Re2: media
EC92 (EC92@AOL.COM)
Wed, 28 Jan 1998 13:52:55 EST
I have to back David up. We try to have not only a district person for
publicity but also a Council Communications Committee, which is where I first
served after my last move. We had a chair that had, along with some of the
districts, provided sufficient information that the locals were COUNTING on us
for fillers, and even putting out 1/3 or 1/2 pages for special awards (We're
talking about recognition that required community support for the youth to
receive it, mainly Exploring: Exploring Leadership Award, Young American
Award, etc.).
The committee chair met me at a commissioner college and recruited me before I
moved. I was the only one in the room getting press, and I was using a simple
outline that anyone with a browser can see on the NAPS page
(www.pcusa.org/pcusa/scouters - go to "Get Publicity..." and use what meets
your needs, there's two or three pages of it). Up to that point I was only a
SM in another council but my Eagle candidates and their projects were getting
not just publicity, but were front page news for the local papers. We're
talking full page photos in uniform, especially if the project could tie in
with Christmas or a Holiday.
How'd I start it? I was nice to the locals and I followed the suggestions on
that page: Hard News, Short releases, Double-spaced, call after it was sent to
see if I could tell them more. I would send press releases and follow with
thank yous. We'd invite them to ceremonies and things (to my knowledge they
never came, but....) We'd send them our troop newsletter, just as we sent
copies to the IH and the IH's secretary, since the IH used them to fill holes
in the churh bulletin and we figured the papers could use our activities too.
Press releases offered photos if we had them. Even our trip to Philmont got a
full page with photos and a bit more.
But you have to bite your lip, too. I used to send copies of the artices the
day they were published to the CC with a note: "Remember, its a local paper
and its their job to make mistakes" - our own little joke after the "CAMP
PHILMONT" article appeared and the quotes were mixed up and they didn't
actually state some things the way they were said. The basic details were
there, and that was what mattered. Plus the publicity. Never complain unless
its something serious.
And show that you found the articles and appreciated them. My wife was tired
of driving miles to get copies of the photos from the papers if they took
them, but someone coming around to pick up a photo tells the newspaper you saw
the article and want whoever was in it to remember it, too.
I also have to say: no matter how hard you try, they won't be able to cover
everything and they won't cover it on your schedule. You need to contact the
newspapers, find out what their lead time is (some locals are two weeks or
more) and whether they'll hold it as filler or as news. Get names of who would
cover the stories - it may change more often than a 2-year-old's diaper, but
it matters to be personalized. If you're a big town, don't count on coverage
at all by the main paper. If they have a fax line, use it, so you can get them
a press release before, during, and after events. My code to one paper that
the article was from me was a cover page my son made up using the B&W images
from USSSP of a Cub, BS, and Explorer insignia.
The down side: you're creating a monster that needs to be fed. We ran into the
problem that, after the first year and over 127 Scouting articles (in the two
papers I get) using the outline, it wasn't interesting to the Scout Leaders
anymore and the publicity chair's information dried up. Committee chairs that
were right there the first year with names, numbers, descriptions wouldn't
tell us the time of day the next year. We tried a second flier (also adapted
to the web page above) and even got one of the papers to put out their OWN
"how to get in our paper" story once a week (ALSO on the web page). But the
people were either disinterested or disorganized or something, they didn't see
it as important anymore. We've probably lost that guaranteed space.
But my name is remembered: first Exploring award article I sent got two
columns in less than 10 days. The one paper will wait for me to send something
else and boost it, too. And I'll buy extra copies (*AT THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE*)
and give them to the people mentioned in the article. And I'll cough up the
cash and laminate one for the council office.
Print publicity is best. CO's should all start a bulletin board for the
articles about their units where both the scouts and the CO's people can see
them.
And even if you DON'T get coverage, you should reaalize that doing things, in
public, in uniform or some Scout shirt, is *STILL* publicity and is often
worth more than ten articles. I'll always take another Scouting T-Shirt to
wear at heaven know's what projects so that the public driving by sees who
exactly is doing the work in their town.
Tom Petrik
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
