1. By Deo ODIE MEDIA RELATIONS

2. Outline By the end of this session, the participant should be able to; a.Identify available media and their role in campaigns and advocacy programs b.Have gained skills to work/engage with the media c.Understand and have strategies to overcoming the short comings that do occur when engaging the media

3. Media Advocacy  Is the use of media to amplify our voices and the voices of our community.  It is a tactic for community groups to communicate their own story in their own words to promote social changes.  It combines community advocacy approaches with strategic and innovative use of the media to pressure decision makers to change policy.  The purpose of media advocacy is to use the media strategically to apply pressure for changes in policy to promote public health goals.  Media advocacy is most powerful when rooted in broad-based community support. This signals media gatekeepers that a particular issue is important.

4. The premise underlying media advocacy:  Getting the information out isn’t enough.  We have to change the system, the environment and the policies.  The GOAL of media advocacy is not media coverage or even individual change but POLICY CHANGE  Reporters’ Goal: To tell a factual, objective and interesting story.  Advocate’s Goal: To get the media’s attention so a specific message can get out.

5. Premise continues…  Media advocacy is about targeting the two or three per hundred who’ll get involved and make a difference.  It’s about starting a chain reaction and reaching a critical mass.  The primary task of media advocacy is to focus the spotlight on an issue and hold it there until the public acknowledges it and takes action!  Media Advocacy provides a framework for moving the public discussion from a primary focus on the behavior of the individuals to the behavior of policy makers and corporate executives.

6. Who Is An Advocate? Physicians CBOs & NGOs Teachers Volunteers Politicians who still care An alert and articulate 10-year-old Angry parents Pregnant mothers e.t.c

7. Why the media?  “Media has such a tremendous potential for helping us achieve our goals, in part by helping us counter those who oppose our vision, that we have to embrace the creative process of getting our message out and establishing our own symbols and labels to reframe public policy debate” -Michael Pertschuk and Phillip Wilbur, The Advocacy Institute

8. Types of Media Daily papers Weekly papers Radio, Major TV networks, Cable TV, Public access Magazines, Neighborhood and organization newsletters, The internet, blogs, Youtube and more new media

9. MEDIA ANALYSIS INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT List the various media in your country? From those you have listed, which 5 do you intend to target? What informs your choices when selecting each of the 5 media, please explain? What type of relationships do you want to have with the media? (5 examples).

10. How to involve media? Establish personal relation Letters, telephone calls, office calls Invitation to high profile events Orientation seminars In-country site visits Arranging interviews with high-profile people Regular dissemination of up-to-date information or data

11. Approaches to Media Relations  Press Release/News briefs  Paid ads  Public Service Announcement  Press Conference  Photo  Fact Sheet  Profile of local person  Appearance on Talk shows  Opinion Piece/Editorial  Letters to the Editor  Staged Event

12. Things to Remember Small stories matter Prepare your contact person Respect deadlines You can’t control the media Never give incorrect information Consider the medium - T.V is visual! Don’t be discouraged

13. Media Advocacy Outcomes: Hopefully, achieve the change you identified as your goal Build leadership Build a sense of team spirit Expand membership Build a sense of community Create a sense of power

14. - Public Media Center It makes enemies. It points the finger, names names and starts a fight. It tells us who is responsible and how to fight back. It tells us which side we’re on. A successful advocacy campaign doesn’t make friends...

15. Any Questions?

16. Thanks