One of the best ways to tell the positive stories of your schools and district is to form a good relationship with the local news media. This means being proactive in reaching out to reporters and responding quickly to media inquiries—even when you are dealing with bad news.
This can be easier said than done. Most veteran superintendents have at least one story about being burned by a reporter or misquoted in an article. While working with the media can be challenging, it represents a critical aspect of your communications and your efforts to maintain your district’s reputation.
In my previous district, I had a communications director which I loved, but that was one person. With the Donovan Group, I get an entire team and they match all of my projects to the skillsets of their people. Regardless if I'm working on branding, communications to my staff or the public, videos, whatever, they match the project to the person on their team that has that skillset and I don't even have to know what's going on behind the scenes to create the great products I send out to my community.
- Dr. Stacey Cole, Storm Lake (IA) Community School District Superintendent
What does our training cover?
Effective Engagement
The Donovan Group helps you engage in comprehensive media relations by training school leaders and staff on how to effectively engage with members of the media. We show you how to cultivate productive and mutually beneficial relationships with reporters. And, we give you the tools to respond to reporters if an urgent or crisis situation occurs.
A 360 Degree View
As part of this training, we will take a look at some examples of media situations. We’ll start with what happens in the typical newsroom, giving you a 360-degree view of how a typical urgent or crisis situation unfolds. Along the way, we offer various tips you can use to avoid the most common mistakes and ensure you get your message across.
A Positive Spin
We also cover the more positive aspects of media relations. This involves reaching out to journalists for conversations, creating and sending news releases, and inviting reporters to cover school-related events, programs, and initiatives.
Let's Talk!
Get in touch to learn more about our media relations, coaching, and communication services.