Using the media can be an effective tool in influencing policy. Kerra Bolton, former Capitol bureau chief for the Asheville Citizen Times and principal of Lightning Bolt Meda, contributed a series of posts on communications for non-profits.
It was an annual ritual in our office. Right after I gave the summer intern a tour of the office, I e-mailed our gigantic media list to update.
However, my laziness cost me an important opportunity. Updating the media list is a great excuse to reach out to reporters, build relationships, and get the latest gossip.Reporters are paid to know what’s going on. They may have information about a piece of legislation or the position of an important state lawmaker on your bill before your government relations person. Reporters are a valuable resource.
Sending blind press releases without any kind of personal contact before or after sending it also damages the credibility of your organization. You want to show that you’ve done your homework and you know what reporters care about and the stories they like to cover. It also gives you an opportunity to answer any questions they may have.
Your media list should contain a few elements: the media market; the type of media (radio, television, daily newspaper, etc.); the first and last name of the reporter; e-mail; office and cell phone numbers; website; Twitter handle (if applicable); the name of the supervising editor; and a few notes you’ve scribbled while chatting with the reporter.
Get more than one name, especially in medium and large media markets. For example, if you’re a health care organization, get the names of the political and health care reporters. If the political reporter is swamped and can’t cover your event, you could always pitch the story to the health reporter as a local impact story.
The media list should be updated annually. Reporters change jobs, get downsized, or are promoted. So, you want your media list to be the most accurate snapshot of who is covering you at this moment in time.
Interns can help you with a myriad of tasks for your organizations. But updating media lists – that’s your job.
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