Masters in Governance: Sound media relations practices

In addition to working with our community, we must focus on building strong relationships with the media by providing ongoing reliable information. Therefore, a part of our communications plan must also address our relationship with the media.

Our board’s community leadership activities should include regular visits and phone calls to editorial boards, education writers and other key media contacts to build relationships in which district leaders are seen as credible resources on topics relating to the school district, children and public education. We should reach out to all media to get out factual information about the schools. Local cable television stations are often grateful to have programming provided. Many newspapers welcome articles for editorial opinion pages, and smaller papers may even make space for a regular column by the school board president. In addition, the district should have a mechanism in place for issuing press releases when appropriate.

It’s a good idea to invite education reporters to visit schools. And, just as we acknowledge positive efforts of community organizations, we should also acknowledge local media for insightful treatment of public education issues.

It is especially important that someone be assigned to be the primary district contact when the media call. The contact person will vary depending on the size of the district, the politics of the district, and whether the district has a public information officer. The person assigned must have the appropriate knowledge and interpersonal skills. In many cases, the superintendent is the primary media contact for the district.

In addition to assigning primary responsibility for media contact, the district should identify others who have permission to speak to the press on behalf of the district and a process by which they would be identified on an issue-by-issue basis. Besides the superintendent and public information officer, the district may want to authorize other managers and administrators to speak only about their areas of expertise.

Authority of board members to speak to the press must be discussed by the board and the role of each board member clearly delineated. Some boards designate their own spokesperson, often the board president, to whom all general press inquiries which could be handled by a board member are referred. Others choose a board member on the basis of his or her ability to handle interviews in an articulate, calm manner. All board members must be able to respond to the media when they receive direct calls or upon request of the district’s primary media contact person.

What is important is that the primary district media contact person knows what process should be followed to identify spokespersons on an issue-by-issue basis.

—Excerpted from the book “Maximizing School Board Leadership: Community Leadership,” used in the California School Boards Association’s Masters in Governance training. For more information on the Masters in Governance program, log on to www.csba.org/Services/Services/GovernanceServices/MastersInGovernance.aspx.