Guide: Working with News Media

 
                    Section: 
                    
                        Who I might work with

Introduction

The news media (ranging from local and national newspapers, to televisions news, radio news bulletins and online news sites) are well practised in communicating complex research to non-experts. They also often have a large and ready made audience. If you want to raise awareness of your research, the news media is a great place to start. However, the news media do not exist to provide publicity for your organisation: they have their own agendas, will retain control over the final content produced, and receive several story ideas and press releases every day. If you want to catch the eye of a reporter, you need to think about their needs.

Guidelines and approach

How to reach the news media

The best way to reach the news media is usually through a carefully constructed press release. But you do not have to rely on this alone. Different ways to reach the news media include:

Calling reporters in your target news organisation(s) directly, and following up with an email press release.
Arranging a press briefing to which members of the press are invited. (This is usually reserved for big announcements and important discoveries).
Inviting members of the press to events which they can report upon.
Arranging photo opportunities.
Writing an article for a news organisation. (You may be asked to write a feature for a publication but, unless you are an experienced writer, you are unlikely to be commissioned to write a news story).

Working with your press office

If your organisation has a press office – use them! Remember to give your press office plenty of notice, take their advice and keep them in the loop!

They can help you construct a press release, using appropriate language.
They can advise you on the timing of your press release.
They will have contacts within media organisations. Your press release is more likely to be noticed if you send it directly to relevant, named individuals.
They can facilitate media enquiries and brief you on giving media interviews.
It can be difficult for researchers to step outside of their own knowledge base and hear how an explanation sounds to non-experts; or to see what is interesting to others about their research. Your press office can act as your audience.
They can help you with organising press briefings and instigating photo opportunities.

What are the news media looking for?

When?

The timing of a press release is very important. If it is considered ‘old news’, it won’t get picked up by the media. Don’t leave it too late. Contact your press office as soon as you start thinking about promoting an aspect of your research.

Is it current? News organisations can only use a story that is up to date. News is new. It is happening now. Reporters rarely write stories about something that happened yesterday.
Is it timely? Look for opportunities to link the press release to other news or current events e.g. if there is a general election going on, the news that a local school is holding their own elections makes it timely. Or if an event, focused around environmental issues can be linked to nexw findings in a recently released climate science report; that also would make it timely.
Is there enough advance warning? Reporters need to receive press releases in good time to attend an event or capture quotes and identify photo opportunities. On the other hand, if you send it too early it may get forgotten amid the pile of press releases.

What and why?

Think about what you are trying to communicate. Just wishing to communicate something isn’t enough. What makes it newsworthy? You need to think about the impacts of your research to the target audience and frame it appropriately:

Is it new? It is not enough that your story is current; you also need to find a new angle. Have you made a new breakthrough or discovery?
Are you at a turning point? Researchers might be ‘currently’ working on a new super-drug but this is not new if they have been doing so for several months.
Is it novel? New means new to the world, not just your organisation e.g. If a university wins funding to bring in an administrator that would not be new. But, it would be new if they developed a new method that will revolutionise the way administrators are paid for the world over.

Who? (The local angle)

News organisations are primarily interested in things that are of relevance to their target audience. You should frame your press release to reflect the impacts of your research, rather than the facts of your research (but be careful not to over-claim the importance of your research). One of the most important considerations for news organisations is finding the local angle. Stories with a global dimension are big news and every news organisation will be interested in things that will change the world. But, the target audience is always the most important and even in global stories, the journalist will find ways to tell the audience how the issue is relevant for them. Every publication has a local angle. No matter how national or international the reach, they will still localise a story for their audience:

Local newspapers are interested in what affects people in their region
National newspapers are interested in what affects people in their country
International publications are interested in what affects people in the world
Astronomy based publications go beyond the planet
Special interest publications e.g. Fishing Weekly, also have a local angle – the interests of their readership

e.g. A new report is released from the Climatology Society, which states that there will be a 500% rise in flooding in coastal areas over the next three weeks.

