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6. Street work and communication
: 6.3.1. The tools to reach one’s target A whole set of tools is available for everyone wishing to reach the media. A choice will have to be made: - According to the objective: the telephone will be suitable if you wish to invite two or three journalists to your evening solidarity performance. But to use the telephone will not be possible if you intend to announce to the world at large the tenth anniversary of the international network of street workers. The mail or the post will be more realistic. - According to the capability of your team and notably according to the time available: a press conference will perhaps be more efficient, but will take a lot of time and energy. If you cannot dedicate sufficient time, you are headed for a catastrophe. It is more advisable in that case to limit oneself to direct contacts, to a mail and to the production of an additional press document placed on your Internet site for instance. - According to your budget : a folder, posters, a press conference, an Internet site, … and all this costs money. Analyse carefully the amounts available before starting. Estimate the relation cost/efficiency : folder in colours or black and white photo copies ? Sending of a press folder of 50 pages by post or by mail ? Direct contacts or by mail ? Spread the tools… It will moreover be necessary to spread out the effort on several tools. Do not stake everything on the radio or on Internet or on the printed press. Do not content yourself with e-mails as tools. One is never 100% sure of the result. It is wiser to put more than one iron in the fire. …over the time To announce an event one can count on the radio for instance, but to cover same it will be preferable to turn to the papers or the local television. Begin with a press release, then follow with direct telephone contacts, and finish with an e-mail referring to the Internet site of the event. 6.3.2 The press card index: the basis If you want to manage your contacts efficiently, a computer data bank is the handiest. But this supposes to possess a computer, with the appropriate programme (Access for instance), to get to know the programme and how to enter the data. This means of course an investment. If you don’t intend to organise more than one event a year, needless to chose this method. If you have only 10 journalists in your file, it is not useful either. But if you plan to contact the media more at large, send press releases and mails on a regular basis, invite a maximum of journalists to attend your concerts, parties, exhibitions, send them your information letter, then a computer data bank is a good tool. You can send grouped e-mails, print labels, find easily their addresses, etc. For each contact (media or journalist) you will have to encode several useful informations: Complete addresses, language, type of media (television, daily paper, weekly paper, radio, Internet), type of coverage (national, local, specialised), themes treated (general, social, cultural, …),and events organised by yourself that they have attended, etc. In short, any information which could prove useful to obtain a well-targeted communication. Beware of danger ! A data bank on journalists gets rapidly out of date. The journalists often change column, responsibility, if not change to another media. It will therefore be necessary to update your data bank regularly. It will more often be during a new action that you will realise that so and so no longer works for this paper or that a certain radio programme has been replaced by another. Take the opportunity to correct your file. How does one start ? Professional directories exist for the media in each country. This can serve as a good starting point. But you will not find in it the name of the journalist who takes an interest in social workers. This being said, at least through this means you will already have the addresses of the media at your disposal. For instance, at international level the Benn’s media : http://www.cempdata.co.uk/benns/ However, it is rather expensive, today the European edition costs 188 £. You can also begin by simply identifying the media, the articles, the programmes that interest you by making a note of the names of the journalists who seem to you to make a good job of it. By giving a ring to their media, you can either obtain directly their telephone number and mail, or have them on the phone to speak with them directly. And since journalists are always interested to receive well-targeted information with regard to their work, they generally act in a friendly manner even if they are under pressure. If you don’t have time and you wish all the same to contact a maximum of media rapidly, you can always send your mail, invitations, press files to "the chief editor" or to "the editorial staff" who will generally pass on the information to the right journalist. It is less efficient, but sometimes useful to cover a vast range of media without spending too much time on it. To use sparingly Two
principles :
Experience shows that personal contacts are the key to success. Especially in social matters. Nothing is better than an interview, a phone contact with a journalist to explain your actions and your projects. However, here again, you should not exaggerate for the journalist’s time is limited (same as yours besides). Little time is sufficient eventually. Example : if you wish to invite a journalist you have not yet met to attend the official opening of the new youth house in the former police station of the district, phone first to announce that you intend sending him a file on the opening of the youth house (you explain rapidly by stressing certain more attractive points) and to ask him where you can send him the document. You will have already more chances that he will read the file than if you had sent it without warning. If you ring back a few days later to know if he will attend the opening, he will in principle not have forgotten you. If is not a guarantee that he will come, but you will have put a maximum of chances on your side.
The principle of a press conference is to invite several media at the same time and give them some information considered to be interesting. The
purpose is to increase their awareness with regard to a theme, a given
problem. The conference can be organised to partake some important news,
to present a project or results. Obviously, this tool will be kept for important occasions.
