Cdn-Firearms Digest Wednesday, 29 November 1995 Volume 01 : Number 357 ------------------------------ From: SHELDON CLARE Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 16:00:01 -0600 (CST) Subject: Getting Good Press Hello Everybody, This recent article of mine appeared in the winter issue of _The Firearms Sentinel_, newspaper of the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms ownership. Since the topic has come up, I thought it might be of interest: ______________________Begin_____________________________ Canadian Content - Getting Good Press by Sheldon Clare Gun owners have an image problem; we know it, the public knows it and the politicians know it. Guns and owners get bad press, even from friends. So what do we do about it? My solution is to target the means by which the public and the politicians get their information: the media. Always remember, you will not convince those in direct opposition. Those who agree with you are already convinced, so the object is to educate the uninformed, or undecided public. When you are starting to try to get good press, it is important that you work at the local level. Community newspapers and local radio and television stations are the main sources of information for people in your community. With newspapers, one easy way to get your message out is to write "letters to the editor" in the local paper. Write something short and to the point: if your letter is controversial without being radical, it will likely be printed; a tip here is to avoid personal attacks on individuals. If you are criticizing a negative article or editorial, criticize the story, never the writer. Always remember that "mud thrown is ground lost." Criticizing the writer, even when deserved, will not help you get good press. I once had great success with a negative newspaper reporter by praising his writing skills, yet attacking the points made in the article. You should also encourage others to write, so you do not appear to be the only one concerned about the issue. Electronic mail conferences can be used in much the same way, the only difference with these is that you are generally preaching to the confirmed. A second simple media device is the call-in radio talk show. Through it, you can reach a diverse audience, focus your point and generate an interesting discussion. But remember: never swear, or engage in personal attacks! You will be cut off, and anything worthwhile that you might have said will be lost. One good tactic is to find out when the talk-show will have pro or anti-gun guests and arrange for people to call in to support of criticize the guest's position. For a pro-gun guest you could also ask the guest questions with predictable answers. This tactic can make an informed speaker look good, and destroy the credibility of those who are dogmatic and don't know their stuff. Hopefully, the pro-gun speakers are not dogmatic and do know their material. A third device is community television. Do you know that in most cities you can host your own community television program? You could do a one time interview or even host a weekly or monthly program! Just think of it - Susan on Gun Safety, or Joe's Firearms File... the possibilities are endless. On T.V., it is important that you present a "positive image". Remember to ignore the camera, and talk to the person. You do not want to appear to be someone that no one wants to live next to. If you cannot present a good image, find someone who can. Remember, credibility takes years to build, and seconds to lose. Those are basic media steps. Once you are comfortable with talk shows and letters to the editor, move on to creating media events. This is harder to do well. A good first step is to cultivate acquaintances with media people, especially reporters. Reporters are the front-line workers of the media industry. They have a stressful job that has limitations of time, and they have to report to editors who change their work. Their job is also an interesting one, in that they get to meet and deal with a variety of people and groups. Reporters are usually not experts in your area, and so they need the information to make their job easy. Reporters are people. They are not evil, and they do not automatically hate you. Like other people, they appreciate it when someone cares about their well-being. Here are some tips for dealing with reporters: 1. Realize that you will sometimes get bad press. Deal with this in an up-front manner one-on-one with the reporter. Find out what the reporter is looking for, and make sure that it fits in with what you want to provide. The media loves pictures of guns, which may distract from your message, so allow them to be incorporated only under very controlled circumstances. Make it clear to the reporters that if your material is used in a negative manner, they will never be contacted when you have information that they might like. Tell them that the competition or other reporting staff will get the story. Reporters need sources; no source, no story. 2. Give reporters a short (one page) summary of the information that they need. Include: a. In one sentence, what is the story? b. Why is it of interest to people (significance)? c. How did the story come about? d. When will/did this happen? e. Who are the people involved? f. Who is the contact for more information? This summary is also called a press release. 3. In interviews, select what points you want to emphasize, and repeat them in different ways. Speak to the reporter as a person and ignore the camera. Reporters will ask leading questions to get a particular response; if you don't like the question, re-phrase it and answer the question you would have asked. Politicians do this all the time because it works. 4. Avoid giving too much information. Remember, if there is lots of material, the reporter has more flexibility about what to use. Go for the 5 second sound bite, or the snappy comment. Plan these in advance, and make them look natural. 5. Be helpful. Offer to help set up/clean up gear, if reporters need to place a mike, help them. If there is food and water, offer some. At the same time, avoid getting in the way. 6. Be a good host. Be nice to the person who has to carry the camera. That person may decide what you look like on the 6 o'clock news. Do not be rude to the reporters; treat them as equals. Being nice will help; being arrogant or rude will hurt. 7. Be grateful. Be grateful that reporters even came to record your story, gun rally, gun show, or other event. Phone or, better yet, write and thank them for a good story. Do this even if it isn't as good as you thought it would be. It is okay to mention something that you didn't like about the story, as long as you mention something positive as well. Maybe they will come to your next event and do an even better job next time. In short, most incidents of bad press come from the reporter's lack of information, and an unwillingness on the part of the source to help the reporter do the story. Also some media tend to have a particular bias that colours the approach they take on controversial issues. One way to get around this is to make friends with individual media people. A reporter once asked me after a radio talk show why people liked owning handguns. He saw no need for handguns, and did not see anything appealing about them. My response was, "I cannot tell you, but I can show you. Let's go shooting, and please bring a friend." The reporter was reluctant at first, but he eventually agreed to come and bring a colleague. This was to be a casual affair, not work time for any of us. We went to the range, where I gave them simple safety instructions, and some basic marksmanship tips. Suddenly, I had two formerly negative media people enjoying shooting two handguns. They want to bring their spouses next time. What did it accomplish? I believe that it may well influence their approach to future gun stories. It is easy to criticize something that you know nothing about, so education is the key. My approach is simple: think globally, act locally, and you will get good press, one person at a time. Note: Sheldon Clare is an English Instructor at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, British Columbia. He holds an International Relations degree from the University of British Columbia. Sheldon is a collector, shooter, hunter, and former Army Cadet Instructor. He is an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion and a representative of the Canadian-based National Firearms Association and the Responsible Firearms Owners Coalition of B.C. Internet address: clare@cnc.bc.ca _________________________End Article__________________________ I hope this is of interest and use. I hope to hear from others with helpful suggestions! Regards, Sheldon Clare **************************************************************** English Department College of New Caledonia clare@cnc.bc.ca 3330-22nd Avenue ae314@freenet.unbc.edu Prince George, B.C. (604) 562-2131 (436) V2N 1P8 "A regulation can be for a fool to obey, and a wise man to break." 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