Using the coming general election to our advantage
Working with your local press and media can be extremely useful in spreading messages to an audience far beyond your normal remit. Here are some ideas about how to start off and then continue making an impact with the press and media in your local area.
If you have any questions, or require any support please contact, [email protected]
If you are starting from scratch, it’s a good idea to identify your local paper/s/publications as well as radio stations and BBC news outlets. Have a look through/listen and compile a list of the journalists who cover the health/NHS related stories. Once you have these names you can often use Google or look at the publication in order to find a generic email address for that outlet, and then you’re away!
Journalists are often busy people, so anything you can do to make their life easier will be appreciated. Be visible – Foster a social media presence for your group so you can be noticed by local journalists/news outlets in the first place but do remember content that you put out can be seen by the press, so make sure it represents you well. Don’t offer to meet a journalist for a quick coffee without a story to pitch – they are busy people, and having something for them will make them far more receptive to you when you contact them in the future.
Be available and approachable when contacted to both establish and maintain a relationship. Be trustworthy and discreet.
Writing an engaging and effective press release is a skill and takes some practice, but you can definitely do it! You need to establish a winning format and reproduce it. Press releases should be no more than one side of A4, be direct and include contact details of the sender. You must be trustworthy and accurate and provide sources in the notes section of your press release.
Know when to contact and how, the timing of this can be crucially important to your ongoing relationships.
For a broadcast interview it is important to brief spokespeople on key points to cover if they need guidance. What do they need to communicate to the audience?
Please refer to tour messaging guides here and here and you can also find all sorts of good arguments in our Campaigners Pamphlet and our reliable People’s NHS Factsheets.