A local newspaper, such as the Bournemouth Echo, will be concerned with making their story relevant to the people of Bournemouth: “Homes in Bournemouth could be flooded in the next three weeks…”
A national newspaper, such as The Independent, would need to extend the relevance beyond the scope of local towns but would limit it to the UK: “The UK could be hit by severe flooding over the next three weeks…”
An international news agency may be more interested in highlighting the relevance to the entire world: “There will be a 500% rise in flooding worldwide, over the next three weeks…”
A special interest publication, such as Fishing Weekly, will be interested in making it relevant to fishing e.g. “A 500% rise in flooding worldwide, might mean we can fish straight from our bedroom windows…”

Additional elements

Is there anything that you can do to make your press release more attractive to different media organisations? i.e. striking imagery, audio or video footage, reports or charts associated with your research. Stories are more likely to be picked up on and used by different media organisations if they have more to offer than just facts. Different media have different priorities when selecting stories:

Newspapers and magazines require striking photographs, graphic images and charts. Indeed sometimes, the image itself generates the story. (Remember how much interest was inspired in astronomy stories by the pictures that came from the Hubble Telescope?)
Radio news organisations require recorded interviews and other audio.
Television news organisations require video footage, as well as still images and charts. Stories without footage possibilities are unlikely to be used at all.
Online news organisations require all of the above and useful links to additional information.
If the story involves an event – a presentation, interactions with the public, or the unveiling of a new product – make sure that journalists are invited to the event and that photograph or audio/video recording opportunities are factored in.

Things to think about when sending a press release

Writing a press release…

News organisations receive hundreds of press releases and journalists have very little time to wade through masses of information. Your press release therefore needs to be catchy, clear and should provide all the information they need upfront:

Keep it short.
Keep your language free of jargon.
Give the press release a top line that grabs attention and captures the gist of the news item i.e. answer the: who, what, why, when and where of the story.
Provide at least two useable quotes.
Mention all relevant partners, collaborators or funders.
Provide key contact details (i.e. you, a colleague, or your press office).
Provide supplementary information (i.e. high res images, links to websites and reports at the bottom of the release).
When the press release has been sent out, that’s your job done right? Wrong - Once a press release is sent out, journalists will want to find ways to make the story their own, confirm and clarify facts and to discover new and interesting elements to the story. Make sure that you, or a named spokesperson, is available to be interviewed and to answer queries the week the press release is sent out. Inform your press office of your timetable.
Once a press release has been sent out, it does not have to be set in stone. Be sure to inform your press office of any new developments such as a breakthrough or the generation of new data. Encourage your press office to follow up on press releases with phone calls to convey new information or to present a significant angle for a particular news organisation. You might want to consider holding something back – a follow up to a press release, with additional information, might bring it back to the top of the pile.

Giving media interviews…

After the press release has been sent out, you might be asked to give an interview:

Get advice. Ask your press office to brief you on interview techniques for different media outlets.
Speak clearly and avoid jargon. Make sure that you use language which the audience can understand.
Stick to the point. Make sure that you are aware of the points you want to get across and try not to go off on a tangent.
Don’t waffle – news organisations will edit your interview for time and clarity. Just keep reiterating your most important points.
Prepare some anecdotes which you can share and which will help you to clarify complex issues.
If you are interviewed for television, don’t peer directly down the camera!

Top tips

Toby Murcott, freelance journalist:

Journalists are busy people so if you make their life easier they are likely to look more favourably on your suggestions. So make sure you have all the information you need at your fingertips before you make the first contact.
Call mid-morning as late in the afternoon news journalists are busy filing copy and do not like to be disturbed. Have an email press release ready to send as soon as you put the phone down.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure you have it available in an electronic high resolution format, ideally .eps format. If your email cannot send out large pictures, put it on a website and send the person you are talking to a link to the website.
Press releases should be no more than one page long, ideally only one screen long if you are sending it electronically.
Make sure you know the outlet you are contacting. If it’s a newspaper, read that newspaper and read that journalist’s pieces. If it’s a radio programme, listen to it and if it’s TV watch the programmes.
Think of the angle specific to the outlet you’re approaching e.g. local newspapers want a local angle, national TV news needs enough of a shock/surprise/bit hit value to make it to air.
Remember you are not selling the story to the public, you are selling it to the news outlet and that means the news editor.
If you have something urgent to say, telephone the radio newsroom and if they like it they can put you on air almost straight away. TV takes longer to do and needs good images, print normally takes 24 hours but can give the most in depth analysis.
A no is not “no forever” its “no this time”. Ask what would make it more of a story and try to provide that next time.
The most powerful news stories take an issue and make it relevant to the audience – think about how to make your story personal to the people who read, watch and listen.