Blood8

DONATION NOT DISCRIMINATION   

Getting good press coverage

It's vitally important to try and get as much media coverage as possible for your Day of Action. Positive media coverage, whether it be in student radio, campus papers, local press, radio or TV, is key to winning any campaign. You can organise the most spectacular event imaginable, but if no media cover it, did it really happen? The media influences students, the general public and the decision makers. Without positive national and regional coverage this campaign will be over before it has begun. Here are some top tips to help you get good coverage on the day.

Top tips for press coverage

1. Are you protected? Be careful you don't let something slip that might spark an idea that will end up giving a story just the twist we don’t want. Try to see potential trouble spots. That’s what the reporter will do, and you must imagine yourself in his or her shoes. We have had bad coverage in the past over this issue when demonstrations are misinterpreted as boycotts; this is why it's so important to reinforce the positive message of the campaign about encouraging people to donate blood. If a journalist thinks for a moment that you are preventing anyone from donating, or boycotting the session yourself, that will become the sole focus of the story.
2. Any examples? Do you have an individual who is willing to talk about their own experiences? Admittedly, for this issue this may be quite difficult, as people might not want to start talking about their sex lives to the media, in which case it would be good to come up with some generic examples of the kinds of people who cannot give blood.
3. Any big names? If a well-known person can be tied into the story in any way you could be in business. This often requires ingenuity and imagination, but most of all observation – about who is doing what in the newspapers and the TV. Have you tried your local MP, councillors or local celebrities?
4. Frame your argument. One picture really can be worth a thousand words, so make sure there is a decent visual image opportunity involved in your activity. A newspaper may not run an article about your activity, but good photos are always irresistible. Five people standing outside a blood donation cliic is not a story, but five people with an entertaining banner or five people in fancy dress is a good photo. All you may get is a caption, so make sure the photo tells the story for you (see the colourful campaigning guide for more detail).
5. Be imaginative. Media work isn’t just about press releases. Press releases are a tiny part of the media work you can do. Think about letters to editors, comment pieces, statements, interviews, quotes, blogs (internal or external), articles for student media or joint statements (for example, with other local organisations).
6. Contact us. It is crucial that you let the national press office know what you are doing and, of course, if you have any concerns or questions about a story, phone or email. The press office will be able to provide you with advice and support. Email: press.office@nus.org.uk

Writing press releases

We have provided you with a model press release which you can use and adapt. Alternatively you could write your own, in which case bear in mind the following tips.

A press release should be written like a newspaper article, which means:

• If you don’t grab readers (news editor) in the first paragraph, you’ve lost them.
• Within the first paragraph you should convey the five Ws (who, what, when, where and, most importantly – as this is usually where the news is, why)
• The most important information should come first, and the least important should go last. Opinions and flowery language should only ever appear as part of a quote. Everything else must be factual.

Always provide contact details in the notes to editors, just in case the editor or journalist wants to clarify something in the release.

‘Embargo’ the release if you do not want the material it contains to be used before a certain time (this may be the case if you want to issue a press release a couple of days before your demonstration), otherwise reporters will assume the story can run immediately. This is really important for our Day of Action, as the fact that the events are being run and reported on simultaneously is part of the point.

If you know there is a good photo opportunity, explain what it is and place this information in a prominent position in the notes to editors. (If the news editor isn’t interested, he may pass the release on to the picture desk.)