The core purpose of Public Affairs is to build strategic relationships with opinion leaders who affect the reputation of the Church and whose actions and influence can help or hinder the Church’s mission. From a media perspective, this translates into the art of building relationships of trust and mutual interest with reporters.
The content of news stories about the Church is a direct result of journalists’ perceptions of the Church and a DPA’s interaction with them as they write and broadcast stories. Because of this, a DPA’s role is critical in this shaping process.
Database
Start by developing a contact list of journalists who are most likely to write about the Church. These might be religion writers, feature writers, or journalists who work for wire services. Wire services such as the Associated Press and Reuters are news agencies which provide articles and photographs to subscribers including newspapers, television and radio stations, and Internet sites.
It’s important to maintain an electronic database of the media representatives you contact and include summaries of your interactions with them. Your list will likely start out small but will expand as you serve in your assignment. Your records should include names, titles, and contact information such as phone numbers, mail addresses, and e-mail addresses. Each time you have contact with a reporter, it should be noted in the database. Track who you spoke with, what questions were asked and the answers given, notes on the reporter’s style or approach, what worked well, and whether the resulting story was positive, negative, or neutral. These notes will become an invaluable reference as you work with individual reporters and decide how to respond to their questions.
Initial Contact
Once a reporter has been identified, it’s time to do some homework. Become familiar with the reporter’s publication or television station. Does it have a religion section? Are religion stories covered as features? Does the publication or television station have an editorial point of view on issues? Research what the reporter has written about the Church in the past. Does he or she demonstrate an accurate understanding of the Church? What stories are of interest to the reporter?
Understanding the media outlet as well as the reporter will give you a starting point. For example, journalists who are unfamiliar with the Church usually respond favorably to an invitation to attend a sacrament meeting as a way to become more knowledgeable about our faith. If the reporter writes about community service, perhaps an invitation to a ward or youth service project would be of interest. The goal is to establish yourself as an information source who can help in a timely way with stories about the Church.
Generally, editors and reporters at weekly or small local newspapers will be more willing to meet with you in person than those working with larger media organizations. If a face-to-face meeting is not possible, you can achieve similar success via e-mail. Here are some suggestions that will help with your initial contact.
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If possible, make an appointment for a brief introduction.
- Provide the journalist with information about the Church. You might want to create a fact sheet about the number of members in your area, as well as the number of chapels, temples, and missions. The history of the Church in your area will also be interesting. Most of this information can be obtained at newsroom.lds.org and from the Church Almanac.
- Ask what types of stories the journalist is interested in covering and come prepared with story ideas about the Church.
- Ask how the journalist prefers to receive story ideas: by e-mail, telephone, fax, or in person.
- Find out the reporter’s deadlines and avoid contact immediately before, during, or immediately after them. For example, you wouldn’t want to contact a television reporter late in the afternoon when he is editing his final stories for broadcast that evening.
- Finally, be sure the organization has your name, title, and contact information. To avoid confusion, each media outlet should have one Church contact for information purposes.
When a Journalist Calls
Every interaction with a journalist should be positive, even if the story he is covering is not. Remember, he’s just doing his job. Your job is to get the facts about the story, correct any misconceptions, and answer questions.
When contacted by a reporter, it’s important to be helpful but not give out information during the initial phone call. This will give you time to learn more about the story and determine the best way to respond. An easy way to respond to any inquiry is, “I’d be happy to try to get answers to your questions. Let’s talk about your story.”
A DPA should ask questions of the journalist. “What is your angle or approach to the story?” “Who else are you talking with?” “What piqued your interest in this topic?” If you have any uneasiness about how a journalist answers these questions, you can politely correct or redirect the story.
One of the best ways to make sure you and the reporter are on the same page is to have the reporter e-mail you a short paragraph about his story and the questions he needs answered.
Ask for the reporter’s deadline, and be realistic with your timeline to respond. It’s much easier to respond to questions with a few days’ notice rather than a few hours.
With the information in hand about the story, you can now contact your priesthood leader and decide how to respond. You have several options, depending on the media outlet, journalist, and story being reported:
- Decline to participate in the story.
- Give a short written statement.
- Answer questions via e-mail.
- Provide an interview.
Once a story has been printed or aired, it’s important to give positive, constructive feedback to the reporter via a phone call or e-mail. This will help continue the relationship with the reporter. Closing a note with, “I look forward to working with you again” is an open invitation for future stories.
Related Articles
Media Relations | Preparing a News Release | Determining the Message | Understanding the Media | Pitching a Story
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