Communications training 2013 update
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The document provides an overview of communications strategies and tactics for the NAACP, including identifying goals and audiences, crafting messages and talking points, utilizing various media like press releases and advisories, pitching stories to reporters, conducting interviews, and holding meetings with editorial boards. It offers tips and examples for each strategy to help communicators effectively engage the media and public on issues.
Communications training 2013 update
- 1. Welcome and Overview Welcome and Overview
- 2. Welcome and Overview Welcome and Overview NAACP Communications Team NAACP Communications Team --EricWingerter: Vice President of Communications & Digital Eric Wingerter: Vice President of Communications & Digital Media Media --DerekTurner: Communications Director Derek Turner: Communications Director --BenWrobel: Sr. Communications Associate Ben Wrobel: Sr. Communications Associate --JessicaNeal: Communications Associate, Voting Rights Jessica Neal: Communications Associate, Voting Rights --NicoleKenney: Communications Associate, Economic Nicole Kenney: Communications Associate, Economic Programs Programs 202-463-2940 202-463-2940
- 3. Areas for Review Areas for Review •Identify Your Goal • Identify Your Audience •Create a Message •Know your Tools/Build Your Tools •Set a Timeline
- 4. Identify Goals Identify Goals
- 5. Why Should Communicate? Why Should Communicate? IN E F L E U T E A I V N T C C A INSPIRE INFORM
- 6. Audience Identification Audience Identification The media is not your primary audience, it is a conduit to get to reach your primary audience. Your Primary Audience Can Be: •Community Members •Local Officials •National Officials •Opponents Your Secondary Audience Can Be: National or Local TV/Radio Print Outlets (Including Websites) Niche Press
- 7. Message/ Frame/Values Message/ Frame/Values • MESSAGE: What you are trying to communicate about your issue -- what you care about, your values and who you are. • FRAMES: Familiar concepts people feel comfortable with and taps into stories carried in our minds with heroes, villains, morals, causes and solutions. • VALUES: The ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an favorable or emotional concern for. Values may be perceived as positive (freedom, education) or negative (cruelty, crime).
- 8. Message Message • A message is what you are trying to communicate about your issue what you care about, your values and who you are. It defines your campaign and ultimately your vision of the world . Without a coherent message you will be unable to mobilize people, communicate your thoughts to your audiences or create the understanding that you need to advance social change • Messages are shaped by factors, such as current political realities, key news items of the day and the audience you are trying to reach. • You often will need to tailor a message to a particular audience to emphasize the aspects of the issue they most care about.
- 9. Frames Frames • Frames are the familiar concepts that people feel comfortable with. Framing is the idea that communications—whether in a news story, a speech, an op-ed, or a water cooler conversation—carry implicit values, stories and world views that shape the terms of debate and determine whether problems and solutions are part of the conversation. Framing taps into stories that we carry in our heads, with heroes, villains, morals, causes and solutions.* • When a message fits within familiar frames they are easier to internalize. When the facts don’t fit the frame, sometimes the facts are rejected. * The Opportunity Agenda, Talking Human Rights in the United States, A Communications Toolkit pg. 9
- 10. Values Values Values are the intrinsic, enduring beliefs that shape how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. There are both primary and secondary Primary Secondary • Responsibility to care for one’s family • Responsibility to care • Responsibility to care for oneself for others • Personal liberty • Personal fulfillment • Work • Respect for authority • Spirituality • Love of country or • Honesty/integrity culture • Fairness/equality
- 11. Crafting Your Message Crafting Your Message Packaging Your Story •Assess the issue you are trying to promote. •Determine your spin or perspective/angle of the story. •Provide a local perspective Human Interest •Put a human face on the issue; project aspects of story that affect people emotionally Sound Bites •Short statements that cleverly sum up the message •Should fit familiar frames and reflect your values.
- 12. Talking Points Talking Points Once you have crafted your message it is time to develop talking points. Talking points give spokespersons on the issue they key messages to be delivered to the public via the press. There should be no more than 5 points for each issue that address the top level message. Additional points can be added as background to support the top level messages. Points should be short, memorable and to the point. Spokespersons should be able to speak the points on air and persuasively argue an issue.
