The media relations primer was presented during the 2013 media relations summer camp, offered free of charge at the Hamilton Spectator for nonprofits and community groups.

1. Media Relations Summer Camp
June 25 & 27 at The Hamilton Spectator
2013

2. Why we’re here
To help you:
• Pitch better stories to the media
• Get more media coverage
• Move the yardsticks on your
organization’s goals

3. What we’ll do
• Media relations 101
• Polish, practice & then pitch a story idea
• Plus primers on:
– Writing letters to the editor & op-eds
– Getting in front of the camera
– Getting onto social media

4. #mediacamp

5. The good news payoff
• Stand out from the crowd
• Thank your donors, funders, volunteers & staff
• Raise your profile & enhance your reputation
• Build your trust & forgiveness account

6. We’re pitching the wrong stories

7. Grip & grins with giant cheques

8. Ribbon cuttings with giant scissors

9. Groundbreakings with shiny shovels

10. Golf tournaments
Fundraisers
Rubber chicken galas
AGMs

11. Yes, these are worthwhile events
for fundraising, friendraising and recognition.
Just don’t hold your breath for media coverage.

12. OMG Hail Mary panic pitches
No one’s buying tickets to
our FILL IN THE BLANK!!!
We need free publicity ASAP!!!
If we don’t get new funding
and more donations, our doors
will close forever!!!

13. Do you really want to be known for
big scissors, big cheques,
big holes in the ground, rubber chickens
and bad finances?
13

14. 14
Worthy? Yes.
Newsworthy? Not so much.

15. The good news….
you have much better stories
to pitch to the media.

16. You’re in the solutions business.

17. And you’re making Hamilton
an even better place to call home.

18. "People are not very interested in talks
about organizations.
Ideas & stories fascinate us;
organizations bore us.”
"Don't boast about your company; rather,
tell us about the problem you're solving."
-- Chris Anderson

19. The very first question
you will always be asked.

20. Why should I care?
Why should our readers care?
Why should our viewers care?
Why should our listeners care?

21. 2nd question:
And why now?
How is this timely?

22. The better your
answers, the stronger
your news hook.

23. Make it newsworthy
• Are you doing something new? Innovative?
• First in our community? First anywhere?
• Are you the best at what you’re doing?
• Informative / interesting / entertaining?
• Story has yet to be told?

25. 3 ways to get tell better stories and get
more & better media coverage

26. 1. Find your poster child

27. The best stories - the one’s we read,
watch & listen to, talk about, share
and remember - are all about people.
Ordinary people in
extraordinary situations.

28. It’s not about the ribbons you cut.
The ground you break.
The cheques you get.
Or the events you run.
It’s all about the people you serve
and whose lives you transform.

29. You are
not the
hero.

30. Find your poster child
• Who can be the face & heart of your
organization for this story?
• One person with a compelling story –
a life transformed because of you
• Someone we can relate to and root for
• Enlist, don’t conscript
• Authentic, not rehearsed

31. Client
Patient
Customer
Volunteer
Staffer
Board member
Donor or funder
Funder

32. Grads make Notre Dame House proud
By Molly Hayes (Hamilton Spectator, June 20 2013)
Caroline Kankowsi cried as she received her diploma Wednesday.
At 20 years old, she never thought she'd make it through high school. As a teen, she
struggled with anxiety and depression, had family problems and ended up living on her own,
moving five times in two years. Eventually, she found herself at the Good Shepherd Notre
Dame House School, where they pushed her to graduate.
"They keep you on track completely. They make you feel like you can do anything," she said.
She and five fellow grads were awarded their high school diplomas at the "accomplishment
ceremony" Wednesday, in the gussied-up back lot of Notre Dame House on Cannon Street
West. Another 14 students received certificates for their work in the program on the path
toward graduation. Kankowski has been accepted to Mohawk College's photography
program, thanks to her arts studies at Notre Dame House.
The house — also a 24-hour youth shelter — has 24 students enrolled in its education
program this year.
"The support they get here is amazing," Kankowski's father, Paul, said at the ceremony. After
a tough road with family in her teen years, she had 10 relatives come out to support her.
"There are all kinds of routes you can take in life … hers was a little harder, but she worked
hard and made this a very special day for our whole family," her father said. "I cried
through the whole thing."