The
press release is a short text having as purpose :
Journalists adore press files. They enable them to constitute a stock of usable information, either right away of later on. A
good press file should contain at least : In some cases one could add a copy of publications produced by one’s association, the “power point” presentation file (or a paper copy), a few photos or illustrations. The file must not necessarily have 100 pages, but should offer a solid basis for a journalist wishing to write a paper or a report. One will usually distribute it during a press conference or an event. Seen it’s cost, one will avoid sending it all out.
To invite a journalise to come and see for himself how things stand on the field, can be very productive, on condition to make sure : -
there is indeed something to be seen
The advantage of the bulletin is to inform the journalist on your activities on a regular basis. You don’t ask him to relate in his media the information it contains, but you keep him informed. If your bulletin is well conceived and well written, he will read or at least take a look at it. Maybe he will find inspiration through it and he will contact you himself. To put it more simply; you make yourself present from time to time and when you will really need him, he will know who you are and will be the more ready to co-operate. On the other hand, a regular bulletin will also be useful to your members and sponsors. 6.3.9. An Internet site More and more often, each association has its own Internet site. This allows making a large number of information available. The journalist will probably not take himself the initiative to check your site, even if he knows you. But he will visit this site as additional source of information to a press release, to a phone call from you, to a press conference. This is where the site if useful. If you produce a e-newsletter, the journalists will be able to subscribe to it on a permanent basis on condition the information it contains correspond to their favourite subjects. 6.3.10 Videos, SDVD, CD-ROM Unlike a publication on paper or an Internet site, the swift consultation of a video is more difficult. One has to be really very interested to take the time to watch a video. A cassette, which lands on the desk of a journalist will in all likelihood end its career on the shelf if not in the waste-basket. To be used preferable only as support of a presentation or on the occasion of a direct meeting with one journalist. It is therefore advisable to supervise the video projection. Better not to exceed 10 to 15 minutes. 6.3.11 Annual reports An annual report is very often a good source of general information on an association and the themes it works on. In itself, it will never be the subject of a paper, yet the journalists are fond of annual reports. It is indeed a good basis to start a report, a means to get up to date before going further. If in any case you have to produce an annual report, send it also to a selection of journalists, it is another means of maintaining contact. 6.4. Conceive an operational plan When you will have defined your strategy, you still need to put it into practice. This is the purpose of the operational plan that will concretely define the tasks to be accomplished, the planning, the allocation of responsibilities, etc… 6.4.1 Do it all on one’s own ? If one is a “jack of all trades” why not ensure the whole of the tasks on one’s own internally : writing of the press release, the files, translations, telephone contacts, spokesperson, lay-out of documents, photocopies, etc. If
your team is gifted, no problem. Congratulations. -
either learn by yourself (after reading this guide things should be a
little easier); A partnership ? To find a partner with experience in communication offers a lot of advantages : you can rely on him, but above all you will learn by being in contact with him. The inconvenience is that you will not necessarily always agree with him and that you will sometimes have to negotiate or tone it down a bit. Subcontracting Subcontracting
offers a lot of advantages : especially that of being able to count on
professionals who will get the job done in your place, in principle better
and more quickly. The inconvenience is that one has to pay them and that
the results are not always guaranteed.