- 13. Talking Points Sample Talking Points Sample VOTER SUPPRESSION/DEC 10th RALLY TALKING POINTS TOP LEVEL • Our country in the midst of the greatest coordinated legislative attack on voting rights since the dawn of Jim Crow (over 100 years). In 2011 alone, 34 states legislators have introduced voter suppression legislation, with laws passing in 14 of those states, and laws pending in 8. • New state laws are (1) Requiring voters to present unnecessary government-issued photo identification in order to vote; (2) Cutting early voting opportunities in half and ending Sunday voting; (3); Ending same-day voter registration/voting; (4); Stripping Ex criminal offenders of their right to vote. • Reports by the Brennan Center for Justice show that these new voter suppression laws disproportionally impact people of color, working women, blue-collar workers, college students, seniors, and immigrants. • On December 10th – Human Rights Day – The NAACP, in conjunction with dozens of civil, labor, and human rights organizations from across the country are taking a “Stand for Freedom” in New York City and protesting this attack on voting rights.
- 14. Utilizing the Media Utilizing the Media Press Release Opinion Public Service Press Conference & Editorial Announcement Media Event Advisory (Op-Ed) (PSA) Letter to the Pitching Editorial Board Editor Reporters Meeting Interviews
- 15. Press Release Press Release • A brief statement from your organization or a spokesperson commenting on a breaking development, providing important background information and context, or responding to a controversial issue of concern to your organization or constituents. • Your version of the story you want picked up by the press. • Press releases can be distributed via email, fax or mail and can be posted on wire services. • If you need help finding local press contacts, please let us know
- 16. How to Write a Press Release How to Write a Press Release Contact: Name Phone Email HEADLINE Sub-headline Paragraph 1: (Date Line) – Introduction to the issue Paragraph 2: Quote from Primary Voice Paragraph 3: Key detail(s) about the issue Paragraph 4: Quote from second voice or additional details Paragraph 5: Any Additional secondary information on issue ### Boilerplate
- 17. Press Release Sample Press Release Sample Contact: Ben Wrobel (917) 846-0658 bwrobel@naacpnet.org NAACP President Meets with MD Governor to Discuss Death Penalty Repeal (Annapolis, MD) – NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous and Maryland NAACP State Conference President Gerald Stansbury met with Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley this morning to discuss the future of the death penalty in Maryland. The NAACP has advocated for abolishing the death penalty in Maryland and other states. The meeting took place this morning from 9:30 – 10:00 am at the Maryland State House. “We must end the death penalty in Maryland this year,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “This is a matter of justice and a matter of safety. We are optimistic that Maryland will be the sixth state in six years to abolish the death penalty. We are moving closer to abolishing it in the country as a whole.” A bill currently at the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee would repeal the death penalty while reallocating $500,000 of savings annually to the Maryland Victims of Crime Fund, devoted to the needs of murder victims’ families. “Today’s meeting went very well,” stated NAACP Maryland State Conference President Gerald Stansbury. “Our branches across the state, in conjunction with our partners, will continue to do everything they can to keep the momentum going and repeal the death penalty this year. The Prince George’s County Branch is particularly integral to this effort.” A 2003 University of Maryland study commissioned by then-Governor Parris Glendenning found that the primary factors leading to a death sentence in Maryland are the race of the victim and the jurisdiction of the crime. Since 1978, every prisoner executed for murder in Maryland was accused of killing a white person, even though three-quarters of homicide victims in this state are black. ### Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
- 18. Media Advisory Media Advisory • A shorter version of a press release announcing news conferences, media events, breaking news or the impending release of a report. • The advisory should be short and alert people to the five W’s: who, what, where, when and why. • Advisories should be sent to local press outlets as well as to the Associated Press Daybook • A follow-up calls should be made 2-3 hours after the advisory is sent
- 19. How to Write a Media Advisory How to Write a Media Advisory Contact: Name Phone Email Advisory: NAACP & Gov. O’Malley to Make Announcement on Death Penalty Today WHO: Name, Title and Organization; Name, Title and Organization; WHAT: Describe the event in 2-3 sentences WHEN/WHERE: Indicate location and time of the event ### Boilerplate
- 20. Media Advisory Example Media Advisory Example Contact: Ben Wrobel (917) 846-0658 bwrobel@naacpnet.org Advisory: NAACP & Gov. O’Malley to Make Announcement on Death Penalty Today WHO: National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous; Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley; U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings; Maryland NAACP State Conference President Gerald Stansbury; Maryland clergy, legislators and activists. WHAT: NAACP leaders will join with Gov. Martin O'Malley, Rep. Elijah Cummings, leaders of other civil rights and human rights organizations, as well as Maryland clergy, legislators and activists, to call for ending the death penalty in the state of Maryland. A press conference will be held at Lawyer’s Mall outside the Maryland State House on Tuesday, January 15th at noon. The NAACP has made abolishing capital punishment in Maryland a national priority and is working with several other organizations in the state. WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, January 15, 12:00 noon Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Room, Miller Senate Building Annapolis, MD 21401 To Listen in By Phone Call in #: 866-508-2264 ### Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
