Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Campaign Evaluation Reflection
For my campaign evaluation, I chose to research an event that Five Points of Life in Gainesville, FL hosted. The event was called An Evening with ABBA and was a concert/silent auction to raise money and awareness. The organization works to promote the other ways, besides giving blood, that you can donate to save lives. The campaign was executed through a Facebook event, press release and PSA video. The event consisted of a band, Almost ABBA, a silent auction, catered food and a martini bar. I personally liked the band choice, Almost ABBA, because A and B are blood types, so it was perfect for this organization. The list of the sponsors and "Special Thanks" that were given were also a plus for the campaign because the sponsors feel appreciated and may have a better chance of working with them on another event.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
TNN Chapters 10&11
From Friending to Funding
Scott Harrison's birthday gift idea was very inspiring! I've heard of the charity Water before and donated to similar organizations that provide fresh well water to third-world countries.
Water is an effective Networked Nonprofit because it is transparent.
Each donor can view progress of the clean water project that they are contributing to and the company is very open.
Water is also a simple nonprofit because their message is easy to communicate.
The final reason why Water is an effective Networked Nonprofit is because it listens, engages and builds relationships with individuals about the water tragedy in certain countries.
Org.'s need to begin to experiment with new fundraising models to supplement the old ones to ensure that they are sustainable in the future. Social media is not always the easiest way to raise money, but online fundraising in general is growing. One must build successful relationships before raising a lot of money online. Connecting with young people is harder online because of a lack of income to donate, so the org. must make their story comfortable and meaningful to get donations.
Social media fundraising follows a certain pattern and requires:
-a multichannel strategy
-the thought of people as partners, not ATM machines (I love this one!)
-storytelling makes fundraising personal
-thankfulness makes donors want to give more
-clicking to leverage donation dollars
-conducting online fundraising contests
It is also important for organizations who are fundraising through social media to have:
-credibility
-simple, compelling messages
urgency
-spread out to the giving
-provide donor recognition
-story tell
Governing Through Networks
Governing: outsiders can train a critical eye on the operations and provide expertise, connections, and financial support. Social media makes governing organizations' fundraising easier because you can see who likes the page and who has visited it, etc.
Most important: organizations are accountable for their communities and not just act on their behalf.
Types of ineffective boards:
-Rubber Stamp Board: board approves the plans and wishes of the staff
-Muddle-Through Board: lack strong leadership at board & staff levels
-Fiduciary Boards: almost entirely focused on financials statements and budgets
(All lack diversity, have poor leadership, and a closed culture that doesn't allow for real discussion and outside input.)
Key characteristics of these governance processes:
-Anticredentialism: anyone can participate regardless of their title or position
-Collective choice system: the group makes key decisions democratically
-Communal validation: the products and choices of the group are open ti public scrutiny and revision
-Open development: closed doors and hiding places, with projects developed transparently
Governing boards act like social networks by:
creating private social networks, joining public online social networks, creating open invitations to board meetings, posting draft agendas online, training board members in social media and network weaving, meeting somewhere new, and sharing information and data.
Scott Harrison's birthday gift idea was very inspiring! I've heard of the charity Water before and donated to similar organizations that provide fresh well water to third-world countries.
Water is an effective Networked Nonprofit because it is transparent.
Each donor can view progress of the clean water project that they are contributing to and the company is very open.
Water is also a simple nonprofit because their message is easy to communicate.
The final reason why Water is an effective Networked Nonprofit is because it listens, engages and builds relationships with individuals about the water tragedy in certain countries.
Org.'s need to begin to experiment with new fundraising models to supplement the old ones to ensure that they are sustainable in the future. Social media is not always the easiest way to raise money, but online fundraising in general is growing. One must build successful relationships before raising a lot of money online. Connecting with young people is harder online because of a lack of income to donate, so the org. must make their story comfortable and meaningful to get donations.
Social media fundraising follows a certain pattern and requires:
-a multichannel strategy
-the thought of people as partners, not ATM machines (I love this one!)
