When working for a non-profit or any other organization it is very important that you have a knowledgeable or creditable spokesperson. This could be the organizations executive director or a celebrity, however the book does explain that a celebrity is not always the best person because they could hurt more than they help if a personal scandal appears. When picking a spokesperson there are three key points you want to stick to.
- . The person is comfortable doing press interviews
- The person is willing to take time to out of the day to deal with journalists
- Delivers a good presentation on television, on the radio, and in print or is willing to be trained
Another point that is also important when training your staff, is the proper way to relay a request for an interview. If this is not done properly it can ruin your chances of ever getting another call. The first step is that you need to make sure they understand the reporter’s deadline. You also want to make sure that there are only two stops in relaying the message; the receptionist and the press staffer.
When giving an interview the spokesperson wants to make sure that they always assume that they are on the record with a reporter. You want to make sure that the spokesperson is aware that there are three ways of speaking to a reporter:
- On the record interviews- reporters will assume that everything said to them is on the record and quotable unless otherwise stated at the start of an interview.
- Background interviews- are discussions with reporters that are held with a prior understanding that the information can be freely used in a story, but only as background, without a direct quote.
- Off-the-record interviews- not for quotes, not for attribution, and usually not for use in an article.
I also found the section of the book “Doing Better Media Interviews: Quick Tips” to be very helpful. I feel that the two most important points here are to always tell the truth and state your messages more than once. If these steps are followed your organization will have a well-rounded spokesperson.
I feel that our group did a very good job at having just one spokesperson for reporters to contact. Erin did a great job, she made sure that the right reporters got our press release so we were able to spread the word about our project to a mass amount of people. Our release was consistent in stating our message. I also feel that throughout promoting our projects to other organizations and visitors at our booth on Bowman Field, we made sure to keep telling explaining that we are supporting domestic violence awareness. The group made sure that DV and Safe Harbor was our focus and I feel that this is why we were so successful in spreading awareness.
In chapter 10 of SCFN, they stress the importance of partnerships in the world of nonprofit organizations. This is a great way of making sure that your message is heard. Our group did that by utilizing the Fraternity and other organizations that built a float for homecoming by getting them to pomp and purple ribbon of their floats. This was a great opportunity for both our class and the organizations because it allowed us to reach mass amounts of people to spread awareness and it also showed the school that these organizations do care about more than just partying and want to help spread the word about domestic violence awareness month.
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