Media Relations in the 21 st Century

1. Media Relations in the 21stCentury By Patricia Tennyson Katz & Associates, Inc.

2. Today’s Agenda • Communication in the 21st century • Engaging with the media • Social media impacts

3. Operating in the 21st Century • Technology impacts on communication • Customers want real-time data • News – good or bad – travels even faster • Even more important to have a sound, well thought out policy

4. No Immunity to Crises • But there is an insurance policy: • Communication planning • Comprehensive outreach program, including actively engaging media • Trained spokespeople • Pass the “front page test”

5. Opposition Happens • Opposition CAN’T be totally controlled • Opposition CAN develop at any time • Opposition may not be able to be neutralized You need a good insurance policy!

6. Look Beyond Your Organization • Build community/industry equity • Identify allies • Get out of your office • Contribute more than lip service • Pay attention to news stories in other locations – your reporter may inquire

7. Media Basics • Assume they are in attendance • No “off the record” • Microphone/camera is always on • Important facts first • Bridge to messages

8. There Is Some Good News • You CAN influence media coverage • You can control delivery and messages • But you must move quickly and remain available • If you merely level the playing field, you have succeeded!

9. Look for Opportinities • Be a resource for media • Act on ACWA alerts • Invite media to your utility • Tell your story Someone else’s bad story can be your lucky day!

10. Communication Principles • Be open and accessible • Tell the truth • Be transparent • Engage the community • Be responsive

11. Excuses We’ve Heard (for not Talking) • Need to get our stuff together (facts) • Desire to avoid panic • Lack of a spokesperson • Legal implications • Protection of organization image • Not knowing how to “solve” • Fear of revealing proprietary information

12. Do “Worst Case" Planning • When you’ve planned for the worst, other incidents are easier to deal with • The worst case could actually happen • Terrorism • Major natural disaster • Major structural accident

13. Understanding the Media • The media is not your audience • The media is a filter through which you reach your audience • Your challenge: get your message out through interviews and storiesto deliver it to the public

14. The New Standard… In miserable crisis communication

15. Prepare and Practice • Inventory of “nasties” – anticipate and identify negatives • Message plan – develop three • Rehearsal: practice, practice, practice Your goal: never hear a question you haven’t heard before!

16. What if…? • You don’t have all the facts • You have no plan yet • You can’t divulge information • You are responsible

17. What Kind of Question Is That? • Faulty premise • Predetermined conclusion • Hypothetical statement • Loaded/baiting question • Words in your mouth

18. How to Bridge • Pick a phrase • What’s more important is… • What I can tell you is… • On the other hand… • Answer the question • Then bridge back to your messages

19. Using Social Media – A New Path to the Public • Develop a policy and protocols • Identify objectives: awareness, engagement, advocacy, loyalty… • Use platforms appropriately • For government: good for connecting to “influencers” (elected officials & reporters) The number of social media users has doubled since 2007. 1 billion by 2012?

20. Responding to Comments • Monitor and respond promptly • Always be truthful and honest • Content should be straightforward, factual • Don’t engage in pitched battles, extended debates Emphasize key messages, prepare for questions, correct misinformation

21. Is government in? “It is a sad state of affairs when Al Qaeda is better at communications than the U.S.” - Robert Gates, Former Sec. of Defense

22. How should public agencies communicate to reach stakeholders? Communicating During a Crisis Irvine Ranch Water DistrictEmergency Tweets (502 followers)

23. The Japan Crisis • 5 million logged onto YouTube day after • Phones down; Facebook and Twitter up • 4.5 million status updates on Facebook from 3.8 million users • 572,000 new Twitter accounts on March 12; 177 million Tweets (1,200 per minute from Tokyo)

24. SFPUCConstruction Relations/Traffic Alerts

25. DoD • Culture of social media acceptance • Blogger roundtables • Video channel • 40,000+ Twitter followers

26. Law Enforcement • L.A.: Tweeting since 2007, notifying neighborhoods of public safety issues • Boston: Stolen bike? Tweet the “Tweeting Police” for help tracking

27. Norman, OK • Contamination concern • Immediate web content • Twitter account, @normanwater • Promoted via media and a bill stuffer • No tweets are good news!

28. Conclusions • Know your community/know your target audiences • Media is an important audience • Act on ACWA alerts and call media before they call you

29. Conclusions • Social media is feeding broadcast media! • Print media is social media (online presence) • Develop objectives for all outreach activities

30. Media Relations in the 21st Century By Patricia Tennyson Katz & Associates, Inc. ptennyson@katzandassociates.com