4. Embrace the media

A major part of campaigning always involves broadcasting, but it comes into its own at election time. Local newspapers, radio stations and television channels are hungry for polls-related news, so seize the moment for yours.

It’s a good moment to seize the narrative too. As all cycling advocates know, media coverage isn’t always all that flattering to cycling. Any suspicion of conflict between cyclists and others is a magnet for journalists and presenters who regularly blow it up out of all proportion or even invent it. But, with the media buzzing around for election news, cycling’s hot topic status gives it a useful toe in the door. So, shower local news desks with tales of your bike buddying rides for candidates, your hustings and stunts (see sections 1 - 3 above), put cycling in a good light, explain why decision-makers should encourage it and, at the same time, dispel all those downright myths. The following advice has been compiled over many years by Cycling UK’s communications team. The basics apply all year round and to all the material you want to shout about, but now that we’re in the run-up to May 2022, there’s no better time to go all out, embrace your local papers, radio and television, and inspire voters and candidates – your community – to understand and support the cause.

We look at social media in particular in Section 5, and the skill of letter writing in Section 6.

a. Where to place your message

Effective, proactive media relations start with effective targeting.

• Companies spend fortunes on focus groups to find out which media its target customers use, but you don’t need to go that far. Simply think about the kind of people you wish to influence and, if possible, ask them where they tend to go for local news. • While you’ll probably find it easier to approach local newspapers/magazines (and they often cover stories in most detail), don't discount local radio and television. They may seem intimidating, but they do have airtime to fill.

b. Be savvy

• Imagine what will appeal to your target audience and frame your story accordingly. However strongly you feel about something, there’s no guarantee that readers, listeners or viewers will be interested too, so hooks and pitches are everything (see below). • Likewise, remember that your passions may not be the media’s. Even if the journalist/researcher you talk to sounds sympathetic, remember that they’re working for a business and their overall objective is to sell their product. • Once your information is in the media’s hands, key aspects of your message may go missing or even be turned around completely. Indeed, the only way to guarantee editorial control is to pay for an advertisement. • Regional media are generally only interested if there is a regional angle.

c. Standing out in the crowd with a hook

As PR consultancies will tell you, hooks draw people into your story and excite their curiosity even if it’s not something that usually interests them. Here’s some ideas: • Market research/surveys – remember to frame your survey questions with an eye to the headlines you’re trying to generate. Local media may be happy with a fairly informal poll of a few hundred people. • Celebrity endorsement – has anyone around you cultivated a local celebrity? Is it worth approaching them? • Human interest – do you know anyone who’s using cycling to help rehabilitate them after suffering a health problem? • Statistics – whatever you think of statistics, they often make a good headline. There’s lots to choose from on Cycling UK’s website – www.cyclinguk.org/statistics • Involve journalists in person – invite them to your events, to chair your hustings or sample one of your bike rides/stunts for example. • Dress in a furry costume.

d. Pitching your story on the phone

You may have no more than thirty seconds with a journalist/researcher to pitch your idea. They’ll rarely resent being called, but will waste no time in telling you if they’re not interested. So,

• After introducing yourself, ask if it's a good time to discuss your story – deadlines can make some days, or particular times of the day, extremely busy for journalists. • Don't ramble. Draft a press release before you call and refer to it in your pitch. The journalist may ask to see one anyway. • If you’re not sure what’s going to interest the journalist, ask them up front, but don't lose sight of the message you want to put across. • If your topic is contentious, remember that nothing is ever ‘off the record’. • Journalistic deadlines are not flexible. If you agree to call or send information by a set time, honour the agreement.

e. Get your press release / story in print

Press release Few stories / press releases make it into print but, to maximise your chance:

• Make your point on one side of A4 paper (or the equivalent). • Keep it simple. Alter the style of your writing to suit the publication and its audience, but remember the purpose of the release is to give journalists the facts. • Use a short eye-catching headline. • Pare your first paragraph down to no more than two sentences and make sure it summarises your entire message – sub-editors cut from the bottom. • Avoid jargon at all costs. • Date the release at the top so that the news editor can see that the story is current. • Attribute quotes to a named (and if possible, senior) individual, and make sure they’ll be available for comment. Journalists often want to speak to whoever is named on the release. • Include contact details at the bottom. • Include essential finer details in ‘Notes to editors’ at the bottom, too. • Proofread before sending, preferably asking someone else to read it.

Features Features are lengthier than ‘hard’ news, usually delving into the background behind the headlines. This is where you can go to town about why you’re holding a hustings, or inviting candidates to tour your neighbourhood on a bike with you, for example.

• Ring the media outlet’s features editor. • Don’t pitch a half-baked idea. Work it up properly, and be primed to ‘sell’ it competently. Editors can’t deal with waffle, may be pushed for space and must justify every inch of it. They might ask for modifications, so be prepared for that.

• Don’t pester editors if they are patently not interested. It may not be a good week and hassling journalists might put them off calling you back (ever). • If you’re part of a group, don't hog the limelight – credit and mention others. • Supply a good copy of your logo and link to your website – and make sure that they’ll be included in the finished item. • Don’t rant in your article. Make it entertaining, interesting and informative. Again, think about your audience, and aim it at them. If you’re going to mention road collisions, you’ll find some guidelines at: rc-rg.com/guidelines.

