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©Both Nomads

2023-12-04

Campaigning for People Centred SDG Implementation - Amplify your messages through media outreach

Civil society organizations can work with the media to raise awareness of the SDGs, to hold governments accountable, and to promote progress towards the goals. To work effectively with the media, it is important to develop relationships with journalists, create high-quality content, and be prepared for media interviews. 

 

Here are some overall tips for you on how to work with the media: 

 

Develop a strategy for engaging with the media  

Your media engagement strategy should include the following components: 

  1. Goals or objectives – Identify your key objectives such as raising awareness on the SDGs, drawing attention to specific problems or gaps on the SDGs' implementation or sharing opportunities to participate on the SDGs' follow-up and review processes. 

  1. Target audience – Identify the audience whom you wish to reach via the media. Your target audience – including their characteristics, interests and media preferences – will affect your choice of message, type of media and media outlet.  

  1. Key messages – Develop compelling, short and simple messages that are limited in number and tailored for your target audience. A key message is what you want the audience to understand, remember and/or do. Try to use everyday language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and refer to real-life stories and simple statistics for impact. 

  1. Type of media – Consider the type of media (print, television, radio, social media, etc.) to most effectively convey your messages on the SDGs to your target audience. Consider the power of radio to reach people, especially those in poorer and rural areas. For example, some policy makers may be more easily reached via traditional media such as newspapers, whereas younger generations may engage more with social media. 

  1. Journalists and media outlets – Identify the journalists and media outlets that are best suited to convey your messages to your target audience. Conduct research to identify journalists who cover stories related to peace, justice and inclusion. 

Engaging with the Media 

  • Build relationships with journalists. Get to know journalists who cover your area of work by following them on social media, reading their articles, and attending press conferences and events. Once you have established a rapport with a journalist, reach out to them to pitch stories or offer them insights on current events. 

  • Write carefully crafted pitches for stories, targeting one journalist at a time. 

  • Make it easy for the journalist by providing concise and clear information via press releases, opinion pieces, story pitches and press briefing information packs. Include contact information, background information on the SDG16+ issue(s), facts and statistics, quotations from experts, and photographs or infographics where relevant

  • Send your pitch in the body of the email, not as an attachment. 

Content Creation 

  • Be newsworthy: News releases should be new, relevant, and interesting. CSOs should focus on developing stories and perspectives that are newsworthy and that will be of interest to journalists.  

  • Tell a compelling story. Engage your audience with stories they can relate to. (Surely, very few people would relate to accronyms like the SDGs, but if we tell the stories behind our call to leave no one behind, eliminate extreme poverty, ensure basic rights to education and health coverage for all, gender equality, etc. That would resonate with most!) Focus on real stories. Highlight your communities's needs/priorities and your call to action. Have a clear message and motivating call to action. Allow your audience to reach their own conclusions. Present a solution if possible. 

  • Create high-quality content. When you have a newsworthy story to share, write a clear and concise press release that includes all of the essential information: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

  • Make it easy for the journalist by providing concise and clear information via press releases, opinion pieces, story pitches and press briefing information packs. Include contact information, background information on the SDG16+ issue(s), facts and statistics, quotations from experts, and photographs or infographics where relevant;

  • Consider writing op-eds to share your stance on issues with the public.

  • Media events: CSOs can organize media events to launch reports, to announce new initiatives, or to bring attention to important SDG-related issues.

  • Media briefings: CSOs can hold media briefings to provide journalists with in-depth information on specificSDG-related topics.

  • Be prepared for media interviews. If you are invited for a media interview, take the time to research the interviewer and the interview topic. Prepare key messages and talking points, and practice answering common questions. During the interview, be confident and articulate, and stay on message.

  • Create a media kit. A media kit is a one-stop shop for journalists who need information about your organization. It should include basic facts about your organization, such as your mission and vision, as well as profiles of your spokespeople and links to your social media and website.