/ . Workshop Handout

Making the Headlines: Using the mainstream media to further yourcampaign

IntroductionMost people get almost all their news and information from mainstream media. Thismeans that for many projects it can be useful to be reported on in newspapers and onthe local TV and radio.

Using the media can help you win your campaign. But there are some important thingsyou should bear in mind when you are considering contact with the media as it's quitean un-equal relationship. You won't have much power or control, so it's important toassert what you do have!

This handout provides information on the following topics:

Interacting with the media P.?Research before interviews P.?Getting your message heard P.?General advice for interviews P.?TV and radio interviews P.?Printed interviews P.?Interviews with challenging journalists P.?Writing a good press release P.?

Interacting with the mediaUsing the media doesn't have to be just sending a press release. Think about all thedifferent ways you can get your messagein the media.

- TV phone in- Radio phone in- Press conference- Make a film that the media might put on their website~ Interviewed for TV at your event- Interview in TV studio- Letters page of newspapers- Photograph a visual stunt, if the press wont write about you're message they

might still use a photo with a simple caption.- Interviewed for radio at your event- Interview for radio in studio

1 of5

Research before interviewsBefore the interview, make sure you have found out these 10 things:

What exactly the interview is going to be aboutWhat angle the journalist will takeWhat kind of people will be watching / listeningWho else will be involved and/or who else the journalist is talking toWhether it will be live or pre-recorded for later broadcastWhat form the final broadcast will take (one-to-one interview, as part of areport, part of a documentary, etc.)How long the final edit of the interview is likely to beWho the interviewer isWhether you can have the questions in advance (tell them you'll be able to givemore interesting answers)

10. What the interviewers style is (watch/listen to some of their previous interviews).

Getting your message heard

Keep it simpleThink of no more than 3 points that you want to get across. Too many points confusethe listener and make the issue sound complicated. If several of you are to beinterviewed then agree on the same 3 points.

Use repetition WSay your key points over and over, but rephrase them each time.

Prepare some soundbitesA soundbite is a clear, concise and punchy sentence that get's your message across. It'sis a quotable quote: short, self‐contained, phrased in everyday language. It should becolourful or metaphorical. An advantage of using soundbites is that if the media only usea 4 or 5 second clip from the interview it's likely they will use your soundbite. Somefamous sound bites are:

I may disagree with what you have to you say, but I shall defend, to the death,your right to say it - Voltaire

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get itspants on - Sir Winston Churchill

The resistance to extreme energy is well organised, well resourced and wellsupported - Sharon Brown

Lists of three, lists of three, lists of threeGrouping things in lists of three sounds good in interviews and looks good in print. Forexample 'The US has shown us fracking is dangerous, destructive and devastatescommunities'.

2 0 f 5

.Seneral advice for interviews

I Be the three C's:Confident, clear and co-operative.

Use everyday languageAvoid acronyms and technical terms at all costs. For example don't say 'flowback' say'fluid that returns to the surface with the gas'.

Illustrate your points with clear examplesRefer to other communities or scientific reports, but keep statistics and figures to aminimum.

Point out untruths immediatelyCalmly and politely interrupt the journalist, to make sure mistakes or misinterpretationsare addressed.

Expect personal questions (especially at the end of the interview)Interviewers often focus on personalities and personal details. They can be moreinterested in your personal life (what they call the human angle) than the details of yourcampaign. You may wish to politely but firmly refuse to divulge personal details andpoint out that lifestyle is not the issue here: the campaign is far more interesting to thereaders/listeners/viewers.

Rememberyour audienceUnlike you and your fellow campaigners they won't know much about fracking, keepthat in mind when answering questions.

Long, uncomfortable... silenceDon't feel pressured by long silences during an interview - it's a trick to make you saymore than you intend. When giving an answer, say what you mean to say and thenstop!

Radio and TV interviews

Paint a pictureOne thing that all great spokespeople have in common is the ability to create pictureswith words. Doing a radio interview should turn us all in to William Wordsworth, strollingthrough the rugged hillside watching daffodils dance and laugh in the gentle lakelandbreeze! You won't have to look very hard for that inner poet, without realising it youprobably use images and metaphores already to explain complex points.