33. Pitch your poster child
• Tell your poster child’s story in
2-3 sentences
• Link to the program, project, event or
announcement you want to profile
• Add a spokesperson for your organization
• 1 sentence boilerplate about your organization
• Contact info

34. Pitch to the right one reporter
Or editor / producer

35. Coverage in one media outlet
can lead to coverage in others

36. 36
Email your pitch

37. Save the trinkets & trash,
gifts & swag

38. 38
The subject
line is your
headline.
Make it clear,
concise and
compelling.Max. of 7-8 short sentences in
the body of your email.
Get to the point.
End with contact info
(work & cell #s, weekend #)
Should take 30 seconds or less to read.

39. SAMPLE EMAIL PITCH TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
From: Robb, Jay [mailto:jay.robb@mohawkcollege.ca]
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 10:01 AM
To: Ammerata, Carla
Subject: Mohawk prof wins national honours
Carla – thanks for the Senator Braley coverage last week.
One of my favourite people at Mohawk has won a national teaching award – Peter Olynyk does a ton of great work
in the community and here at the college. I’m trying to get him cloned.
Mohawk College is home to one of the country’s top professors for the second consecutive year. Peter Olynyk has
received the 2013 bronze teaching award of excellence from the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. A
professor in Civil and Structural Engineering in Mohawk’s School of Engineering Technology for the past 27 years,
Peter was recognized for his excellence in the classroom and leadership on key projects, including the Bay Area
Science and Engineering Fair, Meet the Grad Night and the Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition. Peter co-
founded the competition 26 years ago and continues to run the event for high school and college students. Peter
launched Meet the Grad nights with a case of beer, a couple boxes of pizza and one grad brought in to reassure
students heading into their final exams. Peter, who teaches more than 400 students a year, consistently
earns top marks in student evaluations.
This marks the second year in a row that Mohawk professors have received national awards. Last year, Mohawk
Advertising professor Jef Petrossi also won a bronze teaching award of excellence from the Association of Canadian
Community Colleges.
Contacts:
Peter Olynyk, 905.575.1212 ext. 3186, peter.olynyk@mohawkcollege.ca
VP Academic Cheryl Jensen, 905.575.1212 ext. 2224, cheryl.jensen@mohawkcollege.ca

40. HAMILTON SPECTATOR June 11, 2013 (A3)
Signpost: Mohawk prof is tops
Mohawk College is home to one of the country's top professors for
the second consecutive year. Peter Olynyk has received the 2013
bronze teaching award of excellence from the Association of
Canadian Community Colleges. A professor in civil and structural
engineering in Mohawk's School of Engineering Technology,
Olynyk was recognized for his excellence in the classroom and
leadership on key projects, including the Bay Area science fair.

41. Long emails scare, dissuade reporters

42. • Poster child + spokesperson lined up
for interviews
• Available for interviews any time
• Complete contact info
• 2-3 supporting facts & stats
• Highlight potential places for interviews,
photos and video
Make it as easy as possible for the
reporter to tell your story

43. Reporters are always looking for experts to help:
• Localize stories
• Provide comment, analysis and background
• Simplify complexity
• Add colour with great quotes
2. Be a resident expert

44. Credible, reliable & trustworthy…passionate…
knowledgeable…enjoy working with the
media…speak in soundbites…24/7 availability
Qualifications

45. Get on some of these

46. More ways to raise your profile
• Stand and deliver: give
speeches & talk on panels
• Submit letters to the editor
and op-eds
• Win awards
• Follow up with reporters when
they file stories that are in your
wheelhouse

47. 3. Newsjack
Inject your idea and parachute your
organization into breaking news
Add to the narrative with a
new dimension / perspective

48. • Monitor the media
• Need to be fast – respond in real time
• Post on social media (reporters will be there
doing keyword searches)
• Contact reporter directly
• Use your judgment – always in good taste
and never opportunistic
Newsjacking

49. Pester the reporter.
Pitch & vanish.
Promise what you can’t deliver.
Ask to review & approve the story.
Ask the reporter to send you a
copy of the story.
5 cardinal sins of media relations

50. Follow up with a quick thanks
50

51. Worth a read
Newsjacking
by David
Meerman
Scott
The Media
Training
Bible by
Brad Phillips
10 Steps to
Writing a
Vital Speech
by Fletcher
Dean

52. Jane Allison
Manager of Community
Partnerships
The Hamilton Spectator
jallison@thespec.com
Jay Robb
Director of
Communications
Mohawk College
jay.robb@mohawkcollege.ca