-storytelling makes fundraising personal
-thankfulness makes donors want to give more
-clicking to leverage donation dollars
-conducting online fundraising contests
It is also important for organizations who are fundraising through social media to have:
-credibility
-simple, compelling messages
urgency
-spread out to the giving
-provide donor recognition
-story tell
Governing Through Networks
Governing: outsiders can train a critical eye on the operations and provide expertise, connections, and financial support. Social media makes governing organizations' fundraising easier because you can see who likes the page and who has visited it, etc.
Most important: organizations are accountable for their communities and not just act on their behalf.
Types of ineffective boards:
-Rubber Stamp Board: board approves the plans and wishes of the staff
-Muddle-Through Board: lack strong leadership at board & staff levels
-Fiduciary Boards: almost entirely focused on financials statements and budgets
(All lack diversity, have poor leadership, and a closed culture that doesn't allow for real discussion and outside input.)
Key characteristics of these governance processes:
-Anticredentialism: anyone can participate regardless of their title or position
-Collective choice system: the group makes key decisions democratically
-Communal validation: the products and choices of the group are open ti public scrutiny and revision
-Open development: closed doors and hiding places, with projects developed transparently
Governing boards act like social networks by:
creating private social networks, joining public online social networks, creating open invitations to board meetings, posting draft agendas online, training board members in social media and network weaving, meeting somewhere new, and sharing information and data.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
TNN Chapters 5 & 6
Chapter 5: Listening, Engaging, and Building Relationships
All organizations need to collaborate with other people to be creative and interesting.
Strong relationships are built when you not only take information, but give it as well.
Two-way communication is pertinent when establishing a relationship from the beginning because you want there to be mutual understanding, agreement and respect.
Networking is the #1 way to build new relationships for your organization!
*Safe Harbor project groups have all elaborated with other organizations on campus in order to successfully achieve their goals in promoting domestic violence education.
Organizations need to be: patient, resilient, and resourceful in building relationships.
Publicly announce that you appreciate the help from other organizations so they feel good about giving you their efforts.
Chapter 6: Building Trust Through Transparency
I have always been taught through my PR classes how important it is to have a transparent organization. The act of an organization being transparent can be summed up to keeping no secrets about your organization and telling all of your news to your workers and your clients/users. It can be hard for an organization to be transparent because if they have a "mess up", they are not going to want to admit it to their consumers.
The Penn State communication crisis is a prime example of an organization being transparent because it is very unclear to the PSU students, alumni, fans, etc. about what exactly happened with Sandusky and Joe Paterno. The University's Communication Department needs to do a better job, in my opinion, of addressing the situation fully and explaining it to the whole public.
Transparency is also important for customers/clients to be able to see who works for the nonprofit, the background of the nonprofit, etc. Being honest with the public about "who you are" as nonprofit is the key to success. Even if it does not seem like it currently, there will be a time in a nonprofit's journey when NOT being transparent will bite them in the rear!
All organizations need to collaborate with other people to be creative and interesting.
Strong relationships are built when you not only take information, but give it as well.
Two-way communication is pertinent when establishing a relationship from the beginning because you want there to be mutual understanding, agreement and respect.
Networking is the #1 way to build new relationships for your organization!
*Safe Harbor project groups have all elaborated with other organizations on campus in order to successfully achieve their goals in promoting domestic violence education.
Organizations need to be: patient, resilient, and resourceful in building relationships.
Publicly announce that you appreciate the help from other organizations so they feel good about giving you their efforts.
Chapter 6: Building Trust Through Transparency
I have always been taught through my PR classes how important it is to have a transparent organization. The act of an organization being transparent can be summed up to keeping no secrets about your organization and telling all of your news to your workers and your clients/users. It can be hard for an organization to be transparent because if they have a "mess up", they are not going to want to admit it to their consumers.
The Penn State communication crisis is a prime example of an organization being transparent because it is very unclear to the PSU students, alumni, fans, etc. about what exactly happened with Sandusky and Joe Paterno. The University's Communication Department needs to do a better job, in my opinion, of addressing the situation fully and explaining it to the whole public.
