Workshop 2.B
Going beyond press releases: media relations, how should we tell the story?
Guidelines for the organisation of a press office on Structural Funds
Brussels, 26 November 2007

Formez is an Italian government agency providing
 technical support
 modernisation
 training to the Italian PA.
1. EUROPA PROJECT : Information, skills, knowledge on SF communication to Info &
Publicity Units in ITALY
2. TWINNING PROJECTS : Training and support on
Communication Plans for Accession countries and
NMS

POLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
BULGARIA
HUNGARY
ROMANIA

• Drawing up Communication Plans for the 2007-2013 programming period
• Organisation of events on Structural
Funds
• Organisation of the Press office for communication on Structural Funds

 The most effective way of reaching large audiences
 It is cheap and has credibility
BUT
 It is not always possible to control
 Media are not always interested, especially in positive stories
 Even when messages are reported, they may be misinterpreted.

• Better to use the existing Press Office of the
Institution thus creating a close relationship with the person in charge of I&P?
• Or ….
• create a new Press Office within the MA?
• And if so …
• How to create a communications flow among
Minister Press Office, MA staff, MA Press
Office, Intermediate Bodies Press Office and local EU Information Points?

 Enlisting professional help to make stories more newsworthy
 Shaping stories around concrete events highlighting local realities or human interest rather than abstract trend
 Cultivating relationships with media and ensuring they are well briefed
 Providing a useful, clear background, info, contacts etc., through the use of a straightforward language

 Press officer job description
 Press Office activities
 Relationships with other Press Offices
 Tools of the Press Office
 Writing a Press Release
 How to manage interviews
 How to organise Press Conferences
 How to manage a crisis communication
 Check-lists about what to do and what not to do, in dealing with the media

 “ Press Officer job description ” : main tasks of a Press
Officer
Press Office must work in close relationship with the
Managing Authority staff
 “ Relationships with other Press Offices ” the importance of establishing a well-organised communications flow from the very beginning of the information activities .

 “
Tools of a Press Office ” are divided into:



 oral tools written tools a mailing list of EU contacts a list of experts to be involved
Particular attention is paid to
:
 keeping regular contacts with the EU Information
Points on the territory
 the involvement of Team Europe experts in all the activities organised by the Press Office.
 the provision of specific training to the journalists on the functioning of the Structural Funds to avoid the use of mistaken terminology.


“ Writing a press Release ” : focuses on the format and the content.
 “ How to manage interviews ” : suggests how to carefully prepare the interview, and is subdivided into
:


Assessing the interview request
What to do before and after the interview
 “ How to organise Press Conferences ” : provides some advice on the steps to follow .

 “ How to manage communications crisis ” : advises the Press Officer to maintain trustworthy and credible relationships with the media at all the times because they can be possibly more cooperative in crisis cases .
 “ Check-lists about “ What to do and what not to do ” when dealing with the media .

Thank you for your attention
If you wish more information please get in touch with
Claudia Salvi
Csalvi@formez.it
Tel. +39 06 84892220