Activist @AfricaAgenda is tweeting "practical tips for building relationships with the media".
Unfortunately their website was down for repairs when this post was written, so in the spirit of sharing, here are the tips to date. Add your own ideas below and follow @AfricaAgenda for more of the same.
- Write to a journalist as if they are your friend. Use simple language.
- Treat journalists like that "first date". Show respect.
- Identify why you want to contact a journalist, before making the call.
- Follow the activities of journalists that you admire.
- Only contact a journalist if you have something relevant to their 'beat': the area of news they normally cover.
ReplyDelete- Be clear about whether you are offering exclusive information, or calling all journalists with the same story.
- Try to find a unique angle on your story that is relevant to the journalist and their readership: local statistics, an unique quote, an example from their local community.
- Have everything they need in advance: any journalist will need the media release, background information, a photo of the spokesperson and their contact details. Options include an independent expert (have a pre-arranged quote, photo and contact details and times when they are available).
- Radio journalists may want to do a telephone interview, but might also go on location. What sounds could they record while they are there? (e.g. a story about a new water well bringing potable water to a community could include sounds of running water, the sound of a pump, people celebrating).
- Television journalists or their producers will need to know what visual elements are available: the water pump, a truck drilling a new well, an engineer opening a spigot, water flowing through a pipe, local leaders consulting, people celebrating.
- Timing is everything: respect deadlines; call well in advance of an event (up to a week before the well is going to be launched); make sure people are available for interviews and that visual and audio assets are available (the story might not work if the truck is not drilling, or water is not flowing through the pipe).