News Releases Bureaucracy: Getting It Approved



By Jerry Brown, APR
Communicating With Impact
 

One of the most difficult things about media relations is getting news releases approved.  Root canals can be a pleasant experience by comparison.

The problem often starts with asking the wrong question when you submit the release for approval.

If you ask people to review the words you've written, you've asked them for editing advice.  Nothing wrong with that.  Good writers appreciate good editing.

The problem is that news release reviewers often bring their own agendas to their editing.  And different people within a single organization may have different agendas.

All too often news release approval becomes a battleground about whose agenda will win, not about good editing advice.

Changing the question you ask your reviewers can change the review process.

Be open to good editing.  Find someone you respect to play that role for you.

But ask most of the people reviewing the release to review it in the context of whether it achieves a stated agenda.  Share your objectives -- the reason
the release is being issued -- and the key messages that have been developed for achieving the stated objective.

Then ask your reviewers to help you determine whether the release they're reviewing will accomplish the stated objective.  And whether you have the
right messages.

Where does the objective come from?  I'll talk about that more in future MMMMs.  But, generally speaking, it should come from the "owner" of the release.  If the Marketing Department is your client for the release, the Legal Department probably shouldn't be setting the agenda.  And vice versa.

If you know there are competing agendas for a given news release, invite the principal players within your organization to decide on a common agenda BEFORE you start writing.  Then, everyone should be on the same page when it's time to review the release.

You'll still get editing advice after you write the release.  That's okay.

But the question for the reviewers becomes what's the best way to accomplish an agreed-upon objective, not whose words get used.  It's a more strategic question.  

It can change the answers you get -- and the experience you have -- when you submit a release for approval.

Where most news is made? -- In the interviews.  Some other topics coming from MMMM:  What to Do When the Reporter Gets the Story Wrong; Remember Your Media Miranda Rights; the CEO's Role During a Crisis; How to Communicate With Impact.

(c) 2001 Jerry Brown, 303-781-8787 / impact@rmi.net
Spokesperson Training/Media Consulting/Message Development/Crisis
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Please share it with anyone you think might be
interested.  If you'd like to see a topic addressed send your request to me at impact@rmi.net.   

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