District 105C

Many clubs tell me that they struggle and have great difficulty to get Club  News into their  Local Paper;   it is understandable that  many become quite disheartened as a result.

 I am sorry,  but there is no easy solution to the problem and what might work with one editor may well not work with another.    So let us look at what may  work.

 Understand  that a News editor has to fill his newspaper and if your news is good why would they not take it?  

Try to get your entire club into a PR framework,   try to have everyone work with you on publicity.   Discuss and set up a system in your club where it becomes the norm that every activity that you do be it welfare, fundraising or social  is  examined fully to determine where the  publicity is. 

  When you look deeper I guarantee that almost everything you do in your Club will have something that would provide publicity, you may have to search for it at first, but through time it comes naturally.   If you can not find the newsy bits then alter to make it newsy. Likewise if the photo shot needs life consider using props to get the picture that you want.  

Try very hard to create friendship  with your local press,  I accept that this is becoming more difficult as news paper offices become less local.      Pick some special activity that involve the community and Invite the local press photographer along,  fully brief him/her first on what is happening.  

Until you have built a rapport  remember that nine times out of ten the photographer  will  have  no idea who Lions are or  what we do, so be prepared to guide.  With photos you  decide what you want the photo  to portray,  set it up in your minds eye  beforehand.     Prepare a script of what is happening  and hand it to him with the list of contacts.   

If you are doing all this and still not having success,  consider knocking on the door,  make an appointment and visit  the newspaper editor  find out what types of story they want  from you   and how they would want it, ask about deadlines.    Find out if they would like a weekly article,  or a monthly,  enquire  do they do a community spot.

Newspapers especially local ones like the story that is about local  people i.e. the human touch.    

Build a list of local and national media contacts and maintain it to keep it up to date.   

Consider inviting the local editor to your Charters or other Lions activities.  

Finally, local and Hospital Radio  are both  excellent ways  of getting publicity,  ideal when things are happening as we speak,  instant news.  But be aware it  can present pitfalls  to the unwary.  You must  prepare well to get the best from a radio interview, and you need to do your homework. 

Have some key facts ready.   For  help on this see the Lions Publication  ‘Lions and Media Interviews’

Eric Wright  District PRO