FENTON FUNDAMENTALS: COMMUNICATIONS NEWS AND TIPS

What's the best way to help time-strapped journalists cover your issue? Do some of the work yourself. The easier you make their jobs, the more likely they are to tackle your issue, tell it from your perspective and come back in the future. Here's examples of how.

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In This Issue:

1. Make ads that make the news

Chances are you've seen recent TV ads about Rupert Murdoch and the FCC. Or how owning an SUV supports terrorism. Chances are better you saw the ad on a newscast, not during the commercial break.

MoveOn.org is Fenton's latest client to realize how much free media coverage is possible when your ad campaign is compelling and provocative. And these ads help TV news producers quickly deliver visual stories of the day.

With MoveOn's campaign to protest the Federal Communications Commission's changes on media ownership, Fenton put the face of media mogul Rupert Murdoch on the complicated issue. The controversial ads blanketed news coverage, including NBC "Nightly News," CBS "Evening News," "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and Washington Post.

When columnist and author Arianna Huffington teamed up with Pulp Fiction producer Lawrence Bender, activist and producer Laurie David, and Ari Emanuel (co-founder of Endeavor Talent and Literary Agency) to form the Detroit Project, their goal was to connect the dots between gas-guzzling SUVs and our dependence on foreign oil.

In January and May 2003, the group ran three separate, provocative TV ads driving home the point that SUV drivers' frequent trips to the pump means more money in the hands of countries supporting terrorism. Worse yet, American automakers have failed to utilize existing technology that the Japanese already use to greatly improve fuel efficiency.

Millions of Americans saw the ad campaigns, but not just from the ad buy itself. Far more saw the commercials because TV news broadcasts around the world played the commercials as part of their coverage of the ad campaign.

Fenton made it easy by setting up a satellite uplink for TV stations to download and re-play the 30-second spots, which resulted in 700 national and local stories and more than $2 million in free airtime.

Broadcast coverage and 300 print stories drove more than 6 million people to the Detroit Project website where visitors pledged to drop their SUVs and gave donations in the hundreds of thousands.

All this from a relatively inexpensive ad buy coupled with strategic pitching and guest interviews on top shows. If only our cars were that efficient.















2. Why aren't we quoted? Make your spokesperson a media mainstay

How many times has your organization been left out of the news?

Communications directors are often pressured to get their executive director or spokesperson quoted regularly in the news, because being a prominent source on your issue affects your success with funders, members, policy makers and other constituents.

It can be a slow process, but here are some ways to dramatically improve how the media knows about and uses your spokesperson. Stay tuned for more exciting developments on this in the next issue.

  • Make sure your spokesperson is media trained, knowledgeable and gives insightful quotes. Media return to those who meet their needs in the most compelling and professional way.

  • Create and fax to reporters a one-page "expert source" letter detailing your spokesperson's expertise, credentials and media experience. Encourage recipients to keep it on file for future stories, and make the case for why your spokesperson should be their go-to source on the issue. You'd be surprised how many keep these and call months later for comment.

  • Build relationships with reporters covering your issue by thanking them for good stories and providing your own perspective when stories break.

  • The best way to get in stories is to drive them yourself through media outreach on a campaign. Aside from the coverage itself, you will develop media relationships and learn who covers what. Focus on print and online first, since many journalists search past articles to find their sources.

  • Numerous websites catalogue various types of experts sources, including: www.askanexpert.com, www.expertclick.com, www2.profnet.com, www.newstream.com, www.refdesk.com/expert.html, www.experts.com, www.journalismnet.com/experts/index.htm.

  • Increase your visibility and credibility by speaking at conferences, press conferences, seminars and political hearings. You can also proactively organize a media breakfast/lunch briefing with other experts (business leaders, politicians, etc.) for a roundtable discussion on your issue.








    • 3. Telephone news conferences ring true

    How can you get media all over the U.S. to cover your press conference? The answer may be sitting on your desk.

    Nonprofits and journalists are increasingly singing the praises of telephone news conferences, where organizations set up a toll free call for reporters to dial-in, hear the speakers and ask questions.

    The virtual press conference allows busy spokespeople to avoid disrupting their schedules for a physical press conference and reporters to listen and type notes without leaving their desks. Plus, radio reporters can get the sound bites they need right over the phone.

    When the American Medical Association held a news conference in New Orleans about the health effects of underage drinking, the addition of a telephone news conference allowed reporters across the nation to participate without taking more time from the busy spokespeople.

    For calls with too many attendees or unfriendly listeners, organizations can decide which participants can ask questions. And following the call, you can purchase transcripts or audio tapes of the call and receive a list of attendees for follow-up.

    Telephone news conferences also provide a flexible, rapid response to breaking news. Before the war on Iraq, Fenton's Iraq Information Policy Project often held telephone conferences to immediately respond to Colin Powell's UN address or to promote opposition voices.

    For under $400, telephone news conferences are a cost-effective strategy that makes things easier for everybody.












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