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Through the media's eyes: What the media would like nonprofit organizations to know
By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
June 26, 2006

This week's cover story is the next installment in an ongoing series to help nonprofit organizations see the world from another perspective. The series also includes what funders, volunteers, consultants, and donors would like the nonprofit sector to know about their side of the relationship.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Media representatives from print, radio and television share the inside scoop with the nonprofit sector. Media outlets get inundated with faxes, e-mails, telephone calls and letters from many sources. If you are a nonprofit organization, how do you stand out among all this competition for limited space? Three media representatives explain media relations with the nonprofit sector from their side of the fence, and along the way share insider tips for getting noticed.
Clearing up misperceptions
First off, there are some misperceptions to address. Like the one that newspapers have unlimited space, says Gord Kurenoff, editor for the twice weekly Abbotsford-Mission Times, and managing editor of Valleylife magazine. Most community newspapers are advertising driven and the size of the paper directly depends on the amount of advertising. "It is a formula," explains Kurenoff. "Papers like ours have a 65% advertising, 45% news quota. So, we can't just add another page to publish a story." Every day, he has many decisions to make about what will appear in the paper and have the widest audience interested in every page of the newspaper.
In the case of television news, Cal Johnstone, news director for A-Channel (London, Windsor and Wingham), often finds himself in an uncomfortable position of saying, "I know you worked really hard on this event. I know this is a worthwhile charity, but you've got to help me make this more interesting." That's because nonprofits often pitch a story by saying, 'This is going to be a great event!' or 'There will be hundreds of people there!' While Johnstone recognizes the responsibility of his station to serve the community - which includes many nonprofit organizations - he notes, "It's a competitive industry and we're not serving our community when we don't put on interesting, compelling television. My responsibility is to get people to watch the six o'clock news and I do that by giving them informative coverage, compelling stories. It's not community cable. Sometimes people lose sight of the fact that we are a for-profit business."
Ted Silver, program director at Q92 FM in Montreal, points out that a radio station like his is primarily an entertainment station. The major newscasts are only two minutes in length and provide only basic information. Says Silver, "I don't want to give the impression we don't want to promote what nonprofits are doing, but nonprofits need to make it as easy as possible for us to be able to see the value in their project so we give them the air time."
That being said, what can nonprofits do to ensure that the media sees the value? Silver explains how important it is to pick the right station. In the radio business, stations pick certain formats to appeal to certain audiences that will attract a certain type of advertiser. Q92 is an adult contemporary station so their demographic is women aged 25-54. Do your research to find out the target audience and pick a station where there is a good fit between audience and story.
Presenting your unique and newsworthy angle
The fit with the audience is what the media use to judge your story. Simply put, they determine what is newsworthy by asking what their viewers/readers/listeners want. Kurenoff asks his reporters, "Why should anyone care about this story?" Nonprofits need to ask themselves the same question.
Inundated with information, all three advocate that press releases should catch someone's attention right away. It's like any news story - if you don't catch someone's attention within the first couple of lines, they won't keep reading. However passionate you are about a story, it is important to remove yourself and think about it from the audience's perspective. And remember to provide contact information and make sure the person is available.
It's also good to tell the individual's stories - not just officials, organizers or spokespeople. If it's a story about organ donor awareness, include quotations from someone who donated or received an organ and have them available to speak to the media. Another possible way to stand out is to include numbers. If, for example, you send a press release from a community club, include how many members there are in your club. Numbers matter to people. If your club has 300 members, the editor sees that they can make 300 people happy if they run the story.
Other ways to get noticed
If you don't make the news, there are other forums for getting your message out there. Kurenoff says the newspaper's letters to the editor section is an underutilized feature. Again, be short and to the point. Johnstone mentions the station's community calendar and web site - both produced outside of the news department. "Just because it doesn't make the six o'clock news doesn't mean the station can't do something with it. But the different areas are handled by different people so you need to know who to go to, what you are trying to achieve, and tailor your message accordingly." Research the station's web site or make a phone call to find out this information.
Making contact and following up
There are times when a phone call makes sense, but that's not always the case. Kurenoff is the editor of two newspapers plus a magazine and it is impossible for him to talk to everyone on the phone. He suggests the best approach for contacting him is to send an e-mail and use the "read receipt" confirmation tool so you know he received it. Another reason that Kurenoff appreciates e-mails is that most newspapers do their own layout and with e-mail you can simply cut and paste. "If you fax, time may run out for us to do the inputting" he cautions. Johnstone prefers either e-mails or faxes over telephone calls so there is a hard copy that can be filed for future reference. However, Silver has a different preference. He gets so many e-mails but few calls and he feels the personal contact is very important.
When it comes time to follow up, he recommends trying to get the attention of an individual reporter who becomes your advocate for the story. For instance, if you know there is a reporter who is passionately involved with organ donor awareness and you have a follow-up conversation with that reporter, it is no longer a generic press release when it comes up in the story meeting. Get to know your reporters at local functions, around town, he advises.
The ebb and flow of news
Unfortunately, events that are newsworthy on Wednesday may not be on Thursday; that's the nature of the beast. Each morning Johnstone makes decisions about what to cover in the six o'clock newscast. "It might be that three people called in sick on Thursday and I don't have the staff power to cover everything, or it might be the same day a Windsor police officer gets shot and all available resources are now going toward that story."
The opposite is also true, and that is the source of Kurenoff's number one insider tip. "When there is a long weekend, essentially we have to prepare three papers [i.e. the first paper following the holiday Monday has to be ready by Friday at 5 pm as well as the two regularly scheduled papers that week]. By the third one, there's not much left in the can. So, if I was a nonprofit group, I would circle the long weekends and ask if I could submit something for the last paper of that cycle, knowing they will be dry for copy. I used to do PR for Racquetball Canada and we couldn't get publicity to save our life. When we figured that long weekend trick out, then we got more than we bargained for."
Kurenoff, Johnstone and Silver all recognize the important work that nonprofit organizations do in communities and hope that nonprofits don't get discouraged when they don't all get the exposure they deserve. To make inroads, though, consider the ideas of these three and then build relationships with your own local media by asking for their perspective and top tips.

Louise Chatterton Luchuk is a freelance writer and consultant who combines her love of writing with experience at the local, provincial and national levels of volunteer-involving organizations. For more information, visit www.luchuk.com.