Message and Communications

Digital Strategies 101 October 18, 2011

This Lecture

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Theory on Messaging (Building Blocks) Exercise on Putting a Message Together Online PR—Talking to the Media

You talking to me?

Who is your audience?

 Other Activists  Supporters  Contributors  Opinion Elites  Leaders  Constituencies  The Press

Everybody Has A Context

 Language  History  Religion  Family  Education  Class  Race  Income  More…

Your Task: Change the Constellation

Building Blocks of A Message

 Symbols  Emotions and Unconscious  Framing and Naming  Clear, Concise, Contrast, Convince  Breaking Through—Sticky Repetition  Context, Motivation and Competing Motivations  Stay in Control—Choose your battlespace

Symbols

 Symbols come from our culture, our media, our history and our life experiences.

 Every symbol has a set of values and feelings associated with it that you can borrow.

"That will unleash the Barack Obama as Abe Lincoln narrative. Lincoln delivered his "House divided" speech at that historic spot and the announcement is on Lincoln's birthday weekend. Obama is expected to vault over to Iowa, home to the first-in-the nation 2008 caucus, after the announcement. ” Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun Times

Emotions and Unconscious

 People respond primarily to feelings. Feelings are usually not conscious right away.

 Most feelings are about people.

Framing and Naming

 When news happens, people look for meaning…  …we tell them what the news means.

Example GOP: Tax Cuts Grow the Economy Example Progressive: Tax Cuts Take Food From the Mouths of Poor Children in Order to give Millionaires a Tax Break

Four Cs

 Clear: You aren’t Shakespeare—you write for USA Today.

 Concise: I stop listening after a minute at most.

 Contrast: Why should I care if it is the same?

 Convince: Why is this important to my life?

“Less is more.”

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Breaking Through is Hard

 Sticky = Memorable  Find an Emotion and Drive it Home  Surprise Us  Confusion Flunks  Structure the Story  Repeat

Context: We All Have It

Stay in Control

 A key goal of your work is to maintain as much control of the conversation as possible. You decide what you’re talking about. Don’t allow your opponent to control the conversation  Example

Option 1: Debate How to Cut the Debt Option 2: Debate How to Create Jobs

Exercise: The Message Box

What We Say About Ourselves What Opposition Says about Themselves What We Say About Opposition What Opposition Says about Us

Online

 What’s different? Less personal. Less persistent.

 Most people are over consuming online.

Infographic Video Blog Email Website Twitter Facebook

Polling: What is it good for?

 A measurement tool.

 But polls aren’t fate IF you have a messaging theory for how to change them. Study history to learn about what shifts polls.

PR: Talking to the Media Broadcast and Print

DIFFERENT MEDIA, DIFFERENT NEEDS

 Different parts of a story are appealing to different media.

 Print needs are different from TV needs are different from radio needs.

 Modify your pitch accordingly.

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PRINT

 Print reporters are looking for a compelling narrative arc for a story.

 Specific local interest.

 Highlight the “man bites dog” newsworthyness – why is this different from the everyday?

 DEADLINES   Call a newsroom between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Reporters most likely not in planning meetings or working against a 5:00 p.m. deadline.  Try to pitch at least a day before the event, though two is fine with a reminder email the day-of.

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TELEVISION

 Duh.

  DEADLINES  Doesn’t have time to focus on anything beyond the day-of.

   Assignment Editor.

Call the assignment desk early (even if you get the night editor), morning, just to confirm that they their morning meeting.

If you do want to try pitching earlier than the day of, you can beat reporter after the morning

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RADIO

 News radio pitching is mostly similar to print pitching.

 Maybe you can mention if there will be interesting ambient sounds, (i.e. chanting, etc.) but it’s less important.

 Talk radio is all about relationships – esp. the compelling back and forth between host and guest.

 There’s no substitute for building talk radio relationships.

 DEADLINES    Best time to call is early— around 7:30 - 8:30 a.m., and then again after 10:00 a.m. News directors, reporters and producers are often gone by the afternoon.

If a reporter is not able to attend the event, offer to have one of your speakers or interviewees do a taped interview.

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Attribution Rules

Journalistic Ethics and You

ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 The single most important rule: never say ANYTHING to a reporter that you wouldn’t want on the front page of the paper.

 However, protecting sources is a key journalistic ethic.

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 That said, under journalistic ethics you can request to have something you say be:    “not for attribution” “off the record” “on background”  For any of these to go into effect:   You must tell the reporter BEFORE you say whatever you wish to be under these conditions, AND You must get verbal agreement from the reporter before journalistic ethics are binding.

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 “Not for Attribution”    Relatively straightforward.

Means that the reporter can use the information you give them, but you cannot be sourced as a specific individual.

The reporter may ask to clear with you a descriptive phrase, such as “One representative of a community-based organization said…”

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 “Off the Record”   Means what you’re saying shouldn’t be written down by a reporter.

Information should not be attributed to you in any form.

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 “On Background”    Useful for giving a reporter “a tip.” Useful for relatively long technical explanations, which can be helpful to a reporter but where you don’t want to worry that every word is perfect.

In general, best used for directing reporters to sources of information (people, reports, websites, etc.) where you don’t want to be seen as involved.

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT

 REMEMBER:    These are just ethical rules, and journalists can and do break them all the time!

Journalists MUCH prefer that you talk on the record wherever possible, especially post-scandals.

If you don’t give notice BEFORE you talk, Journalistic ethics don’t bind the reporter, no matter what they say.

 If you don’t get verbal confirmation from the reporter BEFORE you talk, Journalistic ethics don’t bind the reporter, no matter what they say.

 THE KICKER  No two reporters agree on the definition of any of these terms!

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ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR BROADCAST

 The mic is always live.

 Live radio or TV is live.

 If you are being taped for later use, they can use whatever you say, but it is sometimes possible to let them give you another shot.

  Television and radio producers want good tv and radio.

If you tell them that you can do it better with one more try, they may just let you.

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HELPFUL TIPS

 Never make anything up.  Never use jargon or acronyms.

 Support your messages with anecdotes, statistics and soundbites.

   Speak in short sentences with pauses between them.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Repetition is good, improvising off-message is bad.

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