Concise and Precise10 seconds is a long time in radio. If you can speak concisely not only will yourinterview be more powerful, it'll also be less likely to be edited (a process in which youhave no control).

3o f5

Half an hour interview squeezed in to 30 secondsBecause of a lack of air t ime you may find you're interview is edited down beyondrecognition, this happens a lot though so don't be dispirited.

Listen [ w a t c h to yourselfMost of us hate listening to a recording of our own voice or seeing ourselves on film, butit's really useful to hear/see how you come across so you can make improvements fornext time.

Listen carefully to the interviewerYes this is very basic advice, but when being filmed it is incredibly easy to be distractedby the bright lights, massive cameras and all the people milling around.

Where do I look? 'Look at the interviewer. Ignore the microphone and camera.

Pause for thought and second chancesIn a recorded interview don't be afraid to pause to think about how to answer aquestion, the pause will be edited out. If you mess up an answer you could ask to haveanother bash at the question, the interviewer will normally agree. If they don't agree it'salso useful to remember that coughing fits sound awful on tape, so if you really messthings up in an interview that is being recorded you should start coughing. They will askyou the question again.

Interview for print

If you can't answer a questionJust say you don’t know. You can contact the journalist after the interview with anyinformation you don't have at your fingertips

Respectjoumalists' deadlinesJournalists work to strict deadlines, and they have stories ready very quickly. It 'simportant to return their phone calls and keep to the deadlines they set.

Keep in touch with the reporterNext t ime you have something newsworthy send the reporter a press release. If theyget to know you, next time a fracking story makes the news you might be their firstpoint of call for comment.

4 o f 5

f1/(.

flVriting a good press releaseBecause press releases are aimed at the news pages they should contain news (notopinions or rantsl). News is about something happening, rather than somebody sayingsomething (unless that somebody happens to be famous). If you want coverage in thenews pages then think about how you can create events, e.g. a public meeting, acolourful protest, a petition. You can then use these ‘news events' to help get yourmessage across.

Send your press releases by email directly to the news desk, or to a journalist known tocover this sort of news. If you're arranging a photo opportunity send the release to thepicture desk or Picture Editor too. Don't forget that journalists have to plough their waythrough hundreds of news releases every day, so make sure yours stands out: Go for aneye-catching headline, then grab their attention in the first sentence with the mainpoints - always include all of the five W's: Who, What, Where, When and Why (notnecessarily in that order, but do put them all in the first sentence, or at least the firstparagraph. For example:

(who) Two women from Lancashire (when) have today (what) immobilised a vehicle andsecured themselves to it therefore blocking the only entrance to Igas's controversialfracking site (where) near Salford. (why) The protestors want to stop fracking before itgoes in to full production because it pollutes water, air and will not provide cheapenergy.

After that, keep it short, no more than one A4 page. Sentences and paragraphsshould be short and stick to 'hard facts' and no matter how tempting, avoid opinions,rants or rambling on! If there are lots of details to go in the news release then add themat the bottom under the heading 'Notes to Editors'. Add a couple of super snappyquotes, maybe somebody involved in the campaign explaining what your group is doingand why, for example:

'I have disrupted igas‘s fracking site today because fracking is a toxic nightmare, andthe suggestion by David Cameron that it will bring down energy prices is completelybaseless'.

And somebody famous commenting, for example lord stern, saying:

In the UK, gas is a commodity that's traded on the international market, so it will besold to the highest bidder, whether inside or outside the UK. Any shale gas production inthe UK is very unlikely to have an impact on the world price'.

Include your contact numbers on the release - ensure the phones are working, and thatthe person answering the phone is fully prepared ‐ do they know the contents of thenews release, have some background and know what's currently happening? Add detailsof picture opportunities, give the press a time and place along with a short, visual andenticing description of what will happen. Also set up a flicker account in advance and puta link to it in the press release, take photos of the action yourself and upload them toflicker. ASAP. At the end, under the 'Notes to Editors' heading, write a short paragraphwith some background to your group or campaign.

5 of5

\mMAo:2.0mm03.838.0.3000000mm5330.0.3000#05000

m-30._..3..

