Public affairs and communications management

"Public affairs consultants and their clients have become adept at communicating effectively with government, parliament and the civil service. We also monitor the media for developments which relate to or affect our clients' needs. However, monitoring the media and reacting to news is often not enough when aiming for the best results. Nurturing strong relationships with the media should be an important part of any long-term communications strategy.

Efficient media relations consists of more than emailing lengthy press releases to journalists you haven???t met before. With journalists increasingly pressed for time, it is likely that such press releases will end up in 'deleted items' by dusk. The client's message will be lost, and valuable time wasted.

Press releases must be relevant, concise and well-structured. To maximise the chances of your story 'making it', the recipient journalist should be based, or at least interested in the subject area. Most important is that the journalist is willing to read your material, and there is no more effective way of making this happen than trust and familiarity.

By forging good relationships with journalists, consultants can quickly and easily propel their clients' message into the public domain. Building trust takes time, but it is time worth investing when a journalist views your press release as newsworthy and worthwhile. When this point is reached, you and your clients will be making the news rather than reacting to it."