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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s October 2006 newsletter –
‘And now for the bad news’.
The reaction this week to the Stern report on climate change and
the global economy prompted us to think about ways of getting
long-term environmental issues on the agenda and of
communicating ‘bad’ news. Enjoy.
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Lynne Goodwin, Mary
O’Callaghan, Sarah Bartlett, Melanie McKenzie and Tara Thorne
In this issue: And now for the
bad news
In for the long haul -
communicating environmental issues
Reporting the 'bad' news
Lies, damn
lies and statistics
Surf club
Quotation of the month
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In for the long haul - communicating environmental
issues
By Michelle
Riedlinger
One of the biggest challenges for people
communicating environmental issues is getting those
issues with long-term impacts (25, 50 or 100 years)
onto the agenda.
While the media are criticised for neglecting these
issues, mainstream news will always focus on the
immediate and, as many journalists and editors have
stated, ‘environmental stories don’t break, they
ooze’.
Coverage of the Stern report on climate change and
the global economy (released this week) brings to
mind ideas for communicating about long-term
environmental issues:
1.
Environmental issues will never beat economic
or political stories in the mainstream media, but
combining these aspects can make these issues
headline news.
2.
Most people relate more easily to scenarios
of 10 years time than 25 or 50 years.
3.
An authoritative spokesperson who is willing
and able to communicate research results as they
come in, rather than waiting for a definitive
answer, can make the issue more immediate and
newsworthy.
4.
Building relationships with key journalists
and feature article writers helps them to appreciate
the complexity of the issue. While news will always
be immediate, feature articles allow for more depth
and reflection on the future.
5.
Engaging people outside of the media is
essential. The media are only one communication tool
and should complement other means of engagement.
For local debate on the Stern report, visit
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1777181.htm
Reporting the 'bad' news
By Jenni Metcalfe
An organisation working in potentially sensitive areas can
prepare itself for potentially hostile media. Bad news might
be about a new virus outbreak, an environmental disaster, or
even staff misconduct. Here are a few tips to help you
communicate ‘bad’ news to the general public via the media:
-
Appoint a single spokesperson. Channel all media
enquiries through that person so that the media hear one
consistent voice.
-
Play
the ‘what-if’ game—try to anticipate all likely nasty
questions and the most dreadful possible events, and
work out how you would handle them. Anticipation and
practice make a big difference.
-
This
is a time when you have to be very careful what you say,
and how you say it. Work out what you want to say, and
keep saying it—pleasantly, patiently and firmly.
-
Always
tell the truth and don’t hide information.
-
Never
say ‘no comment’. Any reasonable person takes that as an
admission of guilt. Instead, say ‘I can't answer that
question because (give a reason eg. the research has not
been completed), but what I can say is ... (now say your
main message)…’.
-
Be
careful with analogies and explanation of risk—they can
backfire. If you want to use analogies, check that they
make sense to the media audience you will be talking to.
-
Acknowledge people’s concerns as being valid, even if
they are based on irrational fears. Empathy is
important.
Lies, damn lies and statistics
By Melanie McKenzie
Fear-inducing headlines may attract our attention, but Mark
Twain was right—we should be wary of meaningless statistics that
often misattribute blame. Did you know#...?
·
Half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households
score below average on standardised tests.
·
Evidence points to the long-term effects of bread eating. Of all
people born before 1839 who have eaten bread, there has been a
100% mortality rate.
·
It has been proven that as little as a teaspoon of dough can be
used to suffocate a lab rat. The average Australian eats more
bread than that in one day!
·
More than 98 per cent of convicted felons are bread users.
·
Bread is associated with all major disease of the body. For
example, nearly all sick people have eaten bread.
·
Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is
more than 90% water, it follows that eating bread could lead to
your body being taken over by this absorptive food product,
turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.
#adapted
from various internet sources
Surf club
Valuing the environment: Free access to the Environmental
Valuation Reference Inventory
Australian residents can now access this international
environmental valuation database for free. The NSW Department of
Environment and Conservation is funding, on behalf of Australia,
a 2-year pilot membership of the Environmental Valuation
Reference Inventory (EVRI).
Containing more than 1700 international studies, EVRI is a
resource for economists, researchers, policymakers, consultants,
students and others interested in environmental valuation.
Quotation of the month
‘Messages
which emphasise losses that occur as a result of inaction are
consistently more persuasive than are messages that emphasise
savings as a result of taking action.’
Doug McKenzie-Mohr
Environmental psychologist and author of Fostering
Sustainable Behaviour: An Introduction to Community-Based Social
Marketing |
