Media, Shmedia: be your own newsroom

Richie Escovedo | Mansfield Independent School District

Let's talk about...

The media landscapeWhy should you care?Thinking like a publisher

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I. The media landscapehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/bettinatizzy/2304286560/

I. The media landscape

News Paradox Shrinking newsrooms and the expanding news landscape (print, local TV, Niche media, Radio, New Media, etc.)

I. The media landscape

In 2009 over 290 papers folded, 45 launched - nine of those being online or Web-first. Major newspapers had a combined 421 layoffs and buyouts.

Vocus2010 State of the Media

I. The media landscape

I. The media landscape

In local television, news staffs, already too small to adequately cover their communities, are being cut at unprecedented rates.

2009 State of the News Media Report Pew Projectfor Excellence in Journalism

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Audience migration to the Internet accelerating. Traffic to the top 50 news sites rose 27% in 2008.

2009 State of the News Media Report Pew Projectfor Excellence in Journalism

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however...

"...while the news landscape has rapidly expanded, most of what the public learns is still overwhelmingly driven by traditional media—particularly newspapers... "New technology was more prevalent as a way for media—both traditional and new—to break news more quickly. The Web is now clearly the first place of publication."

How News Happens ~ Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism

February 18, 2010

February 18, 2010

Journalists depending on Social Media for Story Research

89% Use Blogs65% Use SocNets52% Use Microblogging

From survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations

February 19, 2010

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Say hello to the crowd (they're probably online right now) (they are

why is this important for school PR?

II. For School PR

Districts are brands and communities are buyers

What do school districts sell?

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For effective relationship with community, stakeholders must trust

provide safe learning environments;teachers' instructional standards and expectations;all students given every opportunity to succeed and achieve;parents are wanted and integral;technology and instruction will not be mutually exclusive;when things go wrong, the district will be open and honest when communicating and work to mitigate future issues;tax dollars will be used with sound fiscal judgment;facilities will be constructed and maintained; andthe best interest of students' education will be the guide.

School districts sell trust

Our stakeholders are buyers

We want them to buy our messages about information, events, elections, changes, celebrations, discussions,

policies, crises, etc.

III. Think like a publisherhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jmtimages/1065000916/

can you communication channel-surf?

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Public Relations > Media Relations Public Relation(ships)

"PR/communications and its essential premise of storytelling and relationship-building is like the earth—land, shall we say. Social media is like the tectonic plates shifting to create mountains, valleys, earthquakes. It’s still land, but the way we traverse it is different." - Albert Maruggi

III. Think like a publisher

Be honest. Think about how your audience wants to receive the information and messages. Determine which communication channels are going to effectively reach your publics. Listen to what your stakeholders have to say about your actions.

What will you say? How and where will you say it?

Owned media Paid media Earned media Participatory media

Media types

http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2009/12/defining-earned-owned-and-paid-media.html

Owned media Paid media Earned media Participatory media

Media types

Owned media Paid media Earned media Participatory media

Media types

Owned media Paid media Earned media Participatory media

Media types

equalizes the balance of power, providing a dedicated platform that gives voice to the consumer and a channel for their ideas

IV. Rethink Press Releases & Newsroomshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/98956768/

The structure of the social media release is:News headlineKeyword-rich introductory paragraph that provides relevance and context - this helps with finding the release through searchSupporting facts - data, stats, researchQuote(s)Embeddable video, audio and imagesRSS for organization newsRelated linksComments Share this - Twitter, FriendFeed, Tumblr, Posterous, GoogleReader, DeliciousDigg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and other relevant news aggregators and communitiesBlog and email this linkBookmarks Post in - Facebook, Beebo, MySpace, or a relevant social network for sharing -Contact: hcard, vcard, LinkedIn, Facebook

http://www.conversationagent.com/2009/08/creating-the-desire-for-news.html

Social Media Release

that sounds hard...

Try this with your releases:News headlineKeyword-rich copy that provides relevance and context (SEO)Supporting details and quote(s)Place links within release to send buyers to other relevant areas in your site Leverage video, audio and photosOffer related informationOptions for sharing to extend your reachLet releases be a stand-alone news items

District Press Release Revisited

function vs. formhere to communicate not decoratenot just for mediabut don't ignore mediahosting considerationsone of many digital outposts

newsrooms

"Nothing beats knowing what you want to say, why it matters, and to whom. You still have to do your homework and you still have to write something compelling (meaning well written.)"

~ Brian Solis

As news is posted faster, the official version of events from your organization is vital

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V. Ethics, Transparency and Listeninghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeline-imagery/4342543312/

Ethics

The education PR professional shall: Be guided constantly by pursuit of the public interest through truth , accuracy , good taste and fairness; follow good judgment in releasing information; not intentionally disseminate misinformation or confidential data; avoid actions which lessen personal, professional or organizational reputation. http://www.tspra.org/about-tspra/mission-a-vision/code-of-ethics

Transparency

How important is it?

Transparency

"Be open, be clear, and be honest. False views have a way of coming back to haunt you when you least need or expect them to – truth and transparency are the perfect foils to any and every misquote. Keep it simple and keep it honest and you’ll find the respect of your audience, targeted and otherwise."

~ Danny Brown

The "Suck" or "Die" Factor

"[District] + sucks""[School] + sucks""Die + [District]""i+hate +[School]"

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Listening

Monitoring:Perspctv http://www.perspctv.com/ IceRocket http://www.icerocket.com/Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com/Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts Backtype http://www.backtype.com/connect Much more (free and paid) http://wiki.kenburbary.com/social-meda-monitoring-wiki

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Sources & Additional Resources

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/index.htmhttp://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/how_news_happenshttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2009/08/school-districts-sell-trust.htmlhttp://mashable.com/2010/02/11/social-objects/http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2009/12/defining-earned-owned-and-paid-media.htmlhttp://www.conversationagent.com/2010/02/trust-in-media-down-good-news-for-experts.htmlhttp://www.pr-squared.com/index.php/2010/02/trail-of-breadcrumbshttp://www.pr-squared.com/2008/04/social_media_release_template.htmlhttp://www.conversationagent.com/2009/08/creating-the-desire-for-news.htmlhttp://wiki.kenburbary.com/social-meda-monitoring-wikihttp://www.slideshare.net/bnixon/public-relations-during-times-of-crisis-presentationhttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2009/10/facebook-fan-page-rules-for-school.htmlhttp://prsarahevans.com/2010/01/how-to-set-up-a-free-online-monitoring-system/http://www.briansolis.com/2008/11/reinventing-crisis-communications-for/http://delicious.com/rescovedo/online-pressrooms

Contact Me

Richie EscovedoDirector of Media and Communications Mansfield Independent School District E-mail: richie.escovedo@gmail.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/vedoBlog: http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rescovedoDelicious: http://delicious.com/rescovedo