Getting Media Coverage for Your Issues

Making
Headlines
How to get the media to cover
your issues/campaigns
By:
Sima Sahar Zerehi
www.zerehi.com
zerehi@me.com
@SimaSaharZerehi
Thursday, 13 November, 14

How Do we do things
now?
• Here’s the typical media strategy for
most unions . . .
• Something big is happening or about to happen like a massive
contract negotiation or the launch of a major campaign
• The union organizes internal meetings with the union leadership
• A strategy is decided on that may include mobilizations like rallies
and demonstrations, workshops/educational, union swag like
hats/shorts and new placards, a website or new webpage or
Facebook event page is created
• A few days before an event a media release is sent out
• The release quotes the usual suspects – the union presidents etc.
• The release is full of the usual union buzz words . . . Fairness,
respect, dignity

How Do we do things
now?
• What’s the typical media response . . .
• The release is ignored
• The story is undercovered
• The media covers the issue but not from an angle that benefits the
union . . .

What is the media
looking for?
• Somebody doing something for a
reason . . .
• The operative word is “somebody”
• Compelling media stories always involve a single person or small
group of people telling a personal story
• In the trade union movement we tend to emphasize the collective,
“brothers and sisters,” “thousands of members”
• The problem is that the emphasis on the masses actually makes the
story less compelling rather than more compelling
• The details of how a particular issue impacts a single person that
the average person can relate to make for a much more interesting
story than how theoretically thousands may be impacted

Using the Media
Strategically
• What does the labour movement look
and sound like?
• How does the labour movement look and sound?
• What do you see when you see labour in the media?
• How is labour perceived by average Canadians?
• What do we want to communicate to people?
• How can labour more accurately reflect all Canadians?

Using the Media
Strategically
• The case of
diversity in
mainstream
media
• A brief analysis of CBC
radio, television and The
Toronto Star
• What stories are being
told?
• What voices are being
sought?
• How can labour take

What is the media
looking for?
• Diversity is key . . .
• The media is always looking for fresh new voices
• There is a hunger to hear from young people, marginalized
communities, people of colour, women
• Media saturation is also a major issue – even if your issue/
campaign is compelling there is a finite number of times we can
hear from certain spokes people
• An important campaign can be sidelined because of a lack of new/
diverse/interesting people that can speak to it
• The more new people you can offer that can speak to the issue/
campaign from fresh angles – particularly from their own personal
vantage point the more likely it will be that you get coverage

What is the media
looking for?
• Don’t forget to offer the views of the
impacted populations . . .
• The media will inevitably want to talk to the people who are
impacted by an issue – if the issue is a teachers’ strike expect
interest in how parents and students are impacted
• Make sure you generate lists of individuals and groups outside of
the union membership and leadership that can speak to the issue

Who are your spokes?
• Don’t be tokenistic . . .
• Although the media is looking for diversity they will not simply
put someone on air because of their race, gender, etc. – at least not
more than once
• The people who you select to represent your issues need to be
articulate
• This means giving people media training as well as the
information/education that they need to grasp the importance of
the issue/campaign and the context that it falls in
• This means identifying people in your membership months in
advance of a campaign and training them on how to share their
stories with the media

Relationships are key?
• Become a source/resource . . .
• It’s easy to see the mainstream media as a monolithic entity with a
singular agenda
• But the media at its core is a group of people – individual
reporters, writers, producers
• These people are part of our communities, they send their kids to
school, they use public transit, they rely on community and social
services . . . Some of them are also union members
• These reporters will fight for stories/campaign and issues that
they are passionate about
• By establishing individual relationships with these journalists by
becoming a resource, offering them scoops, alerting them to
upcoming campaigns, offering them access to exclusive interviews

Timing is everything?
• Don’t wait for a strike to reach out to
reporters and media outlets . . .
• It’s easy for the media to portray unions as only caring about the
wages and benefits of their members if they only hear about the
work that you are doing the night before a strike or during
contract negotiations
• It is important to be visible to the media in the lulls
• You need to have media strategies that speak to the work you do
at all times

