CHAPTER 11 WORKING WITH THE PRESS

 The Print Media Plays A Large Role In Community Perception Of The Schools  It Is A Prime Source Of Information For Many Citizens  The Media Has A Legal Right To Information About The Schools, What They Are Doing, How Decisions Are Made, And How Money Is Raised And Spent

GUIDELINES Employees Need To Know How To Deal With The Press, Especially Principals And Other Administrators  Answer Questions Honestly – Hiding Things Is Difficult Over A Long Period Schools Should Not Have A Policy Of Only One Person Speaking To The PressSchools Should Not Have A Policy Of Only One Person Speaking To The Press All Employees Should Be Able To Intelligently Deal With The PressAll Employees Should Be Able To Intelligently Deal With The Press  Respond Promptly – This Gives You Credibility And Helps The Press Meet Deadlines  All Reports And Surveys Are Public Property – Don’t Bother Trying To Withhold Them

 Don’t Try To Control The Time Of Press Releases – Cooperate With The Press  Figures Do Not Have To Be Auditor-accurate To Give The Required Information  Avoid Educational Jargon  It Is Ok To Say I Don’t Know, But I Will Get Right Back To You – Be Sure To Do So  You Have No Right To See A Story Before It Is Published  If You Talk To Reporters About Substantive Issues, Notify You Superior Immediately  The Public Relations Person Should Be A Key Member Of The Management Team  Try To Get To Know All Reporters Well Enough To Call Them By Name

 Know What Off The Record Means – You Are Giving Information The Reporter Cannot Use – However, If It Is Developed From Another Source, It Can Then Be Used  Be Available When Negative News Breaks  Know What News Is – It Takes Experience To Know What The Press Is Inclined To Print – Just As Reporters Don’t Know Many Things About Schools, Educators Don’t Know Much About The Workings Of A Newspaper  Compile A Directory Of Key News Contacts  Give The Names And Phone Numbers To Media Representatives

ROLE OF REPORTERS  Reporters Seldom Write Headlines  Reporters Are Not Responsible For Typographical Errors  Editors Often Change Copy Before It Goes To The Press In Such A Manner That It Changes The Emphasis Of The Story Greatly

HELP THE REPORTER These Can Apply To Any Administrator, Including The Principal Or P. R. Director  Give Names And Phone Numbers Of Key Personnel Along With Their Responsibilities  Ideas For Stories Can Be Distributed To All Reporters  Offer Non Education Related Stories To Reporters  Give Reporters Advanced Notice Of Important Announcements  If Something Of State Or Nation Wide Interest Occurs, Remember The Local Reporters

 Be Selective In Suggesting Stories – The Newspapers Cannot Print Everything Schools Think Is Worthy  Develop And Issue A Glossary Of Educational Terms For The Media  Treat All Reporters With The Same Professional Respect  If A Reporter Errs In A Story, Give Him A Chance To Correct The Mistake  Compliment Reporters For A Good Job  If A Controversial Or Negative Story Is Breaking, Prepare A Statement To Be Given To All Media – This Is Helpful To The Media, And Also Gives An Impression Of Competence And Openness

COMMON ERRORS OF EDUCATORS – EDUCATORS SHOULD NOT:  Threatening, Denouncing, And Bringing Pressure On The Editor To Print Or Withhold A Story  Complain When Facts Or Headlines Are Incorrect, Using Friendly Discussion Is More Effective  Refuse To Release Information In A Timely Manner  Send Too Many Releases With No Real News Value  Complain When Stories Do Not Get Published – We Have No Way Of Knowing What Other Constraints Effect What Is Published

 Become Emotional With Reporters Or Editors Over Unfavorable Stories  Create The Impression That You Feel Educators Know More About The Newspaper Business Than The Editors  Get Drawn Into Controversies On A Personal Basis  Fail To Invite The Press To Special Schools Affairs That Should Be Reported  Cause A Reporter To Sit In A Waiting Room For A Long Period Waiting For A Scheduled Interview

THE PRESS AND SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS  Prepare And Distribute An Agenda – Getting This To The Press Well In Advance Is A Help To Them – If The Board Takes Action Inconsistent With The Agenda, Contact The Reporters Immediately  At The Meeting, Make Reporters Feel Comfortable By Providing A Position Where They Have Excellent View Of The Board And Its Activities

THE NEWS CONFERENCE  Plan The Conference And Make Sure It Allows Reporters To Meet Their Deadlines – Also, Anticipate The Types Of Questions That Will Be Asked, And Prepare Answers For Them  At The Conference, Distribute A Kit Of Information, And Have Knowledgeable People Around To Provide Specifics  After The Conference Someone Should Be Responsible For Compiling Requested Information That Was Not Available At The Conference

DRAFTING A NEWS RELATIONS PLAN  Development Of A Plan To Bring The Schools And Activities To The Press In A Positive Light Should Include:  What People Want To Know About The Schools – Reviewing Community Surveys Can Help Here  Foreign-language Newspapers Need Information  News Topics In Your Schools – Educators Do Not Always Know What Is News – Develop As Many Ideas As Possible

 Items Should Be Current And Timely  If It’s Unusual, It’s News  If It’s Local, It Could Be News  Names Make News  Innovation Is News  Evaluation Is News – Test Scores Have Become The Most Important School News  Controversy Is News  Money Is News  New Positions Are News  Anticipation Of Consequences Is News

TYPES OF STORIES  The News Story – Often Called Hard News – Straight Forward And Objective – Contains The Five W’s  The Feature Story – Generally A Human Interest Story Of One With Unusual Touch  The Special Column – Can Be Written By School Personnel Or Students – An Account Of Routine Activities  The Photographic Story  Editorials – Watch Out If You Are The Subject Of One Of These  Letters To The Editor – Educators Can Use This To Tell Their Side Of The Story  Filler – Computerized Type Setting Has Killed Fillers

 News Sources – Note The List Of News Sources Provided In The Text – Pg 194  Every School System Should Have An Organization For Providing News To The Media – If The P. R. Person Is Part-time, He Or She Will Need Some Help – Also Workshops And In-service Should Be Provided To The Schools – At The School, The Principal Should Set The Organization

GETTING NEWS TO THE PRESS Schools And School Systems Can Set Up To Fax And Information To Local News Outlets, As Well As Send By Snail- mail And Use Of Personal Contact Schools And School Systems Can Set Up To Fax And Information To Local News Outlets, As Well As Send By Snail- mail And Use Of Personal Contact Preparing News Releases Preparing News Releases Articles Usually Written In The Inverted Pyramid Style Articles Usually Written In The Inverted Pyramid Style The Lead Is Important And Sets The Tone Of The Article The Lead Is Important And Sets The Tone Of The Article Where do FaceBook and Twitter fit in for today’s school communication? Where do FaceBook and Twitter fit in for today’s school communication?

 Quality Of Writing – Clear, Concise, And Simple Is Desired By The Newspaper  Use Familiar Words That Are Easily Understood By The Reader  Avoid Jargon  Make Primary Use Of Short Simple Sentences  Use Action Verbs As Much As Possible  Identify People When Their Names Are Used  Personalize The Message  Avoid Adjectives That Are Judgmental  News Releases Can Include A Fact Sheet To Aid The Paper In Following Up On The Story  Follow Up News Releases With A Phone Call To The Newspaper