E00020.z o w fi z m g m o m a b a b x.3230:© 3 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 m m m £ 0

maniac0033:3330=63>n.dmmSA.69:20.600:90.3....‐vqogmnm.n0

dim200x030.003300.200«00.00300.0302080300”2...00000000:001:500:0.0m0_m0..0.02003130003008...

10.300:0000300.2...000.4.500.40309.000":0CKE.«012:0300.0000:0060:00:?m::00<_H5.#3000<0.“09.0:.m03.000:00.320..0<00nn30nH00:0.000.00.0.8300.mcmmmx..0mn>005".23.0..0020<01Nooo0000.0

0nn0003..

(030.00...N03.000300630..090.3...c:no:<0:n.0:0.mmm00<0_0030:n.350:0...00.0”

.200.00m3.00203000<c:00:<0.......0:0.00000580300"302.0mocn...<<0.0m000:32:080.00.3:00EA.<<0__.03003H00:000...“300000.0

0..M052.0000000.20...0000":0...00000:...n.50003003.0003.203010..m.200.000.30n0.000.“3.03000.52.200.000.00.0:0<0no00.2

8002.01.

403.03.19.:030.0.8130.201:.<01$3=000......

.H...<0.00:0x0.0..0n.0:0:000<0.0030:n.6030.203:3162.0:00000:3.03.6380000:00m2.030.03030060."2.0cx.030:.<.cmn

00"....003<300003:002.0mn0_00m230%00.000100000030.0.Hn«00W30:00.5.000m306<.201030.000.0-0030..:m.3..m...0.00:.<.220‑

30:300000:00.30%30003..302000:".n.H...0020.8200".00100:m::00<0n@020:3000..n0002..".00...x003:...300.0032.03

0000.0002.00.32.0.20<.mno.2...no0003<0000..

00:0.>330...:03>3...mnoamsa00.0"

.<<00109.00:0N0..03..EA000.000305020005100300".<<00.000.4.03?203.30":000:33.60:0.”000.8000:3..3.70.0.0$00.96

03009.0?003m306<.203801..NN20:030.0.3>5:0:0no0030902008203...3303:...0."mean?5.0.3920000.0.050202:

<<0mn«00.009.003000mm.20000005010.23.20.<0000x0000000:3..9503...

H :0000..0005.6000:0”3 : 0 0 “ 3 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? 0 0 0 5 0 0 9 5 0 0 9 3 3 .

HM.m0..00...n<mczn0<1000.000xm<0=fi3 2 0 0 ” \ \ 2 < < . 2 . m 0 0 0 0 0 0 x . 0 0 3 \ 0 3 0 0 0 \ m > < 2 0 4 0 m m > a n z m o z w > w 4 0 2 3 0 m m \

U .90010.0:>2.0.00301.00m0..n.0...n<m0000<Nopw.0 0 . 0 0 3 0 0 ” : 3 0 . \ \ 2 2 2 . n : 0 0 0 0 3 _ . 0 : . 0 0 3 \ . n . . 0 n _ A . : 0 6 3 3 0 3 . 0 - 3 0 . . n : - m : m m 0 x - . 0 0 _ 0 0 3 0 0

m2Um20n0mn0m0..n0..

.uoq0:0<0..<.0.20m300.30:0:0n0.030:30%0.0000000900002.0.00.

*3.00.0.630003003...500#:10020000030:3000”: 2 0 n \ \ m . . 0 n x - 0 2 . 0 . . 0 . 0 . 3 4 0 0 5 3 0 4 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 . . - . 0 0 0 - § . . 0 0 n 0 : m - 0 0 3 0 : - 3 0 0 0 \

*3.00.0.643.00”. 0.200202..$0093 : 0 u \ \ . “ . . 0 0 x - 0 . . . . . 0 3 . c x \ ? 0 0 x . : 0 - n : . . 0 0 7 . 0 - 3 0 - 0 0 . 1 . 1 2 m e

*.030»20.203.030030...30mm”E H 0 { 3 0 0 5 0 2 . 0 . 0 . 0 5 0 0 2 0 : - 3 0 0 0 - _ 0 n 0 m m - : 0 . 2 m \

*0.1002009n 000.40:30mm”: 2 0 " \ 3 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 5 3 0 3