If I can’t Google it then
it doesn’t matter
• Don’t forget to create a digital imprint
of your work . . .
• One of the biggest mistakes made by trade unions is their inability
to use online tools effectively
• Union websites don’t showcase the diversity of our members
• They oftentimes don’t speak to the day to day work that is being
done in the union
• They are often not updated or contain static and uninteresting
material
• Also the connection of the union with members is not maximized
by showing engagement with people on social media tools

Speak like Regular
People
• Forget the buzz words . . .
• When figuring out your talking points for a media release or an
interview remember about the things that regular people care
about
• Forget the minutia of contract negotiations – talk to people about
the things that they relate to: the cost of buying groceries, the
mortgage for a home, their kids’ tuition
• Get your members to share personal stories about how wages,
benefits, and pensions impact them and their families
• Show examples of how members of the union help build
community - make these stories personal

Don’t forget about
community, Ethnic and
social media
• Mainstream media is often scanning
these places for fresh new stories . . .
• Your ability to create a buzz using online tools and these smaller
more community based media outlets will have a tremendous
impact on how the mainstream media responds to your work
• Journalists will often look to see if there’s a conversation/buzz
about your campaign
• Community media, ethnic media and social media are excellent
places to build hype

social media
• Don’t neglect Social Media
• Don’t forget that most media outlets we are now increasingly
using new media tools
• A new generation of journalists are using Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, Instagram and other social media tools to gage audience
reactions and to research stories and sources

social media
• What do we mean when we say ethnic
media?
• Media that represents Canada’s various immigrant/refugee
communities from various countries
• Media that represents a particular ethnic/cultural/religious group
• Media produced in a language other than English/French
depending on the province you are in

Why is Ethnic Media
Important?
• Because we’re the new Majority
• Increasing in many city’s across Canada immigrants, refugees,
people who self-identify as belonging to various ethnic
communities, communities of colour, or individuals with a
mother-tongue other than English/French are making up a
growing majority of the population

Why is Community/
Ethnic Media Important?
• Because we’re about Community
• Ethnic and community media outlets are produced and
distributed by niche, close-knit communities
• Our publishers, writers, journalists and photographers are in
constant in-person communication with our communities of
readers
• Our close-knit relationship to our readers means that we are
keenly aware of our communities’ needs/issues

Why is Ethnic/community
Media Important?
• Because we’re Trusted
• Unlike mainstream corporate media, ethnic media outlets rely
exclusively on support from community supporters and local
small business to finance our work
• Because of that relationship only publications valued and trusted
by communities survive in our business
• The only way to ensure our survival is for us to remain
accountable, representative and reflective of the communities we
cover
• As such our publications are trusted and valued by our
communities

Media Important?
• Because we have Reach
• Although our circulation/readership pales in comparison to our
mainstream counterparts ethnic media outlets have greater reach
and penetration among the communities that they represent
• With the onset of new media tools and prevalence of online
publications, many ethnic publications are reaching increasingly
larger numbers of readers across the country and globe

Media Important?
• Because if you don’t THEY will
• Increasingly with the growth within ethnic and newcomer
communities various stakeholders such as large business and
government are reaching out to ethnic publications to
communicate with our audiences
• The Federal government as well as various provincial
governments including the Ontario government make concerted
efforts to outreach to ethnic media
• Often the information provided by these entities remains
unchallenged by any other perspective

How can you reach us
• The best way to connect to media is to
utilize the resources within your own
membership
• Ask your members about the media outlets in their community
• Talk to them about which outlets they feel best represent their
community
• Make sure to enlist lots of opinions - our communities are diverse
and our various media outlets often reflect that diversity

How can you reach us?
• Become a Source
• Oftentimes ethnic journalists cover the same stories that make up
the headlines in mainstream outlets such as the federal budget
• We translate and interpret these stories for our communities
helping them make sense of the issues of the day and how they
impact them
• Since our job is to present these stories from a community
perspective, help us reach our goals by presenting your
perspective in a way that directly links to our audience