6.4.2. Should you wish to do the writing yourself ? So many people feel panic when faced with a blank sheet. Yet, if words vanish with time, once they are written down, they still remain. As compared with an interview or a press article written by a journalist, an article written directly by your own hand remains sometimes the best way to communicate the essence and the subtleties of your messages. Messages that will quite often, years later, remain a topical question for, same as for a library, the sum of your written texts constitutes a data bank offering a source of references that can regularly be of use. Certainly, the exercise is a difficult one and, as a first piece of advice, don’t try to write directly on paper a finalised product. Same as for many other activities, writing needs to be achieved in stages and some careful reflection before committing words to paper is also necessary. What is at stake in writing is complex. The object is to give an account of a live reality, whereas written words freeze for a time said reality. Without fail, through a game of structures, the text will reveal sense, propositions, convergences, divergences, not always visible in reality. “L’art
de bien parler, bien écrire n’est rien sans l’art d’utiliser
à propos cet art (..) To find the target, in order that the words reach their aim, in order that the words pay; produce their effect, it is not only necessary to have grammatically correct words, the words should also be socially acceptable) It is difficult for the street worker to write on his practice, he either tends to depreciate it, or he doesn’t find the adequate words. Yet, to write on one’s practice permits to master it and to take a certain distance from it, to produce one’s own conception. Writing then becomes a means of action. To be able to write, a few advices will certainly be helpful. And, first of all, get your ideas together without worrying in what order and without really developing the different points. You can afterwards construct a logical order between these ideas and in so doing constitute the structure of your text. The title is important, it must be true to what is to follow. The introduction also, for it is important to find in it a succinct presentation of the subject you are about to treat. The introduction will serve as unifying thread of the article and introduce the main developments that are to follow. For the rest, to each one his own style, but be careful nevertheless to write so that it reads agreeably, by punctuating your text with subtitles and by preferring sentences which are neither too long nor too complicated; Put yourself in the place of your reader. Don’t hesitate to be revived through other references, there is so much existing wealth in literature, it would be stupid not to make use of it. And finally, take care of the conclusions since they too are important, if not more than the introduction. To finalise, several re-readings are often necessary and why not by a third person. 6.5.1. To prepare a planning : who does what when ? There is no good organisation without a good planning. Who does what when ? On the time schedule the different tasks have to be placed, as well as the names responsible for each task. Starting from the date of the event, to go back in the time schedule indicating each task is a good method (retro-planning). To computerize ? To prepare a planning holding the calendar in one hand and the pencil in the other hand is possible and fairly easy. For simple projects that don’t imply too many persons and not too many different stages, why not ? It will turn out less funny when the planning will need to be adapted to the hazards of the life of a project. If you prepare your planning in Word or Excell, it will already be a little easier to adapt, but the top is the management programme of the project. Good specialised
computer programmes exist, but they are not free of charge. Some exist
freeware (free of charge software) such as Project Planner-PE-2.0. Ask
your computer scientist. The basic principles of these programmes : - your project has to be sliced in different tasks taking each a certain time (conceive a strategy, write a press release, have it read over, send it by e-mail, manage the replies, collect the press articles, etc.) - All these tasks are linked to each other :
- except for the first date in our example, the date of the strategic meeting, which will take place on the 1st of April 2005 (at a date set by yourself consequently) and the date of the pres conference which you set at the time of your strategic meeting (on 9/6/2005). All the other dates are linked, either to one or the other of these dates, either to another existing task. The advantage of such programmes is that you can easily adapt the shot in function of the inevitable changes. The programme will automatically adapt all the dates: - If your strategic meeting is postponed from 1st April to the 20th April, you change this initial date and all the other dates will follow as all the tasks are linked to each other. - If, having postponed your meeting date you realise your planning foresees to send your invitations to the press 2 days AFTER the press conference, you have a problem. You then have to withdraw days from this or that task to make up for the delay caused by the postponement of the initial meeting. Thereafter the programme will automatically readapt your planning in function of the integrated changes. To do this by hand takes hours. To prepare the planning, is to make sure not one stage is forgotten. You can also take the opportunity to indicate who will be responsible for each stage. In fact, the planning often plays the part of “action plan”. It is a good management tool. It is important to submit this planning to all the actors before finalising it for you will then learn that John is on holiday when he is supposed to write out the press release and that Marie will be on training the week during which she is supposed to contact the journalists by phone. Example of planning
6.5.2. With what budget ? To ring up a journalist, to spend a few hours with him, is not very expensive. A phone call and your time. For the rest, to print a letter of information, to organise a press conference, to create an Internet site, to prepare a press folder, to keep up to date a press index, implies costs in proportion of your ambitions. The first question to be asked is : how much time are you prepared to dedicate to the organization of communication towards the media ? If you know you won’t have a minute to spare during the coming six months, it is better to postpone this project to a later date. For without time investment, nothing can be achieved. The second question will be : do you have the budget to communicate at your disposal ? If so, how much ? If not, can one get hold of a budget ? If the answer is no to this second question, communication actions will have to be limited without outside costs, counting only on the proper forces of the association, which is perfectly feasible. The third question will be : knowing the reply to questions 1 and 2, what kind of communication action can you launch ? If no budget is available but if your association organises a lot of actions for and with youngsters, bet on the quality of the projects. More than often, it will be enough for these actions to get media interest. The communication job will then be limited to contact the journalists and to explain on the telephone in what aspect the event you organise could fascinate their readers. In that case, you content yourself to graft a communication action on your own projects, which is moreover much more attractive to a journalist than an artificial action specially conceived, such as press conferences, visits on the field etc. And this only costs time. (6) P. Bourdieux, Question de sociologie, p 122, Paris, Editions de Minuit, 1980
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