Photographs Whatever you want published, accompanying it with photographs helps.

• If you’re organising an event, make sure that someone has been appointed to take pictures. • Think of an unusual approach to tell your story, but keep compositions simple and not too ambitious. (The photo below comes from our ‘Real Yellow Jersey’ award scheme). • Submit all photos with a caption and your contact details. • If you’d like press photographers to come along, issue a ‘photocall’, quoting the date, time and location together with a brief explanation of what can be photographed. Follow up by phone, including one day before the event. • If you have a budget, see if you can employ a local newspaper's staff photographer. Their experience will help produce good, well composed photos, and their contacts should improve your chances of appearing in print. Brief them clearly.

f. Radio and TV

• Contact the newsroom and the forward planning desk. • Keep calling the television station to remind them (right up until the day itself) as their schedules change on a day-to-day basis (although remember the advice about not hassling if they’re obviously not interested in your story). • Remember that radio stations often have feature programmes that may cover your story in more detail.

Interviews Interviews earn you a wider audience than print but, whether you’ve engineered an interview yourself or been invited, it can be a daunting experience.

Preparation • Establish exactly what the broadcasters will be interviewing you about, when it’ll begin, when they need you to arrive/stand by your phone, how long it’ll be for and what format it’ll take. If you’re not clear, ask. • Ask if others will be commenting too or phoning in. • If you have the option, arrange to go to the studio for the interview rather than stay at home – you’ll be sharper and more attentive and the quality of your voice will be better. If you’re going to interviewed at home, arrange to supress any background noise/movement in your household/room/garden at the appointed hour. • Boil down what you want to say into three key points that you’ll be able to put across straightaway. You’ll probably only have a few minutes, and part of that will be taken up with introductions and questions. • Prepare memory-jogging notes for any facts you wish to quote. • Rehearse your points with someone taking the role of the interviewer. This can build confidence, calm any nerves and prompt you to explore the topic from different angles. • Try to anticipate questions and have answers ready. Don’t assume you’ll only be asked questions on the stated / prearranged topic, especially if it’s a phone-in. • Imagine what you’d think of an interviewee looking/sounding like you. What impression are they (you) creating? Would you take them seriously? Would something about them distract you from what they were saying? If your imagination fails you, ask a critical friend to be honest. • Think carefully and pragmatically about what to wear and how appropriate it’ll be for the occasion. British viewers are more likely to listen if you are conservatively dressed, and a professional look is important even for radio interviews – it may encourage the broadcaster to call on you again. If the topic doesn’t demand Lycra, but you turn up wearing it, you risk being unhelpfully stereotyped by journalists, presenters and audience alike (unfair as this is). • Avoid doing anything that might make journalists trivialise what you’re hoping to put across – e.g. wobbling into a studio on a penny-farthing to discuss election manifestos. (Penny-farthings would be perfectly okay, of course, if on-topic).

On the day • Be like a coiled spring with your thoroughly rehearsed three key points and punchy soundbite. Never save a key point for later – it might be too late. • If nerves bite, deep breathing may help, and so might remembering that you won’t be recognised in the street afterwards if you’ve been on radio, and it’s pretty unlikely that anyone will match you up with your on-screen image if you’ve appeared on television. • If on TV, look at the interviewer and don’t be distracted by movements behind them. The viewer will want to know what you are looking at. • Don’t be afraid of … o … pauses – don’t gabble fill to them. Refer to your notes if stuck but, if in front of a camera, try not to look down too much because it can make you look shifty. o … microphones – they improve your voice! Sit/stand at hand’s length away and don’t distract the audience by shuffling papers, fiddling with a pen etc. o … not answering every single question. Watch politicians – they usually sidestep some (most, in some cases) questions and keep circling back to the point (soundbite) they are determined to make. Do this if you’re asked an irrelevant question as well. • Try not to be forced on to the defensive – e.g. if they say everyone loathes cyclists, who don’t deserve any investment because they ignore the facilities built for them etc. turn the story round. Say, for instance, that this isn’t your experience, cycling is popular with families and some need dedicated facilities (children and novices), but others prefer the road because of the type of riding they do. • Don’t dwell on negative aspects – acknowledge them but stay positive. If you’re asked about cycling in the rain, maybe say: ‘According to the Met Office, there are only 52 days in the average year which are defined as 'rainy'.’ • Don’t go with the ‘cyclists v everyone else’ narrative. We’re all human beings and most of us also drive, walk, catch buses, trains …. • Remain calm, reasonable and altruistic if you’re faced with an irate interviewer or guest. You’ll earn the audience’s respect if you refuse to be drawn into an antagonistic blame game to feed the media’s appetite for conflict. • If the interview is being pre-recorded, stop the interview in the event of a stumbling block. This will force them to re-record and give you thinking time. • Be wary of words being put into your mouth. ‘The A123 is so busy it’s too dangerous for many cyclists isn’t it?’ ‘Well, yes, but….’ Headline: ‘Cycling is too dangerous and should be banned from the A123’ . • Don’t make up policy on the hoof. You could end up splitting your group. Stay on message, remember your soundbite, and remain focused. • Don’t libel anyone in a live interview – it can’t be edited out.