Uncovered: assessing media and communications needs ... - ICAR

Refugee and migrant and faith groups are more likely to want to focus on the need to counteradverse publicity from the media. Research by the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees(ICAR) 19 suggests that local media rather than the national media is more likely to consider the impacton community relations in their reporting, suggesting that local media should be the focus of suchactivities. Training aimed at improving understanding and fostering relationships with local journalistsmay therefore be of interest to these groups as well as having the ultimate potential of bringingcommunities together.Questionnaire respondents provided further examples relating to the purpose of their publicity,many of which might be termed awareness/profi le-raising such as ‘promoting our success’ and‘encouraging curiosity’. Others wanted to ‘prevent stigma’, ‘regain our voice’, ‘counter racism’ and‘restore balance to reporting’.Other examples included increasing membership, infl uencing policy and encouraging use of services.One said s/he wanted to ‘set agendas’ and another to encourage recruitment of trustees.Fig 7.3.10 Communications strategyOnly a minority of organisations surveyed reported that they had a communications strategy. Amongstrefugee and migrant worker, BME and faith groups the percentage was less than half. Respondentsin the ‘isolated rural’ category were the only ones where the majority of organisations have a strategy.This could be attributed to the structural development and size of rural infrastructure organisations,which are larger and more established, and also to a lack of knowledge and confi dence in developinga strategy; this would be a further area of training need.“Only a small proportion of voluntary organisations budget for training and support, or have aproactive communications strategy. Most don’t think about it until there’s a crisis. Then they have toreact suddenly.” – (civil servant)19 “Reporting Asylum: The UK press and the effectiveness of PCC guidelines – March 2007. http://www.icar.org.uk/?lid=477524 Uncovered: assessing media and communications needs and capacity of marginalised communities