Transparency is also important for customers/clients to be able to see who works for the nonprofit, the background of the nonprofit, etc. Being honest with the public about "who you are" as nonprofit is the key to success. Even if it does not seem like it currently, there will be a time in a nonprofit's journey when NOT being transparent will bite them in the rear!
Monday, October 31, 2011
TNN Chapters 3 & 4
Chapter 3: Understanding Social Networks
-Different types of social networks:
Personal
Professional
Self-organized
Networked Nonprofits
-Our society turned lazy and communities got smaller in the1990's because of home entertainment systems and working longer hours. Social media brought much of the community feeling back through Facebook and MySpace.
-Nodes= people or organizations on social networks
Ties= the connections between the nodes
Hubs= larger nodes within networks, people or organizations with many connections (make things go "viral" online)
Core= inner cluster of people who do most of the work on any project or effort
Power Law of Distribution= imbalance of the social Web, where the users don't actually contribute much of what is on their pages
Clusters= groups of people who are connected to one another, but who have few connections to the rest of the network
-A network's edge of periphery is vital to its growth b/c the people in the periphery are likely to be participants, the core or hubs, in other networks.
-Networks made up of strong ties entirely don't expand, they stay as tight-knit cliques. Networks of loose ties are too weak to get anything done.
-Mapping your network can be expensive, but some online media channels are free (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). We networked Safe Harbor's events during Homecoming and the Chick-Fil-A fundraiser at Clemson through Facebook and Twitter because we do not have any money for projects.
-Twitter can be useful because a network's hubs/"influencers" may have many followers who will "retweet" the message.
-Social capital= what makes relationships meaningful and resilient. Trust and reciprocity.
-Social media builds social capital because:
People are easy to find online and on many channels
Talk is cheap
Serendipity is enhanced online
Reciprocity is incredibly easy
-Network weaving= set of skills that help strengthen and build social networks
Chapter 4: Creating a Social Culture
-Organizational transparency= customers and employees seeing all of the org., bad and good. No secrets.
-Social media policy= handbook manual encourages staff, chapters and volunteers to participate in social media as ambassadors
-Social culture= the org. reorients and affects the roles of all staffers and improves their engagement with the public
-Working Wikily= the organizational shift to a social culture, playing with the word Wikipedia
-The transition to a social culture is one that moves from silos to hives -Geoff Livingston
-Organizations who try to use social media without a social culture will be very lonely online.
-Some orgs. are scared of social media because they do not feel that they will be able to control everything that is done and said online.
-Almost everyone uses social media already with phones, email and surfing the Web.
-Questions orgs. have when considering a social strategy: what are the appropriate boundaries between public and private info? How do we balance our interest in being open with the technical needs to safeguard against cyber attacks? Will we be living in the Wild West if we open ourselves up online? How much do we have to be "on" with social media? Who should operate the channels?
-Some funny social media policies:
Don't write stupid stuff you'll regret some day, because some day you'll regret it.
Don't moon people with cameras (or at least hide your face when you do).
Remember that you can't control it once you hit "update".
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
TNN Chapters 1 & 2
The Networked Nonprofit
Chapter 1: Introducing Networked Nonprofits
Surfrider is a networked nonprofit because it is a transparent organization with easy entrance standards and raises awareness and money for oceans and beaches through conservation, research and education. There are many volunteers and paying members leading events for Surfrider and social media pages.
Networked nonprofits incorporate relationship building with people beyond their walls to spread their work.
Free agents= individuals combining their social media savvy with their passion for social causes to accomplish amazing things.
Social media revolution: "the genie has popped out of the bottle, and she won't be put back in" technology will continue to increase, not decrease.
Sean Parker (co-creator of Napster) was in Social Network, the Facebook movie.
"Social media use is a contact sport, not a spectator sport."
LOVED the part about Peggy's Challenge campaign for FA and how she realized social media is such an asset! The viral emails she sent and the help from her kids with Facebook proves how valuable of a tool it can be.
Social media is NOT: hard or time consuming. it IS: core to our work and constituents online.
Social change= any effort by people and organizations to make the world a better place.
Social media is channels (vehicles for conversations).
