1. Making the News Business Work for You
Glen T. Cameron, Ph.D. Gregory Chair in Journalism Research
Missouri School of Journalism

4. It’s Not Just You!

6. News Coverage: Who wants it? Who needs it?
Both questions are moot
Because, to adapt a popular, sarcastic saying:
COVERAGE HAPPENS!

7. Try to Shape that Coverage!
You are managers, not media relations specialists
Will not focus on Tactics
release formats
style, etc
relevant to getting favorable coverage, but more the purview of media relations specialists
One tactical precept: It is Media RELATIONS
Simple advice: develop relationship with media and learn from them directly what they want

8. Strategic Emphasis Our focus today will be on strategy
on how you position yourself
on how media decide what is newsworthy

9. Three Key Strategic Points
Localization Works
Conflict is Pervasive in News
Mobilization must be explicit

10. Localization Stories with a local angle get more play
By contrast, Chemical Bank promotion in NJ should not show up as a release in Round Rock Texas!
Even national stories may have local angle – that’s STRATEGY

11. Possible differences:
From Black newspaper
From mainstream newspaper
Possible differences:
Personal/community mobilization (Black) vs. new science (mainstream)
Celebrity/personal angle (Black) vs. discovery (mainstream)

12. Cameron’s Contingency Theory
focuses on strategic conflict management
Improves on basic public information models
if we just tell our story
media will cover it – the way we want. Not!
more realistic view
News pegs drive news
Conflict frames dominate news pegs
Take advantage of inherent news values

13. Mobilization Many news stories do not offer solutions
Not included in episodic coverage
Even cut from stories to avoid advocacy
Public health model
Problem
Origins
Manifestation
Solutions

14. NCI-Funded Project Ozioma. (Good news. ) http://oziomanews. missouri
Douglas Luke, PhD (PI)
Glen T. Cameron, PhD (Co-PI)
Charlene Caburnay, MPH (Project Manager)
Jon Stemmle (Communication Specialist)

15. Major Aim
To build a computer-based system that generates locally relevant, race-specific cancer stories for Black newspapers that include good news about what to do.

16. Innovation
First study to collect data on national sample of Black newspapers
Will develop and test intervention that will deliver localized cancer stories to papers
Will evaluate strategic management of conflict as tool to enhance coverage and health measures

17. Combining Localization And Conflict Frames
Proposal And Project Focus On Tailoring
Increased Interest In Strategic Conflict Management – Contingency Theory of PR
Intentional Management Of Conflict To Gain Coverage And Motivate
“Dosage” Question – Is Disparity Topic Curvilinear in Effects?
Relationship Of Localization To Conflict Frame – Interaction Effects?
Design suggestions for intervention?

18. Rationale
Millions of African Americans are suffering from cancer (American Cancer Society 1998, 2000).
Strategic conflict management can be used as a health advocacy tool to reduce health disparities among African Americans.

19. Strategic Communication Management
Conflict factors could provide a way to strategically present cancer-related information to Blacks via Black newspapers.
The examination of conflict factors may determine not only what is present on the media agenda of African Americans with regard to cancer information, but what is absent.

20. Percentage of Health Disparities in Black vs. Mainstream Newspapers
Our Evidence
Percentage of Health Disparities in Black vs. Mainstream Newspapers
Black Mainstream
Age 3% 40%
Ethnicity 71% 20%
Gender 26% 20%
Socio-economic status 0% 20%
___ ___
TOTAL: 100% 100%

21. Our Process NCI Primary Source Then Localization
When possible, disparity (conflict) as news peg
Good news (mobilization) angle in response to conflict frame

23. One Example
Then Let’s Talk!

24. NCI Release

27. Ozioma release

30. Coverage

33. You can tackle these easier than we can!
Our Challenges
Finding local angle
Finding local data and contacts
Appropriate use of conflict frame
Tension
BUT NOT TOO MUCH TENSION
You can tackle these easier than we can!

34. Your thoughts?