References
page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5 | page 6 page 7 | page 8 | table of contents | references | test References Some resources available to RNs interested in gaining media relations/interview skills experience include: -- RN=Real News: ANA Media Relations & You: This is a media training tool produced by ANA Communications for use by registered nurses. The tool consists of a videotape and a companion resource manual. The tool was developed for distribution to each ANA Constituent Member Association (CMA) and also is available for sale from American Nurses Publishing. --ANA's RN=Real News program. Contact ANA Communications at (202) 651-7028, and visit the RN=Real News /"Nurse's Toolkit" area of ANA's NursingWorld website - www.nursingworld.org . Get media relations tips, and sign up to be an ANA media speaker. --Contact your CMA's communications/public relations director or committee. --Contact the public information office at your health care facility or research/academic institution. Glossary The following terms are frequently used in media relations. Knowing these terms can help you feel more comfortable in working both with journalists and public relations/communications professionals. action step (also known as behaviorally measurable action step ): An action step should be part of your message to your target audience. The goal is not simply to have the audience become better informed, but to take some specific action. Examples of an action step could be: "Phone your U.S. Representative or U.S. Senators," "Ask your child's school principal if the school has a school nurse," or "Attend our nursing organization's town hall meeting on the 14th." actuality : a brief, on-scene report, live or taped, for radio news broadcast angle, slant : the emphasis or approach of a news story or broadcast audience : see target audience behaviorally measurable action step : see action step background roll (also known as background footage): see B-roll B-roll : background footage of an interview subject or stock footage used to add visual interest for a television news or feature story, interspersed with soundbites and the reporter's comments communications audit : a review and assessment of the communications activities of an organization and the effectiveness of these activities in meeting the organization's goals and objectives. communications plan : see strategic communications plan embargo : date and time on which information issued to the media may be released to the public; media are under no legal responsibility to honor an embargo. hit (also known as media hit or media placement): a story that is printed, broadcast, or placed on the Internet either as a result of an organization's proactive media outreach or as the reactive result of responding to an incoming reporter inquiry. hook : see news hook media format : see: media type media organization : see media outlet media outlet (also known as media organization): the specific newspaper (e.g., T he New York Times ), radio, or TV program e.g., Dateline NBC ), or Internet news outlet (e.g., nurses.com ) media relations : working with the media to disseminate messages to target audiences and to persuade members of those audiences to take concrete action. Media relations is most often approached with a combination of proactive and reactive strategies. media speaker, ANA : ANA media speakers are CMA-members who are selected by the ANA Communications department to be referred to reporters based on their expertise in topic areas related to nursing, health care, and/or health policy. (See www.nursingworld.org for more information about becoming an ANA media speaker. Click on RN=Real News, then on the "Nurses' Toolkit.") media type : the general kind of media being targeted (e.g., newspaper, magazine, radio, television, Internet news outlet). message point (also known as message): the information your nursing organization wishes to convey to the target audience. news hook (also known as the hook or the story's news value): that which makes a story news --- e.g., its immediacy, novelty (it's new), controversy, effect on a local population. When considering whether to pursue your story, reporters look to see if there's a news hook. news value : see news hook op-ed (in a newspaper, also known as a commentary piece): a guest editorial column panel discussion (also known as studio panel discussion): A TV or radio news format where several experts are interviewed simultaneously and dialogue with one another. proactive media relations : an organization's reaching out to journalists to raise their audiences' awareness of an issue of current importance to the organization and to persuade them to take some action step that will benefit the organization. reactive media relations (also known as media services): contacts with the organization that are initiated by reporters. The journalist informs the organization's staff person of his or her story topic and seeks experts and information to develop the story. RN=Real News : The "umbrella" name covering ANA's proactive media outreach initiatives. sidebar : a secondary story that accompanies the main news story or feature article. The sidebar often offers an individual's anecdotal perspective on the main news story or may provide a compendium of resources for the audience. (This glossary of media relations terms is a form of sidebar.) soundbite : a concise, memorable expression of your nursing organization's message point, usually a five-to-ten second portion of an interviewee's comments used in a radio or television news or feature story. Sample soundbites appear later in this section. strategic communications plan : A component of the organization's overall strategic plan, the strategic communications plan expresses the communications objectives of the organization (including target audiences to be