Chapter 2: Nonprofit Challenges and Trends
Nonprofits need to embrace a new way of thinking and working as networks!!
Elements that make networked nonprofits so effective:
-social networks
-simplifying work
-becoming transparent
-building external relationships
Elements of networked nonprofits that need to be improved:
-leadership
-structure
-rise of Millennials (born between 1978 and 1992, most racially diverse, not likely to join memberships for a lifetime)
-rise of free agents
I really like reading the style of this book! It has a lot of excellent real-life comparisons to networked nonprofits and I think I will learn a lot from it!
Chapter 1: Introducing Networked Nonprofits
Surfrider is a networked nonprofit because it is a transparent organization with easy entrance standards and raises awareness and money for oceans and beaches through conservation, research and education. There are many volunteers and paying members leading events for Surfrider and social media pages.
Networked nonprofits incorporate relationship building with people beyond their walls to spread their work.
Free agents= individuals combining their social media savvy with their passion for social causes to accomplish amazing things.
Social media revolution: "the genie has popped out of the bottle, and she won't be put back in" technology will continue to increase, not decrease.
Sean Parker (co-creator of Napster) was in Social Network, the Facebook movie.
"Social media use is a contact sport, not a spectator sport."
LOVED the part about Peggy's Challenge campaign for FA and how she realized social media is such an asset! The viral emails she sent and the help from her kids with Facebook proves how valuable of a tool it can be.
Social media is NOT: hard or time consuming. it IS: core to our work and constituents online.
Social change= any effort by people and organizations to make the world a better place.
Social media is channels (vehicles for conversations).
Chapter 2: Nonprofit Challenges and Trends
Nonprofits need to embrace a new way of thinking and working as networks!!
Elements that make networked nonprofits so effective:
-social networks
-simplifying work
-becoming transparent
-building external relationships
Elements of networked nonprofits that need to be improved:
-leadership
-structure
-rise of Millennials (born between 1978 and 1992, most racially diverse, not likely to join memberships for a lifetime)
-rise of free agents
I really like reading the style of this book! It has a lot of excellent real-life comparisons to networked nonprofits and I think I will learn a lot from it!
Monday, October 10, 2011
SCfN Chapters 9 & 10
Chapter 9: Selecting and Training Spokespeople
I agree with everything this chapter said about having a spokesperson that people can trust. I feel that the credibility or your company/organization depends on more than just the message that you are trying to send. The message is just as important as the people and methods that you send the message through.
For example, the message we were trying to send during Homecoming was that the Clemson family cares about your family. We carefully chose to send this message during the football game against Boston College on the Homecoming floats built by fraternities, sororities and other on-campus organizations. The deliverance of this message was through a table set up on Bowman field, purple ribbons pomped onto all of the floats, and a Safe Harbor banner on the float rolled on the field at half time of the game. I feel that the floats were great "spokespeople" for our message of Clemson family cares for your family because people of all ages come out to Bowman field with their families every year to see the floats. I also feel that the on-campus organizations, who built the floats, were great spokespeople for the message because we represent over 30% of Clemson's student population and have been participating in philanthropy events, such as domestic violence prevention and education, for many years. The fact that all of this was organized through our Comm 456 class gave the message even more credibility because we had supervision and motivation to not only educate, but receive a good grade!!
Erin got some experience doing media interviews when she called into the local radio station and spoke about our message and Homecoming efforts. I did not get a chance to hear what she said, but I am SURE that she stated the message more than once, didn't say anything she felt uncomfortable saying, spoke in complete sentences, was memorable, didn't fake anything, said Safe Harbor and Comm 456's full name, knew prior to the interview who she was talking with, was animated, and did not play or fidget!!! :)
Chapter 10: Capitalizing on the Power of Partnership
Collaborating with parters of similar goals and/or messages is a great way to increase the amount of people who view/hear your message. Opportunities that would not typically be available to your organization may become accessible if you parter with someone who has those sources and opportunities! We partnered with Greek life and other on-campus organizations when we worked with Safe Harbor during Homecoming. We asked the organizations to put a purple ribbon on their float to support domestic violence awareness through Safe Harbor. We would not have been able to reach out to as many families about our message if it were not for the organizations collaborating with us on the effort.
