Media relations should not be overlooked

Media relations should not be overlooked

By Wisaksono Noeradi

JAKARTA (JP): Institutions are continuously expanding their
operations, developing new products and services, or opening up
promising markets, both at home and overseas.

Some institutions, in fact, seem to be doing just fine without
any sort of organized, ongoing public relations strategy. Many of
their executives insist that they don't even really need media
relations strategy because things are going well.

"After all," so they explain, "if my employees are not on
strike, or the safety of my products is not being questioned in
the media, or I have not signed any new agreement with an
important partner, why should I be implementing media relations?"

These executives, with a careful eye on the bottom line, may
be a bit short-sighted. When a crisis does arise, or when they do
want to use the media to trumpet their new triumphs, they find
that it is not easy to get the word out because they have
neglected to lay the necessary groundwork through an effective
media relations.

Media relations is being heard a lot about in corporate
circles these days. What exactly does it mean? Is it merely an
idea coined by public relations practitioners in order to market
their services? Or is it a strategy that really serves an
institution's long term interests?

In my opinion, media relations should have five objectives:

* To assist in securing maximum publicity for the institution.

* To help in ensuring that news, features and editorial coverage
relating to the institution are objective, honest and fair --
particularly when the subject matter touches upon negative
aspects of its operations.

* To provide feedback about the institution's performance.

* To obtain background information to allow better assessment of
a specific problem or situation affecting the institution.

* To build an enduring relationship with the media -- a
relationship based on mutual respect and trust.

Public opinion

"Can't we just carry things out without having to deal with
the media at all?"

Certainly not! Media relations is a public relations function
that recognizes the media's enormous impact in shaping public
opinion. For the institution that is well-prepared -- that hasn't
waited for a crisis situation to emerge before concerning itself
with public opinion -- media relations does not need to be a
burden. Instead, it is clearly a continuing operational asset.

For any media relations strategy to be successful, it must
avoid overkill. Media people don't want to be deluged with dozens
of pages of material at a time. By contrast, a well-planned media
relations strategy provides them with a judiciously timed and
carefully modulated flow of relevant information that they can
use. In a sense, such a program helps journalists to do their
jobs more easily and efficiently. Media relations, then, suggests
a mutually beneficial partnership.

Three elements

"OK, aren't regular news releases enough?"

The answer is an emphatic "No!" Much more is required. By
general agreement, an effective ongoing media relations strategy
comprised three elements: personal contact, news service and
crisis communication plan.

Personal contact is the basic element in a media relations
strategy. Most institutions -- and in fact many public relations
practitioners -- seem unaware that effective relations with the
media hinges on the quality of informal personal contact with
media people. Institutions often wait until a moment of crisis,
or the announcement of some important bit of news, before
establishing contact. Then they wonder why media response is not
as positive or enthusiastic as they had hoped.

"Can't we achieve the results we want to simply by
manipulating journalists?"

If the institution delays in opening lines of communication
with the media, it often is obliged to spend huge efforts and
funds to achieve the media support it desires. This can result in
a feeling of obligation on the part of media people -- the kind
of obligation that is definitely not conducive to the kind of
continuing coverage the institution wants.

In such a situation, journalists are likely to publish a news
release in its entirely without further development. In so doing,
they are just attempting to repay the institution for support
received. This may seem, on the surface, to be an entirely
positive situation, as far as the institution is concerned. Yet
it is likely to rule out fuller positive coverage in the future,
since the journalists concerned feel they have lived up to their
end of the bargain simply by printing the institution's news
releases as received.

Media relations have to be based on partnership. Neither the
institution nor the media should be subservient to the other.
Regular personal contact serves this end, if it is unfailingly
cordial, straightforward and characterized by honesty on both
sides. Such a program of contacts might include visits to media
offices, the sending of invitations to lunch or dinner, and the
provision of information on an exclusive basis. However, all must
be effected in a judicious and consistent way, which consequently
requires a great deal of careful pre-planning. The overall idea
is definitely not to engender a sense of obligation in media
people. Rather, it is to create sustainable relationships built
on mutual trust.

