You run your nonprofit on a shoestring. Ergo, you should look to the media for some free, favorable publicity. Your organization was established for a good cause—serving people in need, for example, or protecting the environment. Ergo, the media should be on your side. Right?
Not quite.
According to journalists from the worlds of print, television, and radio who shared their experiences and tips at the conference panel "Media and Social Enterprise: Getting the Message Across," the people who lead nonprofits, however well intentioned, are sometimes terribly naive when they attempt to get onto the news. The nonprofits expect a story—pronto—and it should be a positive one. Sometimes, based on what the panelists called a fundamental misunderstanding of what journalists are supposed to do, people in nonprofits can end up feeling confused and disappointed in the story that results, if one ever does.
What should nonprofits do then to get more knowledgeable? There are plenty of positive ways to work with the media to help get your message in front of the public, panelists agreed. Journalists are forever in search of a fresh idea, a new angle to catch the reader's eye. Nonprofits can be invaluable sources for stories that do what the media always needs to be successful: stories that provoke, move, educate, and entertain their audience.
| Where is the "because" in the idea? |
| —Jeffrey Dvorkin, ombudsman of National Public Radio |
For a start, though, it's important to understand that the media does not exist to cheerlead for worthy causes, the journalists pointed out. "Our client audience is our readers," said Bryan Monroe, a current Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, who will take up the post of Corporate Assistant Vice President for News at Knight Ridder when his fellowship is completed this June. In his most recent role, leading 200 journalists as deputy managing editor at the San Jose Mercury News, he said, the readership was extraordinarily diverse and one out of three readers were foreign-born. This meant that the news team needed to provide a smorgasbord of stories to engage this wide assortment of readers.
Journalists do have a public responsibility, he reminded the audience. The press is the only corporation chartered in the American Constitution and is driven by a serious mission to protect and serve the public interest.
According to Robert H. Giles, panel moderator and the curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, reporters who cover nonprofits are under the same obligations as those who cover business, the arts, politics, or sports: to report objectively and fairly, and to provide a balanced perspective. Whatever their personal feelings about the mission of an organization, it is their job to present a picture that examines multiple sides to a story, not advocate for a cause.
"I'm not sure the public is clear that [our] job is to be a disinterested party," added Jeffrey Dvorkin, ombudsman of National Public Radio.
Just because a nonprofit aims to eradicate poverty, for instance, doesn't exempt it from the same scrutiny that would be applied to any other organization, said Monroe. "We cover these stories with as much zeal as anything else, maybe even with more zeal because nonprofits are supposed to be better" and to set the bar for good corporate behavior, he explained.
Do's and don'ts
So what can your nonprofit do to get your message out before the public?
Before contacting the media, think about how to frame your mission and activities in a way that would be compelling to the average reader, TV watcher, or radio listener. "Compelling" means one thing to the individuals who are deeply involved in their nonprofit specializing in salt marshes and another thing entirely to their next-door neighbors, who may know or care little about the fate of salt marshes. Think about what makes information about your organization essential to anyone.
The key to remember, Dvorkin said, is that the media is interested in the human angle: stories about people that illustrate a general trend.
"Focus," he said. Can your story be expressed in one sentence? Does the idea have emotion; are there individuals rather than abstractions? "Where is the 'because' in the idea?" he asked.
Think about which medium would be most appropriate for you. If you're pitching to television, you'll need to think about whether your story is one that can even be conveyed visually, said Natalie Pawelski, Environment Correspondent for CNN. "Is it even a TV story or is it better suited to other media?" Thinking visually feels odd sometimes, she said.
Then, hold off sending e-mails or faxes willy-nilly to the media; do some research and find out which reporters and editors are responsible for covering your general area of expertise. Contact them directly. When talking with editors and reporters, said NPR's Dvorkin, "Say, 'We're a resource for you' rather than [trying to be] a four-course meal."
Alternatively, if you don't have a specific project at the moment that seems newsworthy, ask to meet with the editorial board to acquaint them with your organization and mission. It raises your profile, and editorial boards usually welcome such meetings as a way to learn about the community and make contacts for future stories.
Other tips: bookmark columnist Dan Gillmor's e-journal on SiliconValley.com as a regular source listing advice on what to do and not do when contacting the media. (See especially the section "Dear PR People.") One universal: Random faxes get pitched into the trash can, said Monroe. "Don't call to see if I got the fax or e-mail. Don't blindly send products; don't send food."
The day of the week when you contact the media matters more than you might imagine, he added. Sundays are notoriously slow news days. The people laboring in the newsroom on Sundays may well be scrambling to find material to fill Monday's issue or program. You may get a better hearing if you pitch an idea on a Sunday, say, than on a weekday, Monroe said.
And don't get discouraged, he added. There are ways to turn even the most arcane issues into compelling stories. A topic that once grabbed him, for example, was something as unsexy as biodegradable materials, he said with a grin. All it needed was a hook. When he reeled off his customary journalist's question, "Why this, why now?" to test it as a potential story, he learned that the Olympics would be putting biodegradable stuff to clever use during the Games. And voila, there was a story, with the magic qualities of universal appeal, people power, and an environmental trend.