See also: 'Process of advocacy'

Dealing with the media

Why bother?

Libraries are a valuable cultural resource. They also perform a critical role in providing information for education and training, government and business decision-making, and business development. Promoting and publicising our role in and service to the community is a vital part of the professional practice of library and information service providers.

Positive media publicity about the role of libraries and library activities can help to raise awareness about the services provided by libraries, the importance of libraries to the community, and the role libraries can play in positioning Australia as a leader in the global information and knowledge economy. ALIA's vision is to achieve all these things for our profession.

Media 101

There are a few simple rules that can be employed to ensure that your interaction with the media is successful whether you are dealing with radio, television or newspaper personnel. Here are a few of the important ones to help you along the way.

It's not the media's job to do yours for you.

If you want your information to appear exactly as you provide it, then what you need to do is advertise, not publicise. If you advertise, you pay, and that's what gives you control. Publicity, through the use of media releases, for example, gives you a chance to promote your story but no control over the final result. The journalist's job is to get a story, and they may not think the story is the same one you are trying to tell. So use these simple tips to help convince the media to see things your way.

If you are responding to an issue, or a journalist is approaching you to comment on an issue, then you need to be doubly careful. The media need not be the enemy as long as you make their job simple and your input professional.

The spokesperson

Before your organisation raises an issue with the media it should choose a spokesperson.

That spokesperson will become the primary media contact, and should be prepared to make himself or herself available day or night to answer the telephone, do radio and television interviews, and answer reporters' queries.

The spokesperson should have the authority, knowledge and presence to answer questions accurately and with confidence. If the issue remains newsworthy the spokesperson will become the public face of your organisation.

Tips on targeting the media - and being persistent

Identify your media outlets by using media guides or accessing an online media database. These guides provide the names of the editors of specific subject matters and may list individual journalists who have indicated a specialist interest. It is often a good idea to target the subject editors, especially on more 'meaty' issues. In most other cases the chief of staff decides whether your story will be covered. Decisions are usually taken at a very late stage, and you may need to 'hang-in there' to gain coverage, especially if you target the bigger media. It is a lot easier to get the attention of smaller, local media and they may be willing to run a media release just as you have written it due to their workloads.

Send the information about your activities and issues to your selected media two or three weeks before your event. Follow up by phone a week before, especially if your event presents photo opportunities - and then again the day before - and on the day. Use your local knowledge and networks when identifying your target journalist - you might even contact the librarians in national media for tips about individual staffers who you can target.

Television and radio interviews

There are a number of ways of getting your message across using television and radio. You cannot get a detailed case across in the very short time that is usually available in a television or radio interview, but what you do say reaches a wide audience and has considerable impact.

It is therefore important to be well prepared. Work out what points you want to make and rehearse your comments so that your points are made simply and clearly.

First, decide the three or four most important arguments you wish to make, and ensure you make them, whatever the questions. You will often see skilled spokespersons briefly answering a question and then, before they can be interrupted, continuing with the point they want to make.

Often the interviewer will pick up the point and continue along the same line. The interviewer, even if he or she is sympathetic, will be usually attempt to be even handed and will question your case against the opposing case. This means you should prepare for the difficult questions, the ones you really would rather not answer as they are invariably the ones you will be asked.

Many of the principles of good communication apply equally to both radio and television interviews:

Be on time: Arriving early will not only create a good impression, but allow you time to get ready, and make last-minute changes if required. It also allows you time to ask questions of the interviewer, and to find out more about what to expect.

Look/sound professional: Media trainers will tell you to wear makeup for television interviews and to wear clothes in a single strong colour. Sit comfortably, and speak clearly in a calm, considered voice. On radio your voice is all the listener can use to build a mental picture of you and your message. Correct misinformation: By correcting misinformation early you are better able to put your case and prevent the issue from being sidetracked. It also allows you an opportunity to move the subject of the conversation back to the area of focus.

Make sure you've made your point: Even if you have to repeat it again and again. Rarely will your interviewer ask you to go into great detail about the issues under discussion, so it's a good idea to prepare by selecting no more than three key points that you want to make, and make them clearly and firmly. This will mean in some instances you will need to answer questions in a creative way in order to get your message across.

Remember also that to gain television coverage usually requires novelty, colourful events and sometimes high-profile personalities.

If you want coverage, you may need to develop your event with television in mind - and time the event for before noon if you are to get into the news that evening.

