National Talking Newspapers and Magazines

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Good Practice for Talking Newspapers

Introduction
1. Management
2. Infrastructure
3. Editorial
4. Presentation
5. Reading
6. Recording
7. Copying
8. Packing and Posting
9. Returns
10. Reactions
11. Repairs
12. Health, Safety and Electricity
13. Public Relations
14. Finance
15. Development

13. Public Relations

The role of the PRO
Do not make the mistake of trying to combine the posts of Public Relations Officer and Fund Raising Officer. Fund raising is an art form of its own, and whilst there is a degree of cross-over between the two posts, all too often a Public Relations Officer is judged on their fund raising abilities rather than their skills in promoting the TN.

Talking newspapers invariably come into existence as a result of public appeals: appeals for money; appeals for volunteers; and, in a sense, appeals for listeners. If there is no audience there is no need for the service.

Trust
All its supporters will have put a degree of trust in the organisation whether they have given money, time or lent their ears to its productions.

The organisation must respond to that trust by being open with its affairs and accountable for its actions. There is a need to establish and maintain credibility as a well run, caring service which uses its resources wisely in fulfilment of its aims.

Reaching outsiders
Because the operation is a private, and to some extent, confidential service to a minority section of the population, it is unlikely to attract any media interest unless some unwelcome drama occurs.

It follows that a conscious effort will be needed to reach the minds of 'outsiders' because they will be needed to fund, staff and listen to future years' cassettes. The aim is to reach those people who cannot read small N12 print.

Opportunities
This chapter outlines some of the ways of attempting this. 'Attempting', because there are no guarantees of success.

Opportunities for publicity occur at least once a year with the Annual General Meeting and at other times such as anniversary issues. It is well worth counting issue numbers as well as years from commencement to maximise the number of anniversaries. The media can never get enough of them. Talking Newspaper Week in September is a good reason for issuing a Press Release (see later).

Exclusive contributions direct to the TN could become a feature for the general media and any awards for good tapes deserve the widest possible coverage. If there are competitions open to listeners the results and presentation of prizes could make a picture and so could gifts to the TN from outside groups.

Whatever crops up in the life of the TN is worth using to get the name in front of the public at large. Any emergencies will make excellent pegs for a 'puff' of free publicity. E.g. "Power blackout halts recording" is bound to need a following paragraph along the lines...."The TN provides free weekly cassettes to 500...."etc..

Local contacts
Local opinion formers are vital to TNs. They are generally any community people who are well connected or in powerful positions. They could be on the local Council; they could be involved with the running of the local political parties; they could be editors of local papers or managers of the local radio stations, or even owners of local shops. Do not forget the local fund raisers - Round Table, Rotary Clubs, The Lions, or for that matter, the local Council who may have facilities for giving grants from a specific fund. Along with the many Church groups, all these organisations are full of people who can help your TN, if they know about it.

Local paper
Make sure these groups and organisations know you exist, as well as the local paper you read onto tape each week. This is not as silly as it sounds, as in most local newspapers, the staff turnover is very high, with reporters and editors moving onto other papers and magazines, as part of their career. All this means that the editor who gave permission to use the newspaper's material when the TN started, has long gone, as will most of the reporters who helped get the TN off the ground at the time.

Fund raising and stories in the paper
In any local area there are many charities all fighting for funds and press coverage. Have a look at how other local fund raising organisations are doing in your area. Are they out there making street collections? Do they plant stories in the local press over the months to build up a good image? Do they devote their time and energy to presenting talks to local groups promoting their activities? Then look at your TN.

Does it have a set of promotional photographs of the studio for press use? Has it printed any posters that can be displayed around the area? And lastly, what contact, if any, has the TN committee with the local opinion initiators?

Open evenings
An open evening can work well. where major sponsors can be invited along, say, nine months after their donation to show how their money has been put to good effect. Ask some of your listeners to come along and talk to your sponsors about the enjoyment they get from the TN.

Show your visitors all the various stages of producing a TN and actually make them record a mini edition. When they leave at the end of the evening, they can take copies of the special edition with them.

The purpose of the evening is NOT to fund raise, but to show appreciation of their support.

Logos
Just as important is how the TN presents itself to its listeners. Is there a theme tune for the weekly tape and another for the magazine? The listener does not know which tape has been delivered until the play button is pressed, so a theme tune or jingle is vital - an audio version of a logo! Always use a logo on publicity material.

Good logo design is a complex issue, but unless your TN has a tame designer available, keep it simple! A logo can be used in many areas - a large blow up could be put in the studio where visitors and volunteers can see it; it can be made into badges, it could form the design for stickers on flag days, as well as being included on posters which can be displayed in libraries, doctors' and opticians' waiting rooms, the local hospital, Council and community noticeboards and similar areas.

