Yarra Valley WaterMedia Department

Cheryl West, Media ManagerEmma Hiller, Media Officer

Building media profile Working together to achieve better outcomes

Purpose

What is Media What’s in it for me Role of the Media Department The dark arts of PR/Media Importance of effective communication Impacts of Bad Press

Overview

What is media?

Not just traditional forms, ie newspapers, tv, radio Online tv clips, podcasts. Blogs, social media ie twitter, facebook

you tube, Flickr Industry publications

What's in it for me

Raise profile of your research – fellowships Raise personal profile – leading authority Creates personal opportunity Platform for advocacy – eg; .Envioromental awareness, Health

warnings, call to action Opportunity for awards

Role of the media dept

Issues & reputation management Proactive: project outcomes and milestones, pitching ideas Reactive: seeking localised comment/opinion On call 24/7 We don’t control the media but we can seek to influence it

Timing: features, scheduling and planning Placement: identify targets, exclusives Crafting messages Interview preparation – know your audience Working with PR agencies – coordination is important Build media relationships YVW working for you

The dark arts of PR/Media

Avoid negative press – if a journalist is writing a story that could potentially paint YVW in a bad light, call us or your account manager – otherwise it can look like both parties are trying to “pass the buck”.

The importance of effective communication

Prevent inaccuracies and ensure consistent messages. In PR you can only control so much. It’s important to work together.

Internal communication is key. The best ambassadors you can have for your business are your own staff

If staff are passionate & engaged in what’s going on in your business, the better employees they will be

The importance of effective communication

Impact of negative press

Damage to company reputation Decrease share values Decrease in market position

How to access us

Don’t be shy to tell your business relationship manager about story ideas or things your business is achieving. We meet with them all the time to get updates and your story may be just what we’re looking for.

The media is interested in good news stories, so be proactive.

Examples

Examples

Workshop

Think of a project you would like to profile in the media (to do with sustainability)

How could YVW help? Pros/cons of messages What media streams can we use to get the message out there?

Think of the audience you are trying to inform about this project.