• How to write a media release on a public issue

  Confusion has reigned over the last several days, with the public having been bombarded by a string of media releases and messages with regard to the current lockdown that has sown much confusion. There’s an old saying: “Order…counterorder…disorder.” The public received mixed messages from many authorities – the Police, the Army, health authorities, etc. Media institutions seemed even more confused, with text services putting out multiple mobile messages, each of which piled more information on the public and turned some of the earlier information into misinformation. Spokespersons of various institutions also muddled matters further with various statements about how many people could attend weddings, funerals, delivery services, go out for urgent needs, etc. Clarifications were repeated for several days to clear up the confusion. Fortunately, there are a few senior journalists and professional media websites which decipher these and use social media to publicise the real situation. We thought we’d give some advice to our relevant authorities that should serve as a comprehensive guideline on how to write a media release to the public without throwing the country into turmoil.   Get it right the first time Don’t make stupid mistakes and have to send out another release to correct the first one. It’s even worse when you send out three or four releases that contradict one another. Remember that people may not see them all or read them in the proper sequence. So your wrong media release can be taken as the gospel truth by a person who doesn’t see the correction. Besides, having to correct yourself is just plain unprofessional. People just start laughing at you, as can be seen in Fig. 1. [caption id="attachment_136406" align="alignright" width="482"] Fig. 1: Sri Lankan meme makers had a field day with the confusion created by the jumble of messages being sent out by authorities in the last several days (author unknown)[/caption] Writing is not rocket science. Neither is it for idiots to do. A few simple points about writing media releases to the public (or any type of communication to anyone):

1. Decide on exactly what information needs to go to whom (writing for a foreign audience is not the same as for the public in Monaragala)
2. Make sure your media release says what you intend to say (not what you thought you had said)
3. Ensure the persons who need to receive the information actually understand what you’re saying (punctuation marks are extremely important here)

Synchronise yourself first Make sure all relevant officials in relevant institutions, including your own, are fully briefed on what your media release contains. This can be done by simply copying it to them beforehand. This includes all official spokespersons. Do not have a situation where the Army Spokesperson says something different to the police media release. Your left hand needs to know what your right hand is doing and work accordingly. You need proper writers Mass communication is an industry in itself. Being a good policeman, soldier, doctor, or lawyer does not qualify you to write a media release. Being a journalist doesn’t necessarily qualify you to write a media release either. However, many journalists in newspapers are usually very good at writing media releases. Journalists in other media may be less so. People familiar with writing other types of media releases such as corporate, sports, etc. and larger documents such as annual reports are not always good for writing a media release on Covid lockdowns. Do you need to send out a media release? If an important decision has been taken that the public needs to know about, the answer is yes. Don’t write media releases if you really don’t have anything important to say. A minister taking his dog for a walk is not news. Neither is one politician meeting another politician. How to write a media release Writing a media release is a complex matter for the simple reason that it needs to answer all the questions of the public while at the same time being simple to read.

• Make sure you answer all the questions (think of them as FAQs). Your media release shouldn’t create more doubts
• Avoid endless information. Keep sentences short and make them relevant to the person reading it. For example, “persons with NIC numbers ending with 2,4,6,8,0 can go out of their homes on 14, 16, 18, and 20 May”. Don’t leave it to the public to work things out – they will get it wrong
• Message (content)
  • Keep your paragraphs short, ideally three lines per paragraph (lines, not sentences)
  • Break up long text. Use bullet points or numberings
  • Check your spellings and grammar. Grammatical, linguistic, or spelling errors reflect not only on you, but your organisation as well
  • Ensure you spell names correctly – people’s names and names of places: There’s a huge difference between Nuwara and Nuwara Eliya. The President’s name is spelled Rajapaksa, not Rajapakse or Rajapaksha
  • Ensure the proper salutation. Don’t insult distinguished people. The President is His/Her Excellency. Current MPs are Honourable (no pun intended). Mahanayakes and Anunayakes are Most Venerable while other priests are Venerable. The Cardinal is His Eminence; a Bishop is His Grace. A full Professor at a full university is a Professor; anyone else with a PhD is a Doctor. People with Honorary PhDs are neither Prof. nor Dr. People studying for a PhD cannot be called Dr.

Does your message match your intended message? Test it out before sending it to the public. Show it to 10 people who don’t know anything about the subject and see if they understand it. Ask them to explain it back to you and see if it is clear. Media synchronisation Make sure your media release is easily readable on all media:

• Print
• Radio
• Television
• Websites
• Mobile text news services

If necessary, draft different media releases for different types of media. Don’t be lazy.

• Text services: Special attention must be paid to mobile text services which are often the first point the public receives their news
• Word count: The maximum of words depends on the subject and the amount of information that needs to be conveyed. But it needs to be as short as possible while covering all the information. Don’t write a book
• Be concise with no jargon; avoid flowery words and clutter: Remember that you’re writing a document that should be understandable by all citizens, who include those who failed their O-Levels and also hundreds of thousands of those who can’t read, who will listen to it on the radio
• Location in mind: Make geographical locations easy to find. E.g. “Western Province, Gampaha District, Wattala police area, Wattala Divisional Secretariat, Grama Niladhari Division 3061B”
• Authorised signature: Make sure a person who is authorised signs off on the media release
• Consistency of reporting: Every media release must come from a particular person with a particular designation from an institution that is relevant to the subject, i.e. the Minister of Cats and Dogs should not be talking about the ban on fertiliser
• Similar source: Check to see if any other institution has already put out any media releases on the same subject
• Standardisation: Check the past media releases of your own institution
• Readability: Write it in a font that’s easy to read. E.g. Times New Roman, Calibri. Don’t use fonts that are difficult on the eyes such as Pacifico or Lobster
• Attention to all ages: Use a font size that’s easy to read. Remember that half the population has weak eyesight
• Keep it simple: Avoid unnecessary italics, colours, etc. They tend to add confusion.
• Multi-language: In a multilingual country, ensure that media releases in all languages are sent out at the same time whenever possible. This means having a good team of in-house translators
• Check your work before release: Ensure that translated media releases in all languages say the same thing. This means having qualified and authorised officials to check the translations
• Terminology: If you’re calling it a lockdown, don’t keep changing the terminology. E.g. curfew, travel restrictions, etc. If you’re changing the terminology, then explain what the new term means and how it differs from the earlier term. Does the average Sri Lankan know the difference between a curfew and a travel restriction? There may very well be a good reason for this change in terminology, but if it’s not explained, then that’s just confusing jargon to the public

