed; Include the date and whether or not the information included is for immediate release or embargoed until a later date (the advisory should generally be a week before the event it is announcing);
An op-ed, or column located opposite a newspaper’s editorial section, is one of the best ways to disseminate your message through the media because you have complete control over content. As you have set about developing your message and finding ways to communicate it, here are 800 prominently displayed words of your choosing that have not been changed, misstated or contorted by a reporter or news anchor. The following are a few items to keep in mind in preparing your op-ed (sample at end of chapter):
The “letters to the editor” section of a newspaper or magazine provides a forum for discussion about past editorials and stories. This is one way readers can offer feedback on newspaper or magazine content and, as is often the case, reporters or writers can defend their work. Letters to the editor offer another opportunity for you, or coalition volunteers, to get your message out by responding favorably or negatively to a story or editorial published in a newspaper or magazine. For instance, if a newspaper editorialized that drug prevention didn’t work and that all drug control resources should be spent on border patrol and crop eradication, you might send a letter to the editor explaining how prevention, or specifically the work of your coalition, is effective. Remember, as always, to be polite and stay on message. 5. Media Events The range of opportunities for coalition events designed to attract media coverage is broad and constrained only by your imagination (and good taste). In crafting media events, such as press conferences, community forums or protests, remember to follow the same principles involved in the development of your message. Some of the following may also be useful:
Samples Sample Press Release Twin Forks Community Coalition Letterhead
Twin Forks, WA. – The Twin Forks Community Coalition has been awarded a $100,000 grant through the Drug-Free Communities Act Support Program to assist the coalition in creating a community-wide strategy for reducing substance abuse, as well as creating a student-led public service announcement campaign to address a recent surge of inhalant abuse. The Twin Forks Community Coalition, consisting of local parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, business owners and religious leaders who joined together to fight drug abuse in their community, successfully lobbied city, county, and state officials to leverage the $100,000 in matching funds required to apply for the grant. “This grant allows the Twin Forks Community Coalition to take great strides towards achieving our mission of reducing substance abuse among young people and making our community safer, healthier and drug-free,” said Coalition President Ben Cooper. “The problem of youth substance abuse requires our undivided attention and collaboration. The forces that came together to make this grant possible represent that spirit of partnership.” Working with coalition members at Twin Forks High School, the Coalition will select a team of students to design an ad campaign focused on the dangers of inhalant abuse, or “huffing,” that will be run on local television and posted on the Internet. The grant will also be used to hire a full-time staff person for the Coalition and to convene a statewide coalition-building forum next year. The Twin Forks Community Coalition was formed in 1997 in response to the tragic, drug-related death of a local schoolgirl. Since its inception, the Coalition has worked with local legislators to enact tougher laws on the sale of alcohol to minors. Sample Media Advisory Twin Forks Community Coalition Letterhead
TWIN FORKS COALITION TO HOST COMMUNITY FORUM WITH GOVERNOR Sample Op-Ed Ben Cooper 750 Words Twin Forks Community Coalition 123 Sparkwood Twin Forks, WA 604-333-4444 A Community Approach to Addressing Drug Abuse A recent survey of young Americans listed drug abuse and drug-related violence atop the list of their everyday concerns. These young people recognize that substance abuse threatens their health and well being, as well as their futures. As a community, we must come together and present our young people with the clear and unequivocal message that we are here to help. In approaching the problem of substance and abuse and drug-related violence, it is essential that our response be coordinated, collaborative and exhaustive. The newly formed Twin Forks Community Coalition presents just such a model. Each of us remembers the sadness and misery that loomed over this community when confronted with the news that one of our daughters became involved with drugs, falling down the slippery slope of drug abuse that too often leads to death. Several among us in the community felt at the time that we could not let this young person’s death be in vain. That is when we set about forming the Twin Forks Community Coalition and devised our mission of reducing youth substance abuse in our community by changing local policies and environmental norms regarding substance abuse. Since that time, the participation of parents, teachers, students, law enforcement officials, business owners, religious leaders and many others has produced an activist network mobilizing to prevent substance abuse related tragedies before they happen. Substance abuse is a complicated problem with no single solution. By working together as a coalition with members from every segment of the community, we can take proactive steps towards identifying problems before they arise. The responsibility for the health of our young people, and of our community as a whole, lies squarely on the shoulders of each of us. So let’s work together to come through for our kids. Return to top |
 Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America 625 Slaters Lane · Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone 1-800-54-CADCA · Fax 703-706-0565 |
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