Give the station as much advance notice as you can and follow up with a phone call to keep up the memento and to clarify arrangements/appointments.

To gain radio coverage, you may need to identify a specific story or angle, and one or more good spokespersons for the station to choose from. You and they would need to be willing to go to the station when required, unless the station will come to the library for an event.

Local radio is often receptive to interview requests.

The print media

Words should be chosen carefully when dealing with the print media. The process of moving your written or spoken words to paper can involve a great deal of manipulation, from reporter to subeditor to editor. This includes using e-newsletters, websites and blogs.

Try to think about how a reader who doesn't know anything about libraries, library and information workers or why your issue is important, will react. Stay away from jargon and acronyms.

It is important to be as concise as possible and to present material in a form that requires little manipulation. Aim for a reading age of about 12 (yes, really! It's what the newspapers have to do.)

Letters to the editor

A thoughtful, concise response to an issue or newspaper article may be accepted for publication as a letter to the editor. Letters should be sent as soon as possible to the newspaper to enhance the likelihood of publication.

Media releases

There is more to gaining media coverage than sending out a media releases, but a media release is nevertheless a must. To be effective it must sell the sizzle - as well as inform about the sausage.

The first sentence and certainly the first paragraph must deliver the news 'hook'. Generalisations or explanations are not suitable for opening statements. A news story must answer the questions who, when, where, why and sometimes, how and to whom. Draw your headline from this so that the same message is delivered in bold, and try to keep headlines to one line only for maximum impact.

Always use the active rather than the passive voice. For example 'Billabong Public Library will open on Sunday afternoons from 21 May', rather than 'There will be an extension of library opening hours on Sundays at Billabong Public Library'.

Ensure that dates, times, places and details for further information (preferably with a named contact person) are included in the media statement.

If you have images or can create them, do it. Few things are more appealing to an overworked editor or journo than a story complete with picture. Remember there are copyright and privacy issues associated with images and you will need the specific permission of anyone shown in an image to have that image used in the media.

It's always good to have a consistent 'key message' in all your releases that briefly describes what your library or service is about and why it is a good thing. By including this message in all your media (don't forget your website and promotional materia as well) it will work harder for you. Communications and marketing research shows that the more the message is repeated, the more it sticks.

Last but not least, don't forget to brand your media release with the library or organisation logo.

Speaking to reporters

Journalists will often ask for background information about a topic they are researching. If you don't want to be quoted say so clearly. Be aware too that whenever a journalist calls that your answer may be used in a story, and be alert to the fact that nothing in fact is ever 'off the record'. If you are happy to be quoted but need a few moments to get your thoughts together indicate that you will call back. Sometimes it is useful to provide some written material that can be used by the journalist. This is where pre-prepared statements such as one or more of the relevant ALIA policy statements or some other easily assimilated material can be invaluable.

Include some general information on what kind of library you are, who you serve, the types of services and the innovative programs you offer, library resources, how you use technology, your key statistics, the difference you make. One easy way to supply background information is as a Q and A document - a brief set of the most common questions and answers that could be asked. They might be along the lines of when the library opened, what's in the collection, why do we celebrate LIW anyway and so on. Again, this can all be prepared ahead of time and be ready to go when you need it. Having a separate document helps keep your media release brief, and you can use it on your website too.

E-mail

E-mail has just about taken over as the preferred form of communication with journalists but it is important to ensure that words are chosen carefully and succinctly. Long e-mail missives are not often read fully. Readers of e-mail always prefer to have a summary of what you are writing about in the email and the article attached as a word document. Any graphics or pictures can be sent as separate attachments.

Always phone the journalist as well. That way you can check their preferred delivery method (hardcopy, fax or email) and the format and resolution needed for images. All this makes life easier for a busy journalist, an important factor in encouraging them to tell your story.

Websites

Websites are an increasingly important mechanism for distributing information. The way that the information is presented is important, and judicious use of graphics is essential. Information presented on web pages is accessible to the online world as long as it can be found. Try to set up pointers from search engine sites, popular sites or from your most popular pages so that access is maximised.

Web page information should be brief and concise. Although it is tempting to add flashing or moving images, they do slow things down and Internet users can have a very short attention span. Keep design simple and images at low resolution.

Try to keep pages to about 300 words in length - aim to keep each page to a single screen to make reading them easier and consider including a print friendly version for those of us who still like to take our reading away from the desk.