Happy, Happy!

Dear friends,

Just a quick note to wish you a very Happy New Year. December, much like all of 2007 has flown by much too fast.

In 2008, let us resolve to be better at telling our stories. Let us be resources for reporters and editors. Let us listen as much as we speak.

Those are just a few of my own resolutions for the New Year. I gave up on losing weight a long time ago!

Reporters are from Pluto – We are from Saturn

There is a reason we call it media relations. A successful media relations strategy must focus on developing and maintaining quality relationships with members of the media. This might seem simple, but in all reality it is as complex as any other human relationship we engage in.

The relationships in our lives that hold meaning for us often are somewhat difficult to maintain. I often like to say, “it isn’t all Ferris wheels and cotton candy!” Think of the relationships in your life – relationships with friends, family, romantic partners, co-workers, etc. What makes those relationships work?

You might find some of the following five qualities:

Good communication. Staying in touch and sharing parts of your life with the other person will help to prevent misunderstandings and unwanted distance in the relationship. Making your needs and desires known is critical, as is allowing the other person to do the same.

Attentive listening. It’s easy to forget, but communication is a two-way street. Listen effectively to what the other person is saying as they express their own needs and desires.

An understanding of where the other person is coming from. If you don’t understand, then start asking questions and listen to the answers. Read stories the reporter has written, listen to or watch their broadcasts to get a feel for their style.

An ability to admit that you are wrong, or don’t have all the answers.

A sense of humor. Many of us take life and ourselves way too seriously. A laugh can go a long way.

Respect for the other person. Pretty simple concept, but sometimes difficult to remember.

All of these apply to your working relationships with members of the media as well. Far too often, we fail to effectively communicate with reporters except for the occasional generic press release. We don’t always listen carefully to what a reporter wants and needs for the story to be successful. Sometimes we find it difficult to admit that we don’t know something. And, we often fail to respect the reporter as the professional that they are.

So, the next time you are about to begin or try to strengthen a relationship with a reporter, keep all of this in mind. Put yourself in their seat, and remember that they have a job to do just like you do. And don’t forget to share some humor along the way as well – the life of a reporter is very stressful. Any chance to laugh is welcome.

Salvation Army Scammers to Serve Time

Two Houston brothers who set up a fraudulent website following the Katrina disaster will each serve more than eight years in jail for their crimes. The federal government is cracking down on scammers such as the Stevens brothers, according to the Nonprofit Times:

Two Houston brothers each were sentenced last month to more than eight years for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as a result of fraudulently operating a Web site that claimed to raise money on behalf of the Salvation Army for Hurricane Katrina victims. The fraudulent Web site, prosecutors said, collected more than $48,000 before anyone caught on.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Steven Stephens, 24, to serve a total of 111 months. Bartholomew Stephens, 27, will serve a total of 105 months. A jury convicted the pair after a four-day trial in June.

The Stephens case is just one example of the more than 2,400 Katrina relief Web sites believed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to be fraudulent.

More recently, as Southern California burned this past October criminals began setting up bogus Web sites and soliciting donations. According to the FBI, in the days following the California wildfires fraudsters flooded the Internet with fake charity sites.

Technology has certainly advanced fund development for nonprofits. Unfortunately, it continues to advance fraud and other criminal activity as well. It isn’t possible to anticipate each and every scam before it happens. However, being aware of these trends and keeping a watchful eye out for such scams can help.

Having policies and procedures in place regarding online giving and your organization’s web presence activities will help. Making sure that your domain name doesn’t expire will prevent scammers from picking it up and using it against you.

For more information, go to protectyour.org.

When?

I’m sure you’ve seen the news reports by now. A 19 year-old boy opened fire this afternoon in an Omaha mall.

Violence is all too common in our world today. It’s even more shocking when it hits so close to home (for me).

The young man who did this had a history of depression and many other indicators that have caused those who knew him to say he was “troubled.” When will we finally fix our mental health system in this country? When will we work to effectively stop bullying in schools? When will we stop allowing our children to roam freely with guns?

 When?

Study Shows Americans Distrust Campaign Coverage

A new study reveals some interesting, yet not surprising, results regarding American’s perceptions of media coverage of politics.

Editor and Publisher highlights the outcome of the survey conducted by Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership National Leadership Index. Harvard interviewed a little more than 1,200 adults nationwide in September. 

The highlights:

• When asked if election coverage was politically biased, 40% believed it was too liberal, 21% too conservative, and 30% found it neutral. Nine percent weren’t sure.
• 64% of those polled do not trust press coverage of the presidential campaign.
• 88% believe that campaign coverage focuses on trivial issues.
• 84% believe that media coverage has too much influence on American voting choices.
• 92% say it is important that the news media provide information on candidate’s specific policy plans, but 61% say the media does not provide enough coverage of policy plans.
• 89% say it is important to hear about candidates’ personal values and ethics, but 43% say there is not enough coverage of personal values and ethics.

A few thoughts from my perspective:

These are all good examples of what we could call “say one thing and do another” among American voters. Yes, there is tremendous voter apathy, caused by the most part by negative campaigning and “gotcha” journalism. But yet, those tactics work. Negative campaigning effectively surpresses voter turnout time and time again. If it didn’t, candidates wouldn’t spend billions of dollars each cycle on them. “Gotcha” journalism improves ratings and sells more papers.

Often, we answer survey questions through the lens of idealism. In a perfect world – we want things to look like this. And then we realize the world is far from perfect…and we act as we usually do.

I share this because, as communicators, we need to realize that the mainstream media continues to loose it’s effectiveness. We need to continuously look for new ways to get our message out and expand our mix.