254 lines
5.1 KiB
HTML
254 lines
5.1 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>Do's and Don'ts When Dealing with the News Media</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="HOME"
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TITLE="Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community
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"
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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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REL="UP"
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TITLE="Working with the Media"
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HREF="working_with_media.html"><LINK
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REL="PREVIOUS"
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TITLE="Selling Your Story to the Media"
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HREF="selling_to_media.html"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Monitoring Media Coverage"
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HREF="monitoring_coverage.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="section"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
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><TR
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><TH
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COLSPAN="3"
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ALIGN="center"
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>Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community</TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="left"
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><A
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HREF="selling_to_media.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="80%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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>Chapter 4. Working with the Media</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="monitoring_coverage.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H1
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="dos_donts"
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></A
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>4.4. Do's and Don'ts When Dealing with the News Media</H1
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><P
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>When pitching your organization's story to news editors, there are
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fundamental do's and don'ts that you as a public relations
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professional should follow.</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="dealing_do"
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></A
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>4.4.1. Do's</H2
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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> introduce yourself to different media
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editors, journalists, and freelancers by sending them an email note or by
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inviting them out for coffee or lunch. Bring along some background information
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or a few pages from your website to explain what your organization is
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all about.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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follow up after the meeting with thank-you note, mentioning that
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you will be in touch as appropriate. This is important to set the
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stage for future dialogue.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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let them know what your goals are and what special events, news,
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or programs you have coming up.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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send out news releases by email about two weeks in advance, when
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you have a special event planned. Send a follow-up email a few
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days later. Phone again at a convenient time before the event to
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suggest a possible meeting or interview at the event. The bigger
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the event, the more advance notice should be given.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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tailor your pitch for the needs of each medium. For example, set
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up plenty of photo opportunities for television media,
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human-interest stories for print, and interviews for
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radio.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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give them the name of someone who has a personal experience to
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tell. Remember that the media loves a good story. Real life
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stories engage readers and makes for better copy than just
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statistics relating to Linux and open source.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Do</EM
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>
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ensure that you or your designated spokesperson is available for
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interviews at a moment's notice; otherwise
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much of your efforts will be in vain. Both of you, of course,
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should do your homework and rehearse questions and answers in
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advance. You should have facts, statistics, and anecdotes in your
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head, ready to use.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="dealing_donts"
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></A
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>4.4.2. Don'ts</H2
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><P
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><EM
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>Don't</EM
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>
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send out a pitch or news release with vague, general statements.
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Your story has to show not tell, and you must convince the editor
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to cover the news that promotes your organization rather someone
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else's. Getting editorial coverage is fiercely competitive.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Don't</EM
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>
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ever tell the media what you want from them. Instead, ask them
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about the kinds of stories they're looking
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for, or if there are any other reporters in their newsroom who
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would be interested in Linux and open source. By learning what
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they want, you can tailor your communications to get what
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<EM
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>you</EM
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> want.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>Don't</EM
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>
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underestimate the importance of less prominent media like
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community newspapers, cable TV, trade journals, and
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special-interest newsletters. Look at the entire spectrum of news
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media for different angles.</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="selling_to_media.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="index.html"
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ACCESSKEY="H"
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>Home</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="monitoring_coverage.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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><SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Selling"</SPAN
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> Your Story to the Media</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
|
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="working_with_media.html"
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ACCESSKEY="U"
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>Up</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Monitoring Media Coverage</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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></BODY
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></HTML
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> |