Although we did not have any negative suspicions or communication between our partnership of working with the other on-campus organizations building floats, I can see how that could be a problem in the real world. Therefore, internal communication is key to not have any suspicions between partnerships. Keeping members well informed and "in the loop" is an important step in creating internal communication. Also, staff members should have full briefing on the planning process and should join brainstorming sessions. Internal teams should have communication training at least once a year in order to maintain positive communication.
The press plays a huge role in media partnerships as well. This benefits your organization in many ways: gets the message out faster & to more people, gains credibility because a journalist covered the story, shows your competitor what they're up against, and civic engagement. It was important for our class to get our message out in the media both before and during Homecoming in order to inform the public of what our intentions were with the purple ribbons on the floats, the table on Bowman field, and the message we wanted to reside that may not have been obvious.
Case Study: Many Americans misunderstand and are confused about learning disabilities. Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities was created to provide the media with public awareness strategies to educate readers, listeners and viewers. Media and information kits were sent to hundreds of reporters and policy makers, and focus groups and opinion research techniques were used to refine the messages. Overall, campaign garnered more than $150 million in free advertising on the Web, in print, and in the electronic media. Lasted five years because of increased media coverage. Reached 35% membership increase!!!
I agree with everything this chapter said about having a spokesperson that people can trust. I feel that the credibility or your company/organization depends on more than just the message that you are trying to send. The message is just as important as the people and methods that you send the message through.
For example, the message we were trying to send during Homecoming was that the Clemson family cares about your family. We carefully chose to send this message during the football game against Boston College on the Homecoming floats built by fraternities, sororities and other on-campus organizations. The deliverance of this message was through a table set up on Bowman field, purple ribbons pomped onto all of the floats, and a Safe Harbor banner on the float rolled on the field at half time of the game. I feel that the floats were great "spokespeople" for our message of Clemson family cares for your family because people of all ages come out to Bowman field with their families every year to see the floats. I also feel that the on-campus organizations, who built the floats, were great spokespeople for the message because we represent over 30% of Clemson's student population and have been participating in philanthropy events, such as domestic violence prevention and education, for many years. The fact that all of this was organized through our Comm 456 class gave the message even more credibility because we had supervision and motivation to not only educate, but receive a good grade!!
Erin got some experience doing media interviews when she called into the local radio station and spoke about our message and Homecoming efforts. I did not get a chance to hear what she said, but I am SURE that she stated the message more than once, didn't say anything she felt uncomfortable saying, spoke in complete sentences, was memorable, didn't fake anything, said Safe Harbor and Comm 456's full name, knew prior to the interview who she was talking with, was animated, and did not play or fidget!!! :)
Chapter 10: Capitalizing on the Power of Partnership
Collaborating with parters of similar goals and/or messages is a great way to increase the amount of people who view/hear your message. Opportunities that would not typically be available to your organization may become accessible if you parter with someone who has those sources and opportunities! We partnered with Greek life and other on-campus organizations when we worked with Safe Harbor during Homecoming. We asked the organizations to put a purple ribbon on their float to support domestic violence awareness through Safe Harbor. We would not have been able to reach out to as many families about our message if it were not for the organizations collaborating with us on the effort.
Although we did not have any negative suspicions or communication between our partnership of working with the other on-campus organizations building floats, I can see how that could be a problem in the real world. Therefore, internal communication is key to not have any suspicions between partnerships. Keeping members well informed and "in the loop" is an important step in creating internal communication. Also, staff members should have full briefing on the planning process and should join brainstorming sessions. Internal teams should have communication training at least once a year in order to maintain positive communication.
The press plays a huge role in media partnerships as well. This benefits your organization in many ways: gets the message out faster & to more people, gains credibility because a journalist covered the story, shows your competitor what they're up against, and civic engagement. It was important for our class to get our message out in the media both before and during Homecoming in order to inform the public of what our intentions were with the purple ribbons on the floats, the table on Bowman field, and the message we wanted to reside that may not have been obvious.