• Official: Every media release needs to be on a letterhead, with a signature and a seal/frank
• End your media release with the line “Ends” so that journalists know it is finished. If you need to give any separate information to journalists, write it below the “Ends”
• If the media release is urgent, then say “Urgent” on top in bold lettering
• Is it legal?: Make sure your institution or officials have the statutory powers to take the relevant decisions. For example, the order to shoot curfew violators on sight can’t be given by any old policeman
• Avoid big words: They tend to confuse people
• Make sure you cover the five Ws and the H: Who, what, when, where, why, and how
• Clear message: What is the message you are trying to get across? Have you actually got it across in a form that everyone can understand?
• Time stamp: Every media release must have a date of writing and a time of release out of the institution
• Contact details: Every media release must have contact details for media to call and clarify any doubts
• Headline: Write a simple headline that presents the topic. One line or at most one and a half
• Lede: The most important point must be first. Don’t hide it in the middle of the media release. Pay particular attention to the first paragraph. It must be clear and succinct. Length of between 20-40 words. Closer to 20 words is best
• Read! Read! Read!: Read it at least five times before you send it out
• Blah, blah, blah: Delete redundant words

Bad examples Avoid glorifying people unnecessarily. This is a media release to inform the public about something. It’s not some VIP’s “wansa kathawa” (pedigree). There is no need to say “Glorious Honourable Excellency Prof. Dr. Attorney-at-Law Admiral Gen. Al-a-Din”. Only the title that’s relevant to the subject needs to be used. E.g. “Police Media Spokesman DIG XXX said”. What relevance is there to call the police spokesman an Attorney-at-Law in a media release? For example, no one calls the President by his military rank anymore after he became the President. Consequences of improper media releases

• Lost credibility and integrity of the institution
• Lost attention

Target your audience properly (time)

• Avoid sending routine media releases out at ungodly hours like two in the morning
• Make sure you give a timeline for public dissemination. E.g. “For immediate release”
• If your media release is only to be released to the public after a certain time, write “Embargoed until XX (time) on XX (date)” in bold at the top of the media release

Important of time and dates For want of a proper writer, the revolution was lost! The worst example of horrendous timing, probably in human history, caused the failure of the 1971 Insurrection. All police stations nationwide were to be attacked at 11 p.m., for the rebels to loot the armouries and arm themselves. But the group tasked with attacking the Wellawaya Police Station got the time wrong and attacked at 5 a.m. instead, giving the government ample time to prepare by declaring a curfew and mobilising the Army. The cryptic telegram giving the date of the attack that was sent out to all area leaders from the leaders of the insurrection had not properly specified the time! The moral of the story is: Double check times and dates. It’s very easy to make a mistake. Privacy Protect the privacy of vulnerable people such as victims of crime, minors, victims of domestic violence, and victims of sexual crimes. Don’t turn your institution into a joke The credibility of your institution matters a lot. A loss of credibility leads to a loss in public trust that what you say in future will be credible. The more confusing the message you send out, the more your institution becomes a joke. Keep an eye on public reaction to your media release – the storm of derision that came across social media over the last few days spoke volumes. References and citation Statistics must have proper sources; don’t be vague, be specific. Practise Before telling 21 million people what to do and bungling it, “practice! Practice! Practice!’ Use the Government Information Department There’s a government department that is the official information dissemination arm for the entire GoSL. It’s called the Department of Government Information and has for decades been carrying out a sterling service. Unfortunately, other departments and authorities all too often ignore the Department of Government Information and do their own thing, frequently with dubious results. Much of this is due to pure ego, as many public officials jump at the opportunity to appear in front of TV cameras. Way forward

• Hire professional writers or consult them – not everyone can write
• Use the Department of Government Information
• Training, training, training (we will be happy help on a complimentary basis)
• Preparation of personnel. If the matter requires any officials to carry out any duties, then make sure that the relevant officials have been properly briefed
• Preparation (materials, resources). E.g. If you require people who want curfew passes to apply to police stations, then make sure that all police stations have the relevant forms

Above all: Use your common sense. If you don’t have common sense, then get another job and let someone else write the media releases!   © Niresh Eliatamby and Nicholas Ruwan Dias   (Dr. Nicholas Ruwan Dias [BSc, MSc, PhD] and Niresh Eliatamby [LLB., LLM., MBA] are Managing Partners of Cogitaro.com, a consultancy that finds practical solutions for challenges facing society, the environment and all types of industries. Dr. Dias is a digital architect and educationist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [ruwan@cogitaro.com]. Eliatamby is an author, journalist, and educationist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka [niresh@cogitaro.com])