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

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

3. Operating in the 21 st 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 1.Be open and accessible 2.Tell the truth 3.Be transparent 4.Engage the community 5.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 stories to 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. Communicating During a Crisis  How should public agencies communicate to reach stakeholders? Irvine Ranch Water District Emergency 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. SFPUC Construction 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 21 st Century By Patricia Tennyson Katz & Associates, Inc. ptennyson@katzandassociates.com