Receptions, seminars, lectures and meetings provide excellent
opportunities to meet journalists. In addition, it is imperative
for the institution to initiate personal contacts with media
people. It is also imperative that those individuals in the
institution know something about these journalists and the
publications or stations they represent. The journalists are
professionals, too. They should be regarded and treated as such.

News service

"Once a personal contact is established, what should we supply
the media with?"

The institution can assist journalists to do their jobs more
easily and with greater professionalism if it provides them with
certain materials relating to the institution. One convenient
term for all these materials is "news service".

The news release is valuable not only because it provides
factual information. It also helps to ensure that the information
in stories is accurate. It's important to emphasize at this
juncture that news releases should be used tactfully. They should
contain information that is useful and timely. Each should also
be appropriate for the medium to which they are being sent. One
probably wouldn't send facts about one hotel's new work safety
policies to a magazine whose primary readership is teenagers
interested in pop music. Nor would one send an announcement of
one company's annual employee picnic to a magazine for property
investors.

Carefully written articles may also be submitted to various
media as part of the media relations strategy. Journalists may
choose to use them intact, or may draw upon them for stories of
their own, or may use them to write editorials.

News kit contains both general and specific information about
an institution in easily digestible form. Such kits require
faithful updating, as appropriate. Any figures cited should be as
current and accurate as possible. Photos included should be
accompanied by captions.

Executive profiles are also useful tools in media relations.
They include data on key executives in a standard format and
accompanied by appropriate and usable photographs. Naturally, all
such profiles should be approved by those executives before being
disseminated.

Any media request for an interview is a good thing, right?

An interview given without preparation or forethought could
have positive results. But mostly is just an invitation to
disaster! It is vital that the institution have a clear idea of
the media's strength and audience, as well as some insight into
the motives and credibility of the interviewer.

If an executive decides to grant such an interview, the ground
rules for the interview should be clearly set beforehand. To
avoid misquotation, it may also be useful that the executive be
accompanied by the institution's public relations officer who can
serve both as a resource person and a recorder of the interview.

"Why should we bother with a crisis contingency plan before
something goes wrong?"

Dealing effectively with any emergency or non-routine
situation requires a carefully thought out and worked out crisis
contingency plan -- one prepared well in advance! Any incident
which leads to injury or death -- or serious damage to property
or the environment -- demands extra handling. In hopes of getting
a "scoop", many journalists will try to uncover as many facts as
possible, with or without the institution's help.

Any institution at the center of such a crisis will hopefully
have an appropriate response to journalists' inquiries. All
institutions naturally want to be perceived by the public as
capable, caring, benevolent and responsive. Without a crisis
contingency plan, however, the institution is unlikely to be able
to present itself in a positive light. And the larger and more
decentralized the institution is, the less able it will be in
formulating such a policy on the spur of the moment.

"OK, what are the elements that make a good crisis contingency
plan?"

An effective plan allows the institution to communicate its
side of the story quickly and coherently. This may even involve
setting up a press center that allows journalists to do their
jobs more efficiently. It also means that it has already been
determined who will serve as the institution's spokesperson. This
crisis plan should be written down clearly, but will be a useless
document unless it has been carefully circulated within the
institution and everyone knows the part that he or she should
play in an emergency situation.

In the event that a media article is inaccurate or damages the
institution's reputation, proper steps have to be formulated. The
response should, of course, not be perceived as offensive. Nor
can the institution afford to ignore journalists in the hope that
they will go away. It should also avoid launching an attack which
is personal in nature towards the writer. Although the
institution could contact the media by phone, the most effective
response in fact, is always done in written form.

It is encouraging indeed to note that more and more
institutions now believe a media relations section is worth
having. By involving the media in a non-confrontational and non-
defensive, but highly positive way, they can best share the
institution's successes and challenges with the public.