Menu
NJSACC
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • About NJSACC
    • Become a Member
    • Contact NJSACC
    • History of NJSACC
    • Meet the Ambassadors
    • Meet the Board
      • Board Portal
    • Meet the Staff
    • NJ’s Afterschool Network
    • Our Mission
    • Our Partners
    • Our Privacy Policy
    • Our Virtual Training Attendance Policy
    • Shop at AmazonSmile
  • What We Do
    • Highlight Your Program!
    • Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Technical Assistance Grant
    • Professional Development
      • Annual Conference
      • Full STEAM Ahead Conference
      • Training Workshops
      • Virtual Training Attendance Policy
      • Web Learning
    • Public Policy and Advocacy
    • Quality Coaching Initiative
    • Quality Standards
    • Remembering Our Heroes
    • Showcase Alley
    • Special Initiatives
  • Resources
    • #AfterschoolNJ Stories
    • Capacity Building Video Series: NJSACC Resources at-a-Glance
    • Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
    • Mizzen App by Mott
    • Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Resources
    • NJ Quality Standards for Afterschool
    • Pen Pal Program
    • Providers Resources
    • Publications and Papers
    • Summer Activity Guide
    • Virtual Afterschool Resource Guide
  • For Families
    • Family Resources
    • Find an Afterschool Program
    • How to Choose an Afterschool Program
  • Calendar
  • FLASH
  • Jobs
  • Donate
NJSACC

Working with the Media

NJSACC: The Statewide Network for New Jersey's Afterschool Communities

(Special thanks to the Afterschool Alliance for this information.)

Like it or hate it, respect it or scoff at it, one fact remains: the media exert enormous influence over the way Americans think about their common culture, their politics, their communities, and their world.

Admittedly, it is sometimes tempting to ignore the news media, or at least certain types of media. But to do so is to ignore opportunities to teach and to build understanding.

Engaging the news media is therefore vitally important for afterschool advocates. To be most effective, it’s helpful to know some of the basics about the media, how reporters work, how best to communicate with them, how to plan a media campaign, and in general how best to use the media to communicate your story to the public.

How the News Media Works

  • Generally speaking, most news stories have to do with conflict, events and issues that affect the readership or broadcast audience, local angles on national issues, appealing human interest stories, and celebrity events.
  • Journalists usually work on very tight timelines.
  • Local media generally focus on local news. National news coverage in local newspapers, and on local television and radio news programs, is often provided to the station by national wire services or broadcast news services.
  • Most local markets have at least a handful of radio (and sometimes television) talk shows. Many of these are excellent outlets.
Type of Media Newspaper TV Radio
Timelines Usually daily Usually daily, even hourly with late-breaking news Usually daily for news, but varies
Who to contact about stories Reporter assigned to cover local schools, otherwise an editor Assignment desk editors route incoming news releases and decide who, if anybody, will cover a given story Assignment editor decides whether a local station will cover a story and who will cover it
Length Varies from a news brief (a few paragraphs) to a feature story (which can be several thousand words) Typically less than a minute or two long Very brief, often less than a minute or two
Important Notes Emphasize newsworthiness, such as local angles on national trends, “new” information, conflict, etc. Must have images to go along with news Typically do not gather their own news, but report from other news sources

How to Best Communicate With the Media:

  • You will need to choose from among a number of vehicles for getting your message out, including news releases, news conferences, meetings with editorial writers and much more.
  • To conduct a media effort well, you’ll need a telephone number the media can use to reach you or a message-taker every time they try. No busy signals allowed!

When to Communicate With the Media:

  • Reach out to the media when you have an interesting and newsworthy story.
  • Reach out when there’s a story already in the news to which you can contribute a useful “afterschool” perspective.
  • Reach out when you need to respond to a negative development.

How to Frame Your Message:

  • Plan your message carefully. Write it out and practice it out loud before any interview.
  • Make sure you deliver the important points of your message every time. Even if you’ve heard yourself make those points a thousand times, your audience hasn’t!
  • Consider a core message that touches on the way afterschool programs free parents of a major worry about their children’s afternoon time; the enormous educational and social benefits of afterschool; and afterschool programs’ track record of keeping children safe and away from bad behaviors.

Recent Posts

  • NJ Child Nutrition Fund – Equipment Grants available! April 15, 2021
  • American Rescue Plan: How to Access Funds for Afterschool and Summer Learning Programs – join us this Wed Apr 21 – 2pm April 15, 2021
  • Register FREE for ‘Soaring Beyond Expectations 2021: A Statewide Afterschool Celebration’ – Fri Jun 11 April 14, 2021
  • READY, SET, SUMMER! Check out this great introduction to Inclusion for your Summer Camp staff! Join NJSACC and KIT in May and June. April 14, 2021
  • NJSACC Celebrates National Poetry Month! April 14, 2021
  • Coming in May! It’s time to Celebrate Afterschool: Outdoors in the Garden State April 14, 2021
  • Supporting Distance Learning in School-Age Programs Workshop – join NJSACC and KIT on Wed Apr 21 at 11am April 13, 2021
  • NJSACC’s COVID-19 Updates April 12, 2021
  • Showcase Alley Returns! Join us next Thursday April 22 at 11am for this Virtual Event! April 11, 2021
  • Useful Techniques for Maintaining Physical Distancing in Groups April 8, 2021
©2021 NJSACC · 208 Lenox Avenue · #363 · Westfield, NJ 07090 · 908-789-0259 · sac@njsacc.org