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OVERVIEW The central theme of this Academy is the importance of strategically planning your media. For too long our side of the battle has ignored the media, conducted media actions half-heartedly and at the last minute. Or we have been in a constant reactive mode, thus letting our opponents frame the issue and move the message while we scramble to play catch-up. Sometimes even when we do the best job we can, we still do not get the coverage we deserve. No matter what, we must still plan our media. Here at SPIN Central we understand that your resources are limited and your task is huge. Create your media plan before you launch your campaign. Conceive the plan at the same time you prepare your organizing or electoral campaign plan. Above all, do not wait until the last minute to decide to crank out a press release or call a reporter. You will most likely find yourself very frustrated. Plan for your media! This will make you proactive instead of simply reactive. A word about reality-based media plans: Do not set yourself up for failure. Create a media plan that you and your staff can actually complete. Think big and act ambitiously, but do not overextend yourself. Doing media can be labor intensive. STEPS TO SUCCESS The following is a six-step process for making news. Every organization or individual seeking media attention should follow this process in the order presented to maximize their media potential. What is the secret to scoring good press that will create change for your community? Read on. 1. Establish Your Goals Before embarking on a media campaign, clearly articulate your desired goals. The goals drive press efforts-not the other way around. Everything you do in the media is designed to help you attain your goals. The goals should also be realistic. Typical goals might be:
2. Target your audience. Any public relations effort must target your audience. This is one of the first tasks you must you must tackle in order to make news. Who are you trying to reach? You may have several target audiences who need to receive your message, or you may have one specific audience. The targeted audience will help determine the scope of your media plan. Give your audience some thought before embarking on a media campaign. This is good strategic planning. The target group for your message may include:
Plan your media for your desired audience. Why waste resources on a media plan that will not reach your targeted audience? If home mechanics are a target audience, pitch your story to the "Home" section of the local newspaper or to the "handy home tips" local radio show. If local residents are important, aim for the "Metro" section of the paper and community press, including ethnic media that may serve affected neighborhoods. Aiming for local politicians? Then stage a media event on the steps of City Hall or your state capitol. 3. Identify your news. Do not waste reporters' time with something that is not news. What reports, surveys or briefing papers can you produce and release that will provide a new perspective? What media events that communicate real news can you stage? What information can you provide that will present a different twist to the story? 4. Frame the issue for maximum media impact. Do you always find yourself on the defense with your opposition framing the news instead of you framing it? The news is not just about your group or your report. It is about something much bigger, with more drama, that will impact more people at a timely moment. 5. Craft your strategic media messages. Condense your complicated issue down to two or three main messages. Discipline the messages. 6. Create a media plan. Your plan will have several components, including everything from identifying and pitching reporters, to placing op eds, to staging media events. A coordinated media plan will increase your success in moving your messages and having them "echoed" through the media. ELEMENTS OF A MEDIA PLAN
Note: These elements of the media plan are what you do before you even call a reporter or stage a media event. Once you do these, it is time to unleash the other components of your media plan.
Note: Steps No. 7 to 14 are the most labor-intensive pieces of the media plan; they should be delegated accordingly. However, there should always be one person who oversees the execution of the plan and is the main contact for the media. How many of these steps can you realistically do? Aim for at least the first 10, more if you have the resources. INTEGRATING YOUR EFFORTS: Media helps you pull it together The best, most strategic media efforts bring together several components of work your organization undertakes, including: research, policy advocacy, fundraising, litigation, public education and community organizing. This section offers case studies in (a) holding media more accountable to the diversity of opinions and voices in your community; and (b) involving your community in your media work. That means you must work closely with others in your group, including community organizers, researchers, lobbyists, and fundraisers to make certain the entire machine is directed toward a common goal. Community Organizing: Members of your community can have specific roles in your media plan, as this section details. Work closely with your organizers won the front lines of the community to ensure this piece of your media plan is successful. Policy Advocacy/Lobbying: Your key policy people, including lobbyists, electoral strategists, program directors and select board members, will have a role in your media efforts. First, they may be called upon to be spokespeople themselves and therefore must be the "messengers" for your message. Second, the work they do may make news itself, including launching new legislative battles or political campaigns. Third, they help you set your media goals within the broader context of your political goals (for example, "Make reproductive health care more accessible to women of color" -- equals broader goal -- "by passing Bill XYZ" -- equals strategic goal. "To do this we will have to reach key politicians through the media by making the voices of their constituents heard in the Capital through the press" -- equals media goal). Research: The folks who do issue research for you, often your policy advocates and lobbyists, will be a valuable piece of your media efforts. The work they do may result in a groundbreaking report that can be used to make news. They may also be called on to be the "experts" on an issue and serve as spokespeople in the press. Litigation: If your group does legal work, this must be a key part of your media efforts. Lawsuits and cases filed can be news stories themselves and represent a specific strategy of your organizing and advocacy goals. Public Education: In some ways, media work is public education. But education efforts, such as instructing neighbors how to check for contaminants, or informing them of controversial economic factors, dovetail with media efforts in more specific ways. Besides sending newsletters and other mailings, or holding informative meetings or door-to-door campaigns, you must engage the media to communicate the messages of your education campaign to a wider community audience (e.g., everyone in town) or a more specific strategic audience (e.g., people over 35 years old in town). Media can help you do this and accomplish the goals of your public education campaign. Fundraising: Your media can influence your fundraising by making your organization more visible and rallying more people to your cause. Groups that score significant media attention often report dramatic increases in membership. Also, your major donors and foundation supporters will delight in receiving highlighted copies of your media hits. These reinforce the feeling they are contributing to an organization that is making a difference. CLOSING Look to rest of materials covered throughout Academy as tactics and techniques that can be integrated into an overall media strategy for your organization. We will revisit this concept repeatedly throughout the training to faciliate a plan for your organization. |