Marius Uzolas, European Youth Foundation Media Traning Representative, is now with us to guide a session. This session will be interactive because the field is very broad, and may differ from country to country.
Media these days are an important tool to get your message spread, more than shouting on the street.
Let's try to summarize Marius' presentation a bit. Communication and desicions about communication should be based on four principles.
1. Whom i want to inform? What change you want to bring and on which level. Institutional level, political level, personal level. Define your target groups. Who is relied to the topic? (Members/participants, partners, opinion leaders, interest groups, community, society, institutions). Some target groups you have to make aware, some you have to ask for change, some you have to ask for money.
2. Message content. What will I say. What/where/when? Explain why it is important, crucial at this point. What will (it) change? Make the before and after picture. Who's benefiting from that? How will it happen?
3. Channel. Where/ via what will I inform. You want a petition to be signed? Do you put posters on walls then? No. You can't click on it. Choose the right channel. If you want efficiency, you must know what media your target group is using to get information. (Printed media, TV, Web audience, social networks).
4. Means. How will I do it. Verbal? (Maybe it's enough to go talk with someone). Text information (announce of events, post fact pres release, iformation for media) Static visual (poster, photos, sculpture). Visual-sound (videa footage, coverage). Direct interaction/action (event).
After the break we try to applicate these knowledge to a concrete thing: our youth statement.
Let's talk about the news value criteria. Everyone has it's own interest and if you can play with it, it will help you. It's about exploiting the system. What will be covered? Novelty, personalities (contact them and mobilize them), importance/scale, conflict/drama, rare/extraordinarity, negativity. Be aware or the context: is your project/cause different, and how?
Nine rules for press release.
1. Clear Message: Be able to say it in one sentence and attract interest.
2. Pay attention to the title: short, catchy, informative and active.
N.B. Mentioning your organization not necessarily strengthens the title ('Pax Christi youth call for change' vs 'European youth call for change').
3. Inverted pyramid: Be clear with when, where and what is happening, then go to the why and how, and end by giving the context. The most important information has to be on top of the article.
4. Logic: Do not repeat the same information. Clear emphasis/stress (ex. 100 people protested at the ministery, at the ministery 100 people protested, at the ministery there was a protest of 100 people)
5. Facts vs judgements: Judgements are NOT facts, subjective judgements can be introduced by quotes. Facts shouldn't be quoted.
6. Expressing: Instead of adjectives you can use illustrative arguments. Naked numbers are not understandable. (ex.20.000 people have migrated, it's the size of this or that city)
7. Positioning: Why are you the best. Have you won the Noble peace price allready. Are you the oldest, the biggest,...
8. Simplicity: Round of numbers. Avoid bureaucratic expressions, stereotypes and cliche, international words, technical terms. Make it as simple that everyone would understand. We got used to short information and are not really anymore into reading big texts.
9. Details: date, title, no longer than 1 page, not more than 2-3 quoted persons, contacts.
People, create a twitter account !
Enables you to send short messages to an extended audience, fast and effective.
Twitter is personel, skills you to formulate titles 'cause you have to be clear and short, you can attach links, it is a great tool for networking your organisation.
I thank Marius for his presentation and concrete interaction which can help anyone of us.
wow :)
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