1. Bureaucracy and Media How to establish equilibrium? Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee Professor Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Sanchar Marg, Dhenkanal 759 001, Orissa

2. First, a bit of history

News media hostility to bureaucracy is a fixed field in Indian political culture that has its roots in the 19th-century antigovernment agitation.

Post-independence media has taken onto themselves the role of constructive opposition.

3. Therefore..

Contemporary negative coverage must be understood as deeply embedded.

4. All responses to it must be based on that premise. 5. While some public administrators in occasional situations may receive positive coverage, that is the exception, rather than the rule. 6. Civil servants need to accept this harsh media environment rather than bemoan it. 7. Please remember..

Media is not merely a PR tool.

Media can play a critical role as an agent of change.

Examples: Indias independence.

8. Having said that, let us examine can the situation improve? Can we establish equilibrium? 9. That precisely mean

Can we get good press?

Can we minimize negative coverage?

Can we make the media an ally in the development process?

Can we engage media in a constructive way?

Can we engage media in the way we want?

10. We can. For that we have to understand the dynamics of media. 11. Media dynamics

Reporter sends news for processing by sub-editor at the desk for possible use

News-editor decides on a day to day basis, what goes in a newspaper/channel

Articles may be both by staffers or outsiders, commissioned or voluntary contribution.

Proprietor and/or Editor frames broad policies

12. Strength and weakness of Media in India: Strength

• Press enjoys and jealously guards its freedom of press. It enjoys strong legal and extra-legal protection in India.

• Press enjoys societal sanction and credibility

• Many of the journalists have impeccable integrity. They work for social cause

• Media is irreverent. This may be bad news for official managers of the society, but it is good news for democracy.

13. Strength and weakness of Media in India: Weakness

• News-media is increasingly becoming capital-intensive, making it vulnerable to financial pressure

• Politicians and sundry moneybags are entering this field for their vested interest.

• There is no check at the entry to journalism as profession. Hence one finds all kinds of persons here.

14. Media in Orissa: Mainstream Media

• 42 daily Oriya newspapers (8-10 major), 4 major daily English newspapers, 3 TV channels, including Doordarshan, 4 radio channels including 3 private radio; AIR has 13 stations in Orissa, 15-20 websites

• Major National and International media

• • 30-32 in print, 18-20 in TV and radio

• Local media

15. Media in Orissa: Alternate/Social Media

Newspapers likeJanavani

Magazines likeSamadrusti ,Ganuli Vichar , etc.

Websites

E-groups

16. We are more concerned about mainstream media. 17. What you expect from media

Good publicity for the cause you are championing/ work you are doing

Good image of the organization

Fair coverage

Leave us alone

No bad publicity

18. What the media expect from us?

News- Information

• Most of the correspondents of national, international and state-level media want news/story. News in a form and format that they can use.

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• Some correspondents of state-level media and most from the local media want advt.

Other gratification

19. How do we meet the expectations of the media? And achieve ours

I will restrict my deliberation only to the news/information part.

Regarding gratification, I can only tell you that no self-respecting media/journalist wants gratification. Those who do, are not important enough to be considered.

Advt.- follow existing policy to the letter.

20. Decide your Communication goals and key messages

Communications goals begin with clear, concise and compelling messages. Whether you are pursuing a public policy initiative, launching a project or responding to negative attacks in the news media, in order to advance your position you must have a solid message foundation.

21. How to form key messages

Run a message session with key stakeholders to develop a "message platform" - a concise set of messages that form the basis for the strongest strategic message position. The session should include:

A strategic analysis of the communications environment, including an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities;

Creating a message platform of defining messages and affirmative responses to negative attacks.

22. How to get the message across

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Engagement with press/mainstream media

Engagement with alternate/social media

Engagement with people at the grassroots

23. Engagement with Media

Constructive responses can include professionalizing public information activities, being sensitive to public relations implications during the policy development process, and

• • Ill tell about the and at the end.

24. Engagement with Media: Content

Provide information that the media can use. Appreciate their need. News for them is information that is interesting and/or important for their audience.

• Conduct so-what test.

Provide back-ground materials

Provide need-based information-on request.

Information need for different journalist may be different.

25. Engagement with Media: Form

Provide information in a easily understandable and usable form.

• Do not expect the journalists to know technicalities and the jargons.

Provide photographs, info graphs, etc.

26. Engagement with Media: Response

Continuous engagement with media is desirable

When situation warrants, try to respond as promptly as possible.

