You are on Page 1 of Section 5

● Introduction & Index ● What is PR ● Job Expectations ● Types of Media ● Building Relationships ● Media, Hams & FCC Rules ● The Basic News Release ● Interviews and Live ● Making your own show ● Easy P.R. ● Public Service Events ● Piggy-back to Events ● Pictures NOW! ● P.R. Research Aids ● Making Friends ● ARES® PIO ● Final Exam Information Next Page

Section 5 - Building Relationships Gathering Information Introductory letters One sheet self promotions Goals Student should understand the need to gather contacts and form relationships with media outlets Student should be exposed to some ways and methods of building media relationships. The dangers we face Pretend that YOU are a reporter. You know nothing about ham radio other than you heard about it. But now you have a story that has a ham radio connection. Where will you turn for more information? Nine times out of ten, you will go to the first person you know who just might know a ham or once was one - and we know what kind of mis-information THAT can lead to! So, as a PIO for your area, the media MUST know you exist and are available. They need to know how to contact you day or night. If the task of PR is to be the "face" and make friends for Amateur Radio, then one of the biggest parts of accomplishing that task is to be sure that media knows you are there! In many ways, to promote ham radio you have to promote yourself too. There are several ways to do this without taking the spotlight off of Amateur Radio, but you need to be known and trusted by local media to be effective in your home region. Let's look at some of the ways to go about this task. The FIRST thing a local PIO should do is start to gather information about the media in their home area. This has been made a lot simpler with Google and websites. Start collecting names and contact info for reporters, editors, TV people, radio people, etc. Do not be surprised if your local media has blocks placed on their websites. These often are "Contact Us" links that force you to go to a special page where they gather your name and email, then allow you to fill in a small text area that often goes nowhere. Many other places, particularly TV stations, often do not even have that option. So getting the real names and contact info is easy-er, but not easy. Whether you use a computer, file cards, rolodex or whatever means, develop a file list of reporters and media contacts. This is your life-blood as a PIO. I suggest that you not use a computer list alone. When something major happens, it never seems to happen when the computer is available. A physical address book (printouts) is a safety net. OK...so now you have a couple names from each of the major outlets in your region. Now what?