How to generate stories
• Train more members to be media reps
from various communities
• The labour movements’ greatest assets are their members, you
have access to people therefore it’s possible to identify individuals
from your rank-and-file who can become spokespeople for issues
in relation to various groups including various ethnic and
linguistic communities
• However, this is a task where training and education is needed,
speaking to media is not simply about language, make sure your
representatives demonstrate your knowledge and insight

How can you reach us?
• Use your Resources
• Ethnic/community publications are often in desperate need of
support
• Lend a hand by helping these community run outlets survive
• Place an add
• Contribute content
• Offer stories

Words of Advice
• Don’t underestimate us
• Although we are significantly less resourced than our mainstream
counterparts, we are professionals in our field
• We lack in staff, tools and funds but not in talent, perseverance
and journalistic integrity

How can you reach us
• Build a Relationship
• As stated before ethnic media is about community, therefore the
best way to work with ethnic publications is to connect to the
community
• Ask for meetings
• Attend community events
• Joint the conversation

Words of Advice
• Don’t get lost in the forest for the trees
• Every linguistic, cultural or ethnic community is made up of
various sub-groups that includes various religious, ethnic, political
and social groupings
• Your job as an outsider is to not get entangled in the internal
community divisions

Words of Advice
• Show don’t Tell
• By selecting representatives from your membership that look and
sound like the ethnic communities that you want to reach you
allow these media outlets to see that they are reflected in the
labour movement

How to Create an Ethnic
Media Strategy
• Have an ethnic/community media
liaison
• Someone who’s job is to identify and communicate with niche and
ethnic media outlets

Media Strategy
• Make sure to have updated lists of
ethnic outlets
• Preferably updated annually
• You can start by consulting organizations such as the National
Ethnic Media and Press Council of Canada or the Canadian Ethnic
Media Association

Media Strategy
• Include ethnic media on your media
release distribution lists
• Make sure to also send ethnic media outlets your news items
• Let our publications know what your take is on the news of the
day and how it may impact our communities

Media Strategy
• Provide ethnic media alternatives to
attending media releases
• Sue tools such as Skype or phone-in interviews as many ethnic
media outlets don’t have the resources to attend all media
conferences in person
• By also submitting audio, video or photo files you assist in
removing barriers to covering your story

Media Strategy
• Train more members to be media reps
from various ethnic communities
• The labour movements’ greatest assets are their members, you
have access to people therefore it’s possible to identify individuals
from your rank-and-file who can become spokespeople for issues
in relation to various ethnic and linguistic communities
• However, this is a task where training and education is needed,
speaking to media is not simply about language, make sure your
representatives demonstrate your knowledge and insight

Media Strategy
• When possible provide media release or
at least a few quotes in the languages
needed by ethnic media
• This could be as written text or in the form of audio or vide clips

Media Strategy
• Consider addressing how the issue/
campaign that you are working on will
directly impact ethnic communities
• It may only take a few moments to fine-tune an existing media
release to showcase its links to ethnic communities but this will go
a long way to ensuring coverage

Building Relationships
with Ethnic Media
• Championing international human
rights or labour issues
• In order to foster meaningful working relationships with ethnic
media and communities it’s important to demonstrate that you are
invested in issues and causes that matter to them
• One simple way to do this is by becoming active around
international labour or human rights issues

with Ethnic Media
• Supporting initiatives within ethnic
communities such as campaigns for
heritage language skills
• Make sure that you are aware and active around local issues that
impact ethnic communities

with Ethnic Media
• Show that you are a champion of
immigrants/refugees/communities of
colour in Canadian
• Take up struggles for immigrant/refugee/non-status rights or
campaigns against racial profiling or pay equity

with Ethnic Media
• Place advertisements in ethnic outlets
• Not only to promote your own campaigns but also to
communicate your interest in important community happenings
such as new year celebrations
• These advertisements cost a fraction of the cost of placing an add
in a mainstream publication and they go a long way of showing a
community that you care

Getting Media Coverage for Your Issues

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