Headed notepaper
The most important place for any logo is on the TN's headed notepaper. Have a close look at your TN's present headed paper. Is the design messy, is it covered in names and telephone numbers? Many groups feel that all paperwork should give the names of all Patrons, Vice-Presidents etc. together with the names of the committee. The problem arises when someone dies or gives up office, and their name has to be removed, probably with Tippex, or the paper has to be reprinted.

The answer is to take time to design a letterhead layout which incorporates your logo, studio address and possibly the line "please reply to" instead of a list of committee addresses. One very important point - the TN's Charity Number should also be included.

Local media
The local media can be divided into two groups - local broadcasting and the local press. Each group requires a different technique in the areas of contacting and the type of information TNs give them, but both can be used to promote the organisation and its activities.

Some TNs may mistrust anything to do with the press, so let's try to get rid of misconceptions about journalists and their work.

Journalists are not out to dig the dirt about your TN nor are they going to write a pack of lies about your group. All they will use is the information you give them, plus their own observations on what they find when they visit your studio. This means that the committee and volunteers must have a basic trust in the member who is going to act as Public Relations Officer, as it's no good blaming them if the journalist reports something about your TN that you think is wrong. Also, while you may feel that there should have been a two page spread on the TN, don't blame the PRO if you end up with a small story on page 4.

Local press
There are three types of newspapers which you may find in your TN's area. These are, usually, regional morning or evening papers, weekly paid-for local newspapers, and the weekly freesheets. (You can forget the national papers, as you'll never obtain coverage in these).

From the point of view of the PRO, regional newspapers do present a major problem in placing a story as, being a daily paper with a large area to cover, they are mainly interested in big events and do not have the space for small or less interesting items. On the other hand a local weekly paid-for paper will have space and in some cases may be crying out for material to fill it. If your PRO can develop a good relationship with the staff, then this could be very useful to your TN.

Many weekly free sheets print only local advertising, but some go in for a form of local news service and even employ journalists, who will be very interested in your organisation.

Press releases
The problem now is how to plant the good news story about your TN in these publications. The answer is the traditional Press (or Media) Release. This is not the simple letter to the Editor, nor is it a note printed on any old scrap of paper, both of which can get lost in the sackfuls of paperwork that all newspapers receive each week.

A good Press release is one that stands out from the rest of the paperwork landing on an Editor's desk. In both layout and design, it should attract attention. If you already have a good letterhead and logo, your TN will have gone some way towards designing a good Press Release. Print the information on coloured paper which will stand out amongst all the other paper work.

Sample Press Release

LOGO
Anytown Talking Newspaper
The Studio
123 Old Road
Anytown

PRESS RELEASE

TN pushes for money
Members of the Anytown Talking Newspaper will be mounting a sponsored wheel barrow push around the streets of Anytown on Saturday 4th June to raise funds for their new studio.

Volunteers from the Talking Newspaper will take turns to ride in the wheel barrow, which will be pushed part of the way by the Mayor, Councillor Charles Bright.

Starting from the Council offices at 10am, Saturday 4th June, the route will take them down the High Street, along South Street and back to the Council offices via London Road. The pushers hope to be back by 2pm.

Each week Anytown Talking Newspaper for the Blind supplies 200 local blind listeners with cassettes of readings from the Anytown Advertiser.

For more information please contact:
John Smith, Anytown 1234 or Jane Bigg on 5678

Content
The design of the Release is very simple. At the top is the name of the TN and address, along with the words PRESS RELEASE. Next comes the catchline, ideally incorporating a verb, then the message - simple, straight-forward and without frills, just the facts. If the Editor or reporter is interested, they can then move on to the last part of the release, which is who to contact for more information, along with at least two telephone numbers.

One important point about the contact telephone number - make sure that there is someone available who has the required information. If the contact person works, then it may be necessary to give a business number as well, or give the times when the contact number will be manned. Don't give the studio telephone number, as there is always the danger that all the journalist will get is the answering machine, or a volunteer will answer the call and know nothing about the event, or even give the wrong information.

A circular about the event should be sent out much earlier direct to all volunteers to enlist their assistance.

Timing
Releases should be sent out well in advance of the event being promoted. It is no use telling the papers about an event the day before, as it will be too late for them to arrange a reporter or photographer. So think in terms of informing your local press around three weeks before the event, with a follow up telephone call about a week before the event takes place.

If the local newspapers do not come along, then a write-up and photograph can be sent to them instead.