Case Study: Many Americans misunderstand and are confused about learning disabilities. Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities was created to provide the media with public awareness strategies to educate readers, listeners and viewers. Media and information kits were sent to hundreds of reporters and policy makers, and focus groups and opinion research techniques were used to refine the messages. Overall, campaign garnered more than $150 million in free advertising on the Web, in print, and in the electronic media. Lasted five years because of increased media coverage. Reached 35% membership increase!!!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
SCfN Chapters 5 & 7
Navigating a Changing Industry
*Anticipate the needs of multi-platform journalism
*Plan to make you Web site a TV station
*Use media trends to shape outreach
Lynn Sweet, typical print journalist, of Chicago Sun Times used technology and the Internet to cover stories of Obama in Africa in 2006. "Backpack journalism"
In 2009, all full-power TV stations switched to only broadcasting in digital format. Much faster, giving stations more potential to produce high-quality images.
Internet empowers and informs people. VT shootings traveled by a cell phone video sent to CNN and facebook pages of students missing and alive.
Bloggers are now "citizen journalist" and taken seriously by mainstream media.
Broadband & DSL makes surfing the Internet much more convenient.
TV, radio, cable and magazines are all on a protracted decline due to the Internet and Smartphones.
Local news now pays more attention to their own Web sites and daily newspapers decline circulation.
Weekly newspapers are still popular due to suburban and rural readers.
Ethnic news is increasing because the diversity of the U.S. is increasing as well.
Comedy Central covers news stories and puts a twist on them to attract different audiences that don't watch regular news.
Magazines offer separate articles on the Web to adapt to the increase in Internet use.
Subscription satellite services are now offered through radio to keep up with technology.
If blogs attract enough interest, the stories will make it into a paper.
Blogs are successful because of the first-person style, the multiple sources, the different lengths, and the two-way street.
Earning Good Media Coverage
*Cultivate personal media contacts
*Understand media cultures
*Pitch story ideas regularly
*Prepare for media interviews
*Organize press conferences and briefings
*Influence the influentials
Secure strong relationships with local reporters to get your stories out faster.
Keep good, up-to-date press lists through directories and credits.
Personal letters in the mail can be more effective for certain occasions.
The golden email rule: Don't ever send an email that you would not want to receive yourself.
Figure out the appropriate way to reach reporters depending on your organization and location.
Make basic pitch calls calls for careful research on the reporter first.
When a reporter calls and asks questions with answers you're not sure of, call back in a little after looking it up and make 3 basic points to stick to so the reporter gets the appropriate quotes.
When taking phone messages from the media, find out the reporter's name, the news organization and the deadline.
Keep the audience in mind when doing a phone and/or online interview.
Before an interview for your spokesperson, give them all the insights about the reporter you can.
Face-to-face interviews: sit in with your spokesperson, audiotape the interview, keep the background appropriate for photos and specify conditions before the interview.
TV and video interviews: do your homework, be flexible and mind the details.
Briefing the media is convenient because you are in full control of the invitation list and agenda, reporters can prepare a good story and your organization's work is open to the press.
Audio press conferences are a popular and practical alternative to regular press conferences in person because you can be in different locations.
Organizing and preparing for live press conference are complicated:
physical arrangements, location, registration, conference timing, speakers, statements, visuals, presentations, gate crashers, follow-up, no-shows, evaluations, reporters and inaccuracies.
Organizing major events:
think production, pull out all the stops, expect gate crashers and alternative media and decide in advance how you will handle them, and build in time to produce a memorable event.
Combine actual news with good visuals to get past media gatekeepers to electronic media.
Talk shows explore issues and build awareness of your organization.
Webcasts allow your organization to have a semi-TV station on their Web site.
VNRs (video news releases) need to be well planned because they have to be able to play on any TV station.
Radio offers a proactive way to reach out to targeted audiences and familiarize them with your organization and issues (talk radio, radio tours, trailers, wraparounds and sound bites).
