Public Information and Media Relations: Summary of Findings

In doing my research and interviews on public information, a common concern continued to crop up: the contrast between large and small counties. A large county will have more resources to hire a public information officer, hold county-funded events, and develop or purchase the necessary technology to reach out to the new “Internet” world. How do the smaller counties afford this?

As one PIO asked, “How do we get our message to a TV audience when we can’t afford TV production, nor will the surrounding ‘richer’ counties put out our information on their expensive TV stations?” Such is the conundrum of county media and public relations. Large counties do it well and are always rolling out innovative forms of communication. Smaller counties are struggling to get local papers to run positive stories.

Another general concern is the lack of counties with public information officers. Roughly 25 percent of North Carolina counties have a staff PIO. It may be due to a lack of funds in the budget or proper resources, but some counties may be choosing to pay little attention to media and public relations in general?

Maintaining good working relations with media outlets has never been, and will never be, easy for local governments. The media is much more apt to cover a negative story than a positive one. However, county government officials need to take some responsibility for the lack of positive media coverage. County officials should make sure that any media outlet that producing a story that portrays county government in a negative manner still receives the county side of the story. County officials also need to make a concerted effort to generate excitement and positive publicity for their public information events and programs.

For example, if your county purchases and installs Webstreaming equipment for Board of Commissioners meetings, don’t just advertise the new technology on your Web site or your TV channel. Contact the local media and build a story around new county initiatives in technology. Make sure to throw in other positive newsworthy events, services or recognition for hardworking county officials. Public information initiatives can transform themselves into media opportunities with a little extra time and effort.

County efforts in media relations often fall short. We can blame this on a lack of interest in local government, a society that’s obsessed with negative news, and the inability of county events to generate adequate coverage. But what needs to be looked at is the structure of the county government organization itself. Most counties do not hire professional communications employees for media relations purposes. Nor do they have the proper technologies or relationships in place to effectively place their message. The next step is for county government officials to evaluate their current media capabilities and compare it with those groups that receive a wealth of media coverage. Often, generating positive media coverage is not about who has the better story or more money, but who has the technology, the connections, the relationships, the know-how, and the initiative to get their side of the story out.

More importantly, media relations cannot be about trying to target all of your citizens at once. Each media outlet will reach a different group, and county governments should make an effort to tailor media messages to the outlets they use and the groups they reach. It is much more effective to reach a smaller group with a specific message or service than it is to try to send out a general message that may be ignored by most people.

The first step to positive media relations is creating a media relations handbook. This does not require hiring a consultant. Borrow from others with online guides such as the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, use the best practices listed in this report, or buy a book about media relations and tailor the handbook to the specific needs of county government. Most guides will contain the same basic information. Use any version you want. Give a copy to each staff member and hold a meeting to discuss its contents. Make sure that everyone in the organization understands the importance of media to government, and that each person is committed to sending a positive message to the public. Everyone has the same need for media coverage and with the proper tools and information, that coverage can be open to everyone. In the future, the NCACC may look into media relations guides and handbooks to create their own version for general county use.

A media relations guide can serve as the essential reference for all media relations questions, but a Web site will be a more frequently used resource. Several Web pages have been created that address: 1) media relations and getting your message out to the media; 2) media relations and what to do when the media approaches you; and 3) public information strategies and best practices. These are only the results of weeks of research. They will need to be continually updates with new NACo award winners, Outstanding County Program Winners, etc. The City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA) is also a great resource for media relations and public information best practices. I suggest that our communications director, Todd McGee, join this group and utilize their Web resources and conferences. This information can be used to update best practices on the Web site and to add to a potential NCACC County Media Relations Guide.

Times are changing in media relations. Younger generations are getting their news and information from newer forms of media, not newspapers local TV newscasts. Government officials need to find new ways (e-mail, Podcasts, major public events) to reach a younger demographic. Also, the makeup of the country, in terms of ethnic groups, is rapidly changing as well. New techniques to reach an ever-growing Hispanic population must be considered. Since many immigrants may not be able to read in English or lack Internet access, other outlets such as radio and TV will be more and more important in reaching this population. The NCACC can make use of its Annual Conference and CountyLines to address these issues. Commissioners need to be aware of the changing nature of technology and demographics as it is happening, not when it is too late.