reached, key messages to be delivered to those audiences, and the action steps that the organization wants members of these audiences to take). All these elements of the strategic communications plan should support the organizational strategic plan. (See also: strategic communications plan.) strategic plan, organizational : A written expression of an organization's core objectives, the activities to be undertaken and tools to be used to accomplish those objectives, and the evaluation steps used to gauge success or failure (and to drive changes to the plan). (See also strategic communications plan.) target audience (also known simply as target or audience): the viewers of a TV program; listeners to a radio program; visitors to an Internet website; readers of specific newspaper (or part of a newspaper), journal, magazine, or newsletter. targeting : identifying the target audience you wish to persuade; identifying the media outlet(s) that reach that target audience, then working with a reporter at that media outlet so that your message is conveyed to the target audience. The impetus for targeting is that each of us is bombarded with information every day. So, the older idea of reaching "the general public" doesn't work so well anymore --- it tends neither to be cost-effective nor efficient. In fact, when creating strategic communications plans, professional communicators rarely speak in terms of "the public" or "the general public." If your nursing organization's message can be conveyed through a media outlet that is of particular interest or relevance to a target audience, the message is more likely to be received, remembered, and acted upon. For example, if you want to persuade high school principals of the need to have a school nurse in every middle school, a good publication to use to target that audience might be the National Bulletin of Secondary School Principals . visual : something that can be used in television coverage of your story to provide visual interest and to reinforce your message points. For example, bring along a retractable needle or latex-free gloves to support a story on preventing needlestick injuries or latex allergy. The "RN" pin is a visual no nurse should be without. Sample Soundbites Soundbites may convey important messages, encourage audiences to take action, or both. They should be brief and memorable. Some soundbites are gems of concision, others may be a bit longer. When you're listening to the radio news or watching a TV newscast, listen for the interviewee's soundbites. Then, try your own hand at crafting soundbites. Here are some examples: "Put patients before profits." "Every patient deserves a nurse." "Ask for an RN. Ask for a real nurse." "When you cut nurses, patients bleed." "When you're a patient, what you don't know can hurt you." "In the future, your 'doctor' may be a nurse." "The only reason patients are hospitalized is to receive 24-hour nursing care." "We can manage patients' pain. Ask an RN." "The aide who's flushing your I.V. line today may have been serving up a 'Slushy' two weeks ago." "We have kids in the crosshairs in America's schools." (Follow-through: "Your school nurse can mount a violence prevention campaign. But does your child's school have an RN? Ask the principal.") Resource Publications Communicating Science News , National Association of Science Writers. Greenlawn New York, 1996. How to Work With the Media , by James Alan Fox and Jack Levin. SAGE Publications, Newbury Park, CA, 1993. Larey Lewton, Kathleen, Public Relations in Health Care: A Guide for Professionals . AHA, Chicago, 1995. Media Advocacy and Public Health . By Lawrence Wallack et al, SAGE Publications. Newbury Park, CA, 1993. Meet the Press…and Succeed ! A Handbook for Nurse Educators. American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Washington, D.C., 1995. Interview Evaluation Checklist Use this checklist to prepare for your own interview, to look back on and evaluate your performance after the interview has concluded, or to evaluate a colleague's interview performance. _____ Did nurse identify self as such (registered nurse or RN)? (Or did reporter do so?) _____ Did nurse identify self as member of SNA (or name ANA, if national issue)? _____Did nurse convey at least one message point in interview that you could identify? What was the message point?: _____ Did the RN convey a clear action step for the reporter's audience to take? What was the action step?: __________________________ _____ Were there other message points conveyed? (Either equal in weight to the main point, or supporting the main point) If so, what were they?: _____________________________ _____ Did RN differentiate, as appropriate, between personal views and the official policies and positions of the CMA (ANA)? _____ Did RN respond with complete, stand-alone statements? _____ Could you identify the RN's "sound bite?" If so, what was it?: ________________________________ Did the RN repeat reporters' negative statements, or did s/he respond in a positive manner?____________________ _____ If the reporter (intentionally or unintentionally) deflected the interview away from the RN's key message. Was the RN successful in "bridging" back to the message? _____ Did the interview afford an opportunity for the RN to use a "visual"? _____ If so, what?: ____________________ _____ Before or after the interview, did the RN offer the reporter additional resources (either for the story at hand or for a future story)? _____ During, before, or after the interview, did the RN offer the reporter's readers/viewers/listeners any resources? What were they?: _________________________________ _____ General comments: Did the RN appear confident and professional? Did you gain the sense that s/he was an expert?: _________________________________________ Additional comments/suggestions:
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