Reporters, editors and producers are on constant deadline. If they don't get what they want from you quickly -- they WON'T wait -- they WILL move on to another source.

27. Engagement with Media: Ways and Means

Press release

• Hard copy, e-mail, VNR(Video News Release), down-loadable posting in website

News availability

Press Briefing

Press Conference

Perso-professional relationship.

• • Caution: Dont get too personal.

28. Engagement with Media: Relationship

Cultivate relationships before you need them.

Maintain relationship

Act as a media resource

29. Engagement with MediaThe Spokesperson

There should be designated spokesperson.

In normal situation, the PRO or a person designated should engage the media.

In crisis situation it is important that one individual(with a back-up team) should be designated as spokesperson to make official statements and answer media questions through out the crisis.

30. Handling antagonistic media

At times one finds antagonistic media. Reasons may vary. From personal ego tussle to ideological differences.

Ways to handle antagonistic media

• Try to find out the reasons, and sort it out.

• Provide your side of the story. Credibly and fast.

• Try to good-humour concerned media, but never over-do it. That will be counter-productive.

• Treat the journalists with respect and dignity.

• Do not take things lying down, if it is from large/alternative media, react.

• If it is from fringe media, ignore. But if antagonism persists, take legal action.

31. FAQ:How do I ensure my opinions are not misrepresented?

Please note that it is usually not intentional.

News, often is subjective, based upon the journalist/chief of staff/editors particular view on life

there are some things you can do to try and alleviate this concern.

• Present the journalist with background information that supports your opinions

• Providing written support documentation gives the journalist something to refer to when composing their article. The interview they conducted with you backs up the written material, lessening the chances of misunderstanding and potentially misrepresentation

32. FAQ:How do I control the interview to ensure the points I want to make are made?

A journalist likes to be in charge of an interview. However, there are some ways you can get your point across. Always answer the question, then move from your response into a particular point you might want to make. Make sure there is some relevance to the comment or youll lose your credibility. And if you present your opinions using descriptive, non-jargon language, in ways that are relevant to the journalists listeners/viewers/or readers, your points are more likely to be included.

33. Now, about that and 34. And

. with the development of more sophisticated e-government technologies, bypassing the mainstream media to reach the public directly.

35. New Horizons: Internet

The prevalence of high speed Internet is facilitating a new era of digital communication. With streaming video and podcasting- it is changing the media scene.

All govt. dept.smust have its interactive website. It has to be maintained and updated regularly.

36. New Horizons: Mobile phones

Mobile platforms with multi-media capabilities are fast becoming a staple of media landscape. Mobile phones are emerging as primary source of telecommunication in India.

These phones streaming capabilities improve substantially with each passing year.

It can be used to dessiminate info. Fast.

37. New Horizons: Social Media

Bloggers

Activist Groups

Social Network sites

Photo and Video Uploading sites, etc.

38. New Horizons: Online community

Online communities are growing rapidly. These emerging online communities represent a powerful new venue for disseminating information and hold tremendous potential for engaging social and political activists

Social networking sites continue to emerge as influential venues for online communication .As new and different loci for community building continue to emerge, tactics for engaging users will have to evolve accordingly.

39. To end, some tipsto deal with media

Respect media persons, treat them with dignity. But dont mully-cuddle them.

Dont restrict information

Dont try to mislead

The approach should be: engagement, not management

40. Articles you can read

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a792052621~db=all~jumptype=rss

41. Books you can refer..

Bland Michael, The Art and Science of Public Relations: Effective Media Relations: How to get results, Vol-1, Crest Publishing House, New Delhi.

Treadwell Donald F. Public Relations Writing: Principles in Practice, Sage Publications, London

Shrivastava K.M., Public Relations in the Digital Era, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi

42. Surf the following sites for more info.

www.positivemedia.com.au

www.unicef.org/sowc03/childrenskit/pdf/ media -tips-eng.pdf

http://www.spreadthenewspr.com

http://www.newtactics.org/en/announcements/engaging-media-human-rights#comment-736

43. For info regarding short courses, training in media handling, surf..

http://www.essex.ac.uk/comms/what/media.htm

• University of Essex

http://www.spaethcom.com/mastering.php?sec=2&sub=1

• Spaeth Communication

http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/assess/psa/modules/media.shtml

• University of Birmingham

http://vestcomm.com/index.html

• Vest Communications

44. Thank You. Ill be grateful for your feedback. [email_address] 06762 225975, 224274