Media Relations Tips by YAShuaib

7.       ACQUIRE THE TOOLS

*           Know the importance of the tools

*           Get ideas of their operations even if junior officers are assigned to them

*           Remember to service and maintain them even if they are not in use

*           They should be handy for any eventuality

*           Hire the service of providers if the usage is occasional

*           Rely on your equipment for the production of supporting material for the media

There is no profession that does not have its basic working tools. From menial jobs to professional occupations, tools are the prerequisites for achieving results. Working tools are the requirements that enable one to perform ones duties effectively. In media relations, some tools are not necessarily required to be handled by the officer but by others in the team. Some of the working tools are those for recording, editing, transmitting and execution of the work.

It should be noted that a small organisation or a one-man media officer to an individual may not require all the tools as he can easily hire them or the service. This may also be advisable for those that only have a few occasions for media-related activities.

One of the strong points of Engr Hamman Tukur is his belief that anything worth doing is worth doing well. He makes sure that the Public Relations Unit is not lacking in anything, hence, the officers have no reason to fail or give flimsy excuses. In the Commission, all the required tools for the Unit are provided and maintained. During his regular visits to the press unit of the organisation, he enquires about the state of affairs and ensures that necessary equipment are provided to facilitate the job of the unit: from fax machines to computers, from camera to projectors, from electronic equipment to vehicles. In fact, the unit has what it requires as tools, including over twenty daily newspapers, weekly magazines and other periodicals.

There may be a situation when some basic tools of works may not be provided or even withdrawal of working items from the unit. It happened to a media relations officer, when supply of newspapers for monitoring was abruptly withdrawn from his office with neither prior notice nor tangible justification for the denial. That was after more than four years of daily supply of the working material for media review to that unit. What was more worrisome is the fact that neither the officer nor his unit was responsible for the purchase, therefore he could not be accused of surcharging the organisation.

The following are the mandatory tools that are required for most publicity activities—:

Basic:

Since the job of media relations entails public speaking and exhibition, the use of public address systems that include microphone and loudspeakers is inevitable. For demonstrations and detailed explanation, digital projectors are necessary supporting materials. These are valuable at conferences, seminars, public exhibitions and presentation.

Recorders:

The major point of the duties of the media officer, like every other journalist, entails capturing and recording events and activities for accurate interpretation. Some of the tools to be used in this regard, especially in covering courtesy visits, press briefings, interviews, amongst others, are the midget recorder, video camera and Photographic (still) camera. These provide precise and clear picture of occurrence and prevent distortions and misrepresentation of facts. The equipment is used with their accessories, like cassettes and films, which may further be processed at the studios and laboratories. In addition to these are also manual and traditional tools, like jotters and diaries, portable stationery for scripting major highlights and summary of actions.

Editing Suite:

Since not all these are used in the media, recorded items are further treated in standard format released and distributed to the media and/or the public. The editing is professionally handled in conformity with media ethics. For instance, computers are used for crosschecking spellings and grammatical mistakes, while the video machine and editing suite are useful in the reproduction and reconstruction of motion pictures. At all times, writing pads and pens are required in writing or re-writing the scripts to capture the essence and newsworthiness of a story.

Transmission:

Once materials are ready for release, the next stage is the transmission and distribution. Previously, a vehicle or courier service was required to circulate a press release. These were the traditional and globally accepted methods of passing official information to the media. While these may still be vital, especially in attaching hard supporting materials, the advancement in telecommunication and information technology has introduced fax machine and email facilities which are faster and more reliable methods of transmission. Usually, the media relations officer assigns or delegates the responsibility of transmission and distribution while he is concerned with overseeing the overall execution of the programme.

Monitoring:

Another area of great importance that requires the use of the tools is the monitoring of the executed planned action. It is where the result of the work is assessed to know the impact.   The basic tools of monitoring media activities are electronic gadgets and printed materials. Television and radio sets are the outstanding sources of monitoring the broadcast media. The television set provides audio and visual signals of news and events, while the radio, which is more portable, gives clear audio signals of programmes. Though information from these media channels transitory, their services are provided almost free, especially in Nigeria, with the exception of cable channels which are provided on subscription bases.

In the print world, newspapers and magazines are in the forefront. While most newspapers are published daily, magazines are circulated weekly, monthly and at such other special intervals. There are other publications, like journals and industrial periodicals, that provide specialised information on professions and businesses. The provision of these printed periodicals are cost-effective and stress free through subscription bases. They also serve as future reference materials that are accessed and read at readers’ need and convenience.

In this digital age, there are other facilities that provide information to the public that can further be monitored. The Internet service provides information to web visitors. It provides an opportunity to watch television programmes, listen to radio services and read the dailies all at the click of the computer mouse. There are several online news groups that are keenly competing with traditional media of information. Some of the online media providers require token to access their pages, while many are free with regular breaking news. To add to this new technology is the GSM handset, which affords its consumers, usually on subscription, a means of receiving news summaries as text messages. Some highly sophisticated mobile handsets can also browse the Internet and download useful media materials.

The aforementioned are the variety of tools that the media relations officer should be conversant with for recording, editing, transmitting and monitoring. While it may not be necessary to have all of the tools mentioned since some can be hired, their presence facilitates, to a very large extent, the success of practitioners in discharging their duties professionally.