Managing External Relations - Disaster Management Center ...

Chapter 6
In formulating a strategy, consider the wider implications of media relations, particularly for the
situation you are working in. While it is important to know how to handle a media interview and
write press releases, these skills do not guarantee that you will have positive relations with the
media. To increase the impact of your messages, be pro-active and nurture and diversify media
contacts. It is also important to understand the advantages of various news mediums for the type of
messages you want to get across and to join with other agencies when there are common interests.
Finally, be aware of the impact that the media can have on public support for emergency operations
in order to use the media to UNHCR’s advantage.
(1) Establish goals and objectives for your publicity efforts. These will dovetail with
UNHCR’s overall goals, which include:
♦ Promoting and maintaining positive relations with the media
♦ Putting forward UNHCR’s views in a positive and persuasive manner
♦ Avoiding direct, public confrontation with government or other bodies.
When developing your media relations strategy, modify these general goals so that they
relate more specifically to the nature of your operation, for example:
♦ Provide statistics on the emergency operation on a weekly basis
♦ Counteract misconceptions about the emergency operation as soon as possible
Establish priorities among your objectives so that it will not be necessary to consider inappropriate
requests by the media. Be selective—do not overload the media with publicity materials that do not
contribute to your major goals.
(2) Identify your UNHCR media relations staff person(s) and the means by which other staff will
relate their media needs to that person or persons. Establish firm lines of communication.
(3) Cultivate your media network—Establish a network of broadcasters, news directors, journalists,
publicists and public relations and press officers from other agencies who are working in your
area. Create a list of their contact information, including some details about their scope of coverage,
ground rules and names and formats of potential programs and publications. Share information with
your colleagues about which media you prefer to deal with, how you will contact them, and which
media to use for which situation. Consider co-ordinating common messages with other assistance
agencies through their public relations officers or press officers.
(4) Establish your operation’s policies and procedures—Establish ground rules and communicate
them to your media contacts. The rules regarding attribution are mentioned in Chapter 4. There
may also be other rules that you must ask the media to respect.
Internal policies and procedures must be followed both within the agency and with media
sources, whether you are located in Headquarters or in the field. These include the following:
Policies on sensitive issues — Intense press interest is likely to surround events that include
sensitive issues. When interviews are likely to pursue these issues, it may be wise to avoid open
interviews, particularly radio and TV exposure, and to read a short and simple statement,
avoiding further comment. Sending the statement to PI at Headquarters is important when
questions are likely to be raised in Geneva and New York.
Policies on corrections of factual errors — When countering errors, it is important to
consider the origin of the error and the position of the government. If the error is a clear factual
error that has serious implications for UNHCR, it should be corrected. When the problem is one
of interpretation, however, it may be advisable not to respond in order to avoid a public
polemical debate.
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