Advocating Through the Media: An IntroductionApril 6, 2013

The media today

• A changing landscape, increasingly concentrated – i.e. fewer outlets, fewer dedicated beats Greater need to educate

• Access to traditional and social media 24-7• Journalists’ objectives:

Defend the public’s right to information Be honest and balanced Beat the competition – break the story Be seen / heard / read Meet tight deadlines

What makes news

• A strong news hook to build the story on • Element of change which makes the story interesting

to the public: Community or social impact Saving lives, saving money First, only, largest Conflict, scandal

• Key components to shape the story: Characters – the people involved Problem – what’s wrong Solution – change needed

Advocating through the media

• Media can be used as a conduit to share messages with a broader audience

Advocacy

Media

• Communicate with media for two reasons:1.To influence or change public opinion2.To make a private issue public and put pressure on the government to bring about change

Advocating through the media

• In advocacy campaigns, going to the media is not usually the first step, with a few exceptions:

To set the stage, educate or provide background on a little known issue (no action needed)

Elevate an issue in the public domain when time is of the essence (action needed)

How media influences change

Public

GovernmentMedia

Current Issues

Public Policy Change

Education and Awareness

Key messages

• Designed to tell the story or explain the issue simply and concisely

• Often developed using these key points: Context – background on situation Problem – what’s wrong Solution – change needed Action – the “ask”

• What are your key messages? The key elements of your personal story or experience with

aHUS that are most relevant to the campaign

Key Messages - Context

• Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS) is a very rare, chronic and life-threatening, genetic condition which can cause blood vessel damage, abnormal blood clotting, organ damage, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and death.

• The prognosis for patients with aHUS has been poor, with existing supportive therapies unproven and unreliable.

Key Messages - Problem

• The first and only Health Canada approved treatment option available to the small number of Canadians battling aHUS is not yet funded by provincial and territorial drug programs.

Key Messages - Solution

• Soliris is the first and only pharmaceutical treatment for aHUS, and has been shown to significantly improve patients’ health and quality of life.

• Now that it has been approved in Canada, Soliris must be made immediately accessible to all Canadian children and adult aHUS patients who require this life-saving treatment.

Key Messages - Action

• All provincial and territorial governments must make an expedited decision to provide all aHUS patients across the country with immediate and equitable access to Soliris through public funding. Immediate access to the drug would have a profoundly

positive impact on the few Canadians living with aHUS, while any delay in funding treatment could lead to devastating consequences.

Practice and prepare

• Keep key messages short and simple Practice getting them across in short sound bites Average TV sound bite is just seven seconds; radio clip is 15

seconds• Make your key messages your mantra

Use in all media encounters Modify to resonate with reporter/outlet/audience

• Review facts, statistics and background information Be aware of what you don’t know

• Prepare to use “bridging” as a technique

Conducting the interview

• Focus on your key messages Don’t be afraid to repeat them Keep your answers short

• Keep conversation lively Remain focused but avoid “broken record” repetition

• Say what you want to say Take control of the interview Make it real – no one knows your story better than you

• Answer unasked questions Reporter may not ask specifically, but what do you want to

tell them?

Bridging

• Technique uses everyday phrases to transition between the topic the reporter is questioning you on and the topic (key message) you want to discuss

That’s a ____________ question:• “good” or “difficult”, “important”, “interesting”

What I really want to emphasize is… What’s important about that is… What that means is… And don’t forget…

How we can help

• We’re here to guide you throughout the interview process We conduct over-the-phone media training sessions and

refreshers prior to interviews We will help you tailor your own key messages and tell

your personal story We provide ongoing support

• We know being a media spokesperson is not for everyone We are here to help if you choose to do this work

Questions?

Joanne Koskie Beth DaniherCohn & Wolfe Cohn & Wolfe416-924-5700 ext. 4049 416-924-5700 ext. 4070416-400-6352 (cell) beth.daniher@cohnwolfe.cajoanne.koskie@cohnwolfe.ca