View - The Municipality of Lambton Shores

IV.
Council members will be advised of any Municipal news
release at the earliest opportunity, either by telephone or fax,
preferably in advance of the release being issued to the
media.
This policy shall be administered by the C.A.O.
As any external communication that originates from the Municipality is considered
"official" Lambton Shores’ communication, and as the municipality is committed to
maintaining and protecting the integrity of its image, it would be advantageous for a
more specific policy to be approved that would list the acceptable requirements, such
as who would be responsible for initiating and drafting a release, what information
needs to be included, etc.
Various samples from other communities would be reviewed and a draft policy
submitted for consideration, and sample items for inclusion would be:
1. The Mayor, as the chief executive officer of the municipality is ultimately responsible
for the tone, quality and relevance of external communications.
2. Only matters approved by Council will be considered for a “Press Release”
3. Any member of Council or staff that requests an external announcement must
provide the following information for consideration:
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What is happening?
Is it important to just the municipality, or is it of broad interest to a larger
community?
When and where is it taking place?
Who is involved and/or invited, and on what scale?
Why should someone be interested?
Are there costs or registration involved?
Where can people go for more information?
4. Submit the draft release, along with any attachments to the C.A.O.’s Department.
6. Upon receipt, the announcement will be edited and distributed to the appropriate
news outlet.
7. All press releases will be forwarded to Council members prior to issuance. When
possible, this circulation would be done a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the
release, however, in emergencies or when there are time constraints, as much
notice as possible would be provided. (This is similar to the protocol used for
Emergency Management issues.)
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