- 21. Opinion/Editorial Opinion/Editorial Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) An article expressing a personal viewpoint written for the op-ed section of a newspaper. These often provide a subjective take on the subject matter and bring the issue back to a core value. Tips for Op-Ed • Op-Eds should offer key facts to the audience in a persuasive way • The length should be between 500 and 750 words • Op-Eds often require exclusivity for publication by the newspaper/outlets. Once the outlet accepts, check their guidelines to see if you can have it published elsewhere as well. • Engage the reader in the first paragraph or else they will never read the second
- 22. Letter to the Editor Letter to the Editor A letter to the editor is a short letter printed in a newspaper or magazine usually responding to a story or editorial the paper has published. It provides a way to position your organization, correct an error or distortion, raise a perspective not considered and respond to negative coverage. • Letter to the Editor Tips – Keep it short. You only have time to make one point or contradict one point – Pithy and focused – Clever and well written
- 23. Media Events Media Events A meeting to which members of the press are invited to hear a prepared statement and usually to ask questions about that statement Reasons to Call a News Conference • “Breaking News“ is being released • Release of a dramatic new report • Issuance of a statement by prominent organizations or individuals • Announcement of an important campaign or action by well-known groups or individuals • Response to tremendous press interest in an event Media events should have visual appeal
- 24. Public Service Announcements Public Service Announcements A Public Service Announcement is an advertisement broadcast on radio or television, for the public interest. PSAs are intended to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues. A typical PSA is part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public about an issue such as smoking or compulsive gambling. • Tips For Designing A Public Service Announcement – Determine the goal of the campaign – Target your audience – Decide on spin – Identify Program Affairs Director at the station – Determine what format needed for the PSA by the outlet – After sending PSA, follow-up with a phone call to make sure it was received. – Pitch contact on airing the PSA
- 25. Pitchingthe Story Pitching Reporters Pitching Reporters The best tool for garnering media attention is to pitch a reporter on a story. Develop an short persuasive statement that summarizes what makes your story (or your angle on a story) so important to cover. Pitch Tips • Utilize press lists to identify reporters. Keep press lists updated. • Become knowledgeable about reporter’s prior work. • Determine pitch prior to calling reporter & keep it brief and to the point. • Anticipate resistance and don’t exaggerate story. Consider possible arguments and effective responses. • Don't give up if reporter is not interested in the story. • If pitching television, emphasize visual nature of media event and offer a human story as part of the package. TV usually doesn’t confirm until the day of. • If you get voice mail, leave pitch on the voice mail.
- 26. Interviews Interviews Once you have hooked a reporter with a pitch, you may be asked to be interviewed. The best person to submit for an interview is your spokesperson or a leader of the project. No matter who does the interview it is essential to prepare. Interview Tips • Decide if interview advances your goals and promotes your cause • Set goals for the interview and state your message first • Identify three key messages to deliver (Talking Points) • Stay on message. Advance your agenda, not the interviewer's • A reporter may try to divert you off message. If an interviewer changes the subject, bring your answer back to the key messages of the campaign (pivot). • Never restate the message the reporter is using to divert you during the interview.
- 27. Editorial Board Meeting Editorial Board Meeting A sit-down meeting with newspaper editors and issue-specific reporters intended to give them in-depth information about the issue and encourage editorial support. • When Do You Set Up Editorial Board Meetings? • An Editorial Board Meeting should be requested if your issue is topical, your organization is pushing for a particular action, or new information is available that could persuade the paper to take or change its position. • To build relationships with the newspaper editors and get to know them for future story opportunities • This is a once a year request
Editor's Notes
- #2: Introduction as to what the dept does, what we help to create…
- #3: Do we have anyone in the room who handles communications for their branch?
- #4: These are the 4 issues this presentation will cover. All are essential to support a campaign through the press
- #5: A common misconception is that having a story in the press is a success. Press is a means to an end; a tool to reach an audience. If the press isn’t on message than the press has little value
- #6: The reasons to communicate. Sometimes one at a time. Sometimes all at the same time.
- #7: Which groups of people, while important, should receive a modest amount of attention to achieve your ultimate goal One you decide who you want to influence, then you can select which outlet best influences that group. Niche press includes black press outlets, political outlets, etc
- #9: The goal is to create a message that fits the situation. Sometimes if the goal is to raise awareness, the message should be general.
- #17: Headline should be 16 PT font Sub-headline is optional Do not indent paragraphs “ Quotes should be quoatable”
- #20: Same formatting as the release
- #22: Themes that move throughout the piece are very effective
- #25: (in our case, the talking points about Census and why it is important to participate). If PSA is aired, send a thank you note