Op-eds in newspapers are convenient because it is similar to an advertisement and often allow opinion, proactive ideas and call to arms.
Columnists write opinions and draw conclusions and are usually biased. Influencing them can be tough, so research them before contacting.
Bloggers are also influenced with info. and will write their opinions with targeted audiences following their messages, so find bloggers with interests similar to your organization.
*Anticipate the needs of multi-platform journalism
*Plan to make you Web site a TV station
*Use media trends to shape outreach
Lynn Sweet, typical print journalist, of Chicago Sun Times used technology and the Internet to cover stories of Obama in Africa in 2006. "Backpack journalism"
In 2009, all full-power TV stations switched to only broadcasting in digital format. Much faster, giving stations more potential to produce high-quality images.
Internet empowers and informs people. VT shootings traveled by a cell phone video sent to CNN and facebook pages of students missing and alive.
Bloggers are now "citizen journalist" and taken seriously by mainstream media.
Broadband & DSL makes surfing the Internet much more convenient.
TV, radio, cable and magazines are all on a protracted decline due to the Internet and Smartphones.
Local news now pays more attention to their own Web sites and daily newspapers decline circulation.
Weekly newspapers are still popular due to suburban and rural readers.
Ethnic news is increasing because the diversity of the U.S. is increasing as well.
Comedy Central covers news stories and puts a twist on them to attract different audiences that don't watch regular news.
Magazines offer separate articles on the Web to adapt to the increase in Internet use.
Subscription satellite services are now offered through radio to keep up with technology.
If blogs attract enough interest, the stories will make it into a paper.
Blogs are successful because of the first-person style, the multiple sources, the different lengths, and the two-way street.
Earning Good Media Coverage
*Cultivate personal media contacts
*Understand media cultures
*Pitch story ideas regularly
*Prepare for media interviews
*Organize press conferences and briefings
*Influence the influentials
Secure strong relationships with local reporters to get your stories out faster.
Keep good, up-to-date press lists through directories and credits.
Personal letters in the mail can be more effective for certain occasions.
The golden email rule: Don't ever send an email that you would not want to receive yourself.
Figure out the appropriate way to reach reporters depending on your organization and location.
Make basic pitch calls calls for careful research on the reporter first.
When a reporter calls and asks questions with answers you're not sure of, call back in a little after looking it up and make 3 basic points to stick to so the reporter gets the appropriate quotes.
When taking phone messages from the media, find out the reporter's name, the news organization and the deadline.
Keep the audience in mind when doing a phone and/or online interview.
Before an interview for your spokesperson, give them all the insights about the reporter you can.
Face-to-face interviews: sit in with your spokesperson, audiotape the interview, keep the background appropriate for photos and specify conditions before the interview.
TV and video interviews: do your homework, be flexible and mind the details.
Briefing the media is convenient because you are in full control of the invitation list and agenda, reporters can prepare a good story and your organization's work is open to the press.
Audio press conferences are a popular and practical alternative to regular press conferences in person because you can be in different locations.
Organizing and preparing for live press conference are complicated:
physical arrangements, location, registration, conference timing, speakers, statements, visuals, presentations, gate crashers, follow-up, no-shows, evaluations, reporters and inaccuracies.
Organizing major events:
think production, pull out all the stops, expect gate crashers and alternative media and decide in advance how you will handle them, and build in time to produce a memorable event.
Combine actual news with good visuals to get past media gatekeepers to electronic media.
Talk shows explore issues and build awareness of your organization.
Webcasts allow your organization to have a semi-TV station on their Web site.
VNRs (video news releases) need to be well planned because they have to be able to play on any TV station.
Radio offers a proactive way to reach out to targeted audiences and familiarize them with your organization and issues (talk radio, radio tours, trailers, wraparounds and sound bites).
Op-eds in newspapers are convenient because it is similar to an advertisement and often allow opinion, proactive ideas and call to arms.
Columnists write opinions and draw conclusions and are usually biased. Influencing them can be tough, so research them before contacting.
Bloggers are also influenced with info. and will write their opinions with targeted audiences following their messages, so find bloggers with interests similar to your organization.
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