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To represent Amateur Radio to government and the public in a way that maximizes support.
That means our target audience is the non-Amateur Radio public. We reach that target audience through the mainstream media, generally, but not exclusively, the news media. Professional staff in ARRL's Media Relations program provide timely and accurate news to daily and weekly newspapers, TV and radio news programs, news services and syndicated columnists, and occasionally, niche magazines. In the future, web sites that offer news and other information are likely to play a bigger role in the mix. We spend a lot of time building relationships with editors and reporters, both "pitching" stories and responding to their inquiries.
Other departments within ARRL support member relations, relations with youth groups, association marketing, and the dissemination of news to the Amateur Radio community. There are also individual programs that, while managed by other departments, nonetheless consume significant PR department resources and deliver valuable PR return.
One aspect of news remains constant: news is what "media gatekeepers" (reporters and editors) think it is, not what we think it is. That means getting news placed about Amateur Radio is competitive with high tech manufacturers who spend billions of dollars flooding the media with news releases and promotions, touting the virtues of their products to the public.
The number of truly new national Amateur Radio stories are comparatively fewer and, rather than highlighting new technology, tend to focus on interesting people and their activities.
Of these, in any given year, there a few good national stories, a few more regional stories and, most of the time, an impressive number of local stories. One of the "arts" of public relations is finding new ways to shape the stories we have to correspond to the media's agenda so that reporters and editors will consider using them. We call this process "finding a news peg," and we're successful at it because we haven't worn out our welcome pitching too many speculative stories with little likelihood of finding a home. The interesting people in Amateur Radio almost inevitably become the "news peg."
Public Relations is about creating a "favorable perception" in people's minds. Public Relations cannot control what a reporter or editor may do, it can only provide material for them to use. PR also cannot dictate the copy content like advertising can do. PR can, however, provide facts and information and be a great friend and ally to the media IF IT MAINTAINS ITS TOTAL TRUTHFULNESS. The fastest way to create an UNfavorable perception is to mislead the media.
A story which might aid in this is told in PR circles: If you put up posters saying a circus is coming to town, that's publicity. If you walk a lion through the town square, that's promotion. If the lion breaks free, that's news. If you can get the Police to laugh about it - THAT'S PR!
Generic news products: ARRL maintains materials for media distribution that include news releases, fact sheets, backgrounders and pitch letters. We maintain a file of up to date press kits for breaking emergencies where time is critical. These kits may also be used by reporters for routine stories.
Local news products: The most important element in our program is our support to about 1200 Amateur Radio operators nationally with news media connections (reporters, editors and broadcast engineers), Public Information Coordinators (PICs) and Public Information Officers (PIOs). The ARRL sends them information with tips on how to deal with the news media, and often including a news release that can be customized for local distribution.
Electronic communication: ARRL's web site displays materials for PICs and PIOs to download for local use. Our site is also visited by reporters. We also maintain two list servers. One is exclusively for the use of the Public Relations Committee, the other is for PICs and PIOs to share their success stories, and to ask questions and advice of other participants on a specific problem. (To join the general pr reflector send email to apitts@arrl.org with particulars)
In Service Education: ARRL occasionally offers presentations on Public Relations for Amateur Radio at larger conventions. One of the most interesting is the ARRL sponsored Public Relations Forum at the Dayton Hamvention . This forum is organized and run by members of the PR Committee.
Public Service Announcements: ARRL public service announcements (PSAs) are available upon request for our PICs and PIOs. PSAs are commercials that are inserted for free into slots reserved for paid advertising when the broadcaster is unable to fill that slot. That means they are often aired in the wee hours of the morning. PSAs are almost always produced by government and non-profit groups in an attempt to educate the public about some worthy cause. TV PSAs are expensive to produce and have a relatively short shelf life because broadcasters are both sensitive to maintaining a "contemporary look" to their stations and reluctant to run one organization's PSAs repeatedly when others are waiting in line. Radio PSAs fare a bit better.
National news products: Emergency communication traditionally is an Amateur Radio newsmaker. However, media perception frequently is that Amateur Radio emergency communication, once a major source of publicity, has been supplanted by cellular telephone. Even so, Amateur Radio continues to reemerge after infrastructure catastrophes such as hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. In emergency situations of long duration, we attempt both to respond to media inquiries and to get information out preemptively.
The value of positive stories in national media such as The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal lies not so much in the original story (as gratifying as that might be), but rather, in the almost inevitable series of stories that follow. In effect, "news drives the news."
ARRL maintains an "A list" of about 120 reporters around the country who have done good Amateur Radio stories in the past and who have indicated that they are interested in continuing to receive story ideas. We "seed" a range of ideas to our "A list" through a tip sheet of items on which they might wish to follow up.
ARISS has been a publicity gold mine for Amateur Radio. It combines children, technology and astronauts in a way that gives international news a local dimension. ARISS activities resulted in significant media coverage by regional and national publications as diverse as the LA Times, WGN TV Chicago, WBBM TV Chicago, ABC World News, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Kansas City Star, Houston Chronicle, and Reuters. Some of those stories are syndicated and passed along to smaller media. ARRL always gives ARISS/SAREX missions full media relations support.
Responding to negative stories: In addition to pitching stories, ARRL must also be available to respond to reporter inquiries where the wrong response could damage Amateur Radio's reputation. ARRL fields a mercifully small number of negative story inquiries in which we must exert damage control.
Story distribution: In addition to print directories for newspapers, radio, TV and magazines, ARRL maintains an up to date computerized media database that can be sorted to create specialized mailing lists and then interfaced with a fax modem and e-mail residing on the same computer. This means ARRL has the capability to do our own national distribution. We also have contract distribution services available for special projects and emergencies.
ARRL subscribes to a press clipping service to determine coverage and spot emerging issues around the country. Even though (for reasons of economy) we restrict our clip service to publications with circulation over 10,000, the service nonetheless sends us between 50 and 100 clips per month. In addition, we receive additional clips from our QSO/Media mailing list and from members.
While it is not good practice to evaluate the success of a media relations program solely on sheer numbers of clips (story quality can be as important as quantity), we do gather sufficient evidence on a monthly basis to put to rest the frequent complaint that "Amateur Radio never gets any positive publicity."
Good press coverage helps members feel good about themselves, their activity and their association. That is why ARRL also has a special section on the official ARRL web page devoted to current favorable news coverage. In addition, we note good press coverage in QST, QST's "Happenings," and "Media Hits" and in other venues such as the W1AW Bulletins and the ARRL Letter.
Finally, under the premise that, if a story appears in a national or large regional publication it is, ipso facto, "news," good print coverage is photocopied and placed in the materials we distribute to the press and on Capitol Hill. This technique, often called "third party endorsement," can also be adopted locally by Amateur Radio operators who have dealings with planning and zoning boards and other governmental entities. Including favorable news clippings about Amateur Radio activities in your proposals can help boost your credibility.