Special article
Another way of getting known to the local papers is to invite one of them to run a double page spread about the TN. This will be great for group ego and will form the basis of the next stage which is providing follow up items to the local press. But remember that the centre page article will be a once only blast of TN PR, and no follow up will get the same space. What should be provided is a short series of items which while not getting on the front page, will find a home on inside pages.

Local radio
There are two types of local station in operation - the BBC and Independent Local Radio Network. Although the BBC stations may offer a better chance of getting material on air, news-wise you have the same problem as trying to get an item into a large regional newspaper, that of lack of editorial airtime and lack of interest to a large coverage area. The Press Release should be sent to the station at the same time as it is issued to the papers.

Offer local stations tapes of any interviews or interesting features which the TN has produced, but bear in mind this does depend on having good quality production equipment and editorial know-how.

Ask the station's most popular DJ to come to your TN and do something - announce a competition winner or whatever.

Talks to local groups
One of the best ways for a PRO to promote their TN is to give talks to local organisations. Work out what you want to say in advance, as 30 - 45 minutes is a long time to fill! It is a very good idea to play excerpts from your TN's output, including the current week's issue, but keep the excerpts short, otherwise the audience will start to fidget. If your TN has a series of still photographs, transparencies, or a publicity video, then the photos can be handed round or the slides or video shown as part of the presentation.

Getting known by other groups
After a few talks, your PRO will find that other groups in the area will make contact asking for a talk to be given. This will not be because the PRO is necessarily all that good at his/her job, it is due to club secretaries having to find speakers for their regular meetings and the PRO's name will have been passed around on a sort of secret club secretaries' network! The exposure of the TN to so many organisations will pay off in the long run, and the donation cheques at the end of the talks are useful!

If the PRO is only available in the evening, then the groups will tend to be womens organisations, such as Womens Institutes and church young mothers groups. The audience may vary from 10 up to 50. On the other hand if your speaker is available during the day then the engagements will be business groups and Rotary clubs.

For dates that the PRO cannot undertake, then why not ask a good VIP speaker, i.e. listener, to give the talks instead.

Out and about
A way of getting your TN known in the area is by becoming involved in local activities. If your TN produces a magazine, why not buy a couple of portable cassette machines, stick a large version of the TN's logo on each of them and go out collecting material around the area. This can add an extra dimension to your programmes as well as showing the TN flag to the sighted public.

Promotional magazines
Try and use promotional material, such as a group magazine. This is not for issue to your volunteers but to be handed out to visitors to the studio, at talks or during street collections. There are a number of organisations which will go out and find the advertising for you, so all the TN has to do is to write the editorial and any short articles, then sit back and wait for (say) 3000 copies to arrive plus a donation from the profits made from the advertising. The only snag is that such companies come and go so check references before you sign up.

Leaflets
Publicity leaflets will be just invaluable. One A5 sized version could be printed with the logo, the name of the organisation, a short sentence about the TN and a contact address/telephone number. Another version could be an A4 sheet printed both sides and folded to A5. In this leaflet there would be more information about the TN, while the back page could carry an application form for new listeners. See Appendices 1,2 and 3. This leaflet is better handed out at talks or put in dispensers for libraries etc. keeping the single sided version for fund raising collections.

At a talk, it is surprising how many people will come up to the speaker and say 'I know someone who might like to receive your service'. Give the enquirer an application form and a few weeks later your TN will have another listener.

Local displays
Create a set of display boards (and it is well worth the money to buy proper ones such as those made by Marler-Hayley) carrying a set of photographs of the TN's operation with a short description about each photograph which can be put up easily in local shops, libraries, building societies, banks, and even the entrance hall of the Council Offices.

Putting a dispenser on or near the display boards with leaflets about the TN will also assist publicity.

As well as local displays, your TN can be kept in the spotlight by submitting regular items to local Voluntary Associations for the Blind and newsletters for any disabled groups in the area.

Directory entries
Ensure that the TN is included in local directories of charities and services, as well as the national guide issued by TNAUK and check that the entry is correct. If the TN has a telephone, then there will automatically be an entry in the BT directory for the area. An entry in the local Thompson's directory may be worth considering.

Registered charity information
One very important point about any publicity material, particularly any concerned with fund-raising, is that your charity number, or wording to the effect that the organisation is a registered charity, has to be included somewhere. (This requirement also applies to cheques).

Keeping a high profile
Public relations work is an art form which will help you keep your TN working, producing those weekly news cassettes and monthly/quarterly magazines which are so eagerly awaited by your listeners, as well as keeping a high profile for your organisation in the local community.

TNAUK Registered charity number: 293656