New Society Media Officer and Policies:
Greetings! Baroness Melisande, the new Society Media Deputy, has
disseminated her Office's policy for chatelains and hospitallers who
need
to contact the media. Please share this with your deputies and local
officers and impress on the local officers that they should perhaps
print
off a copy for their group and whoever may need to contact the media
when
local activity occurs. This document should also (it is my
understanding)
replace the current material in your kingdom handbooks regarding
"working
with the media" or any similar titles.
The one thing that I noticed that is different from what we discussed
at
the Symposium is that she would like your kingdom media deputy to be
notified of any "calendar" announcements. My recollection of
our
discussion was that this was something we could do without contacting
kingdom. However, with calendar notices, my reading of the document is
that yes, we can put in an announcement without first contacting the
kingdom deputy, but that having done so we should then inform the
deputy of
who we contacted and what we sent.
Let me know if you have any concerns about the document. I believe it
has
already been sent to the seneschals. Your copy has the typos corrected
and
some brief wording changes (musketeer to swordsman, non-profit to
not-for-profit).
Alys Katharine
Elise Fleming
alysk@ix.netcom.com
http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SENESCHALS, CHATELAINES/HOSPITALLERS AND THE MEDIA
As you should be aware, the Society as a whole has a media policy in
place
(available on www.sca.org, under the Seneschal’s page). I would
like
to
clear up any confusion regarding this policy as it relates to the
Chatelaine’s office and local group interaction with the media.
The
media
(whether television, print or online) is not, and should not be
considered,
a primary recruiting tool. The best recruiting tool that any of us
have is
a firm handshake combined with one-on-one interaction.
So, how is the media to be utilized, if at all? The answers break down
into two basic categories – If the media contacts you or if you
want
to
contact the media.
1) If the media contacts your group for the purpose of doing a story
or
other media presentation, this needs to be reported to the media
office.
For example, if a reporter/photographer shows up at a demo or fight
practice unannounced, then the chatelaine and/or seneschal of the group
should talk to them, following the guidelines set forth in the media
policy
regarding image we want to project, topics/words to avoid, etc.
Photographers and videographers should also be informed that any
participant may decline to be photographed.
Following this type of contact, a brief report should be emailed to the
Kingdom Media Officer for information and possible follow up, if
required.
An incident report form is listed below.
If there is a period of time between when the group is contacted and
when
the media attends the event, then the Kingdom Media Officer should be
contacted in that interim. That way, the Kingdom Officer can provide
the
local group with Society press materials and rules for film crews, as
well
as making provisions to attend or appoint an appropriate spokesperson
for
the event.
2) If the group wishes to contact the media and invite them to an
event,
this must be approved through the Kingdom Media Office ahead of time.
This
will give the Kingdom Media Office time to provide local
representatives
with the appropriate press materials, or to prepare event specific
materials if required, as well as making provisions to attend or
appoint an
appropriate spokesperson for the event.
For example, if a group is planning an event with a particular theme
or
a
special feature (e.g., authentic 16th Century Turkish Feast, Norse
poetry
competition) then the Media Office can work with the group to send
targeted
press releases to local media, and plan to attend the event and
distribute
information which will include the appropriate local contact
information.
In this case, no local incident report would need to be filed after the
event, as the Kingdom Media Officer would already be involved.
However, if
there is follow up contact after the event, this should be reported as
in
number 1.
Guidelines for interacting with the media at an event or demo:
- All media contact should be handled by the seneschal or designated
representative. Designated representatives should be articulate and
conform to the image delineated in the Society Media Relations policy.
NOTE: If the Kingdom media officer is on site for the event, he or she
is
by default, in charge of all media contact, and should be prepared with
all
appropriate press materials. The Kingdom media officer can choose to
delegate or share these responsibilities with a suitable local
representative.
- When the media arrives, the designated representative should be
waiting
to the greet them. Introduce yourself, using modern names, and give
them a
brief introduction to the Society. Give them the prepared press
materials
(either the general press release or a targeted one if it has been
created). Include local contact and meeting information with this
information. If the media is from television, please have on hand the
Society rules for film crews.
- If the media has been invited to an event, it is the responsibility
of
the seneschal and event steward to make certain that the event staff is
briefed in advance and knows who the designated media contact for the
event
will be. Conversely, if the Kingdom Media Officer is in attendance, he
or
she should alert the event staff of their presence and preparedness to
handle the media. It is also a good idea to alert any royalty
attending
the event that the media are expected.
- Guide the press through their interactions. Focus on positive
aspects of
the Society and use caution in what you say, using the press materials
and
media policy as a guide for talking points and topics/words to avoid.
Remember, anyone can be misquoted.
- Stress safety. This can be done in discussions – by explanation
that SCA
combat is a martial art form which requires training and skill, and has
strictly monitored equipment standards, and routine safety inspections
for
all participants. This can also be done in practice, by making sure
that
all spectators, whether media or general public, are protected from any
combat areas.
- It is also a good idea to stress the courtesy and chivalry aspects of
the
SCA. One of the best ways to do this is by treating the media, and
demo
spectators, as courteously as we strive to treat one another.
3) National Media: If any national media outlet, such as a cable
television channel, news program, prime time television show, or
filmmaker,
contacts a local group, they should NEVER be dealt with at a local
level.
These contacts should be referred to the Kingdom Media Officer
immediately,
and will more than likely be dealt with at a Society level.
4) Community Calendars: Many local media outlets, either television or
newspaper, have a free calendar for listing community events, either in
the
paper itself or on its website. There are also some local
community-oriented events sites which are not attached to any
particular
media outlet. If the group wishes to place this sort of announcement
for a
demo, as a way of attracting greater attendance from the public, this
is
permissible with courtesy notification to the Kingdom Media Officer.
However, it is not recommended to place such announcements for events.
If
too many people respond to the announcement, a large number of
spectators
looking to be entertained could easily overload the capacity of the
event
site or disrupt the event schedule.
Sample announcement is below:
Who: Society for Creative Anachronism, Shire/Barony/March of XYZ
What: Demo at the Spring Art Fair
Where: (recommend you include the entire mailing address, including zip
code for the location)
When:
Contact for More Information: (Phone and/or email of seneschal/
chatelaine), local and Society web addresses
You should include a brief explanation of the Society, such as: Do you
dream of being an armored knight locked in combat armed with sword and
shield or a dashing swordsman wielding a rapier in a duel? Come realize
your dream with the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international
not-for-profit living history organization dedicated to bringing the
Middle
Ages and Renaissance to life through research and reenactment
Most outlets accept requests for this type of announcement via regular
mail, email, or fax. Contact the Community Editor or Assignment Editor
to
determine how they prefer to receive announcements. If via email, it
is
best to use the words – Community Announcement or Community Calendar
Listing in the subject line so it will get forwarded to the correct
person
and less likely to get caught in company Spam filters.
In this case, the Kingdom Media Officer should be alerted that the
group is
going to place this type of announcement. A copy of the announcement,
as
well as a list of where it will be posted, should be copied to the
Kingdom
officer at the time it is sent to the calendars. That way, the office
can
be prepared should any media contact occur as a result of these
listings.
If you are planning to list an event on the calendars, please clear
this
with your Kingdom Media Office first (or seneschal if there is not a
media
officer).
5) The Internet: With the preponderance of internet photo and video
websites (e.g. YouTube, MySpace), more and more people are posting
pictures
and video of Society-related activities to these sites. While it is
not
the intention of this office to limit this type of expression, it is an
arena where good sense needs to prevail. Think before you post. If
the
material is your own, fine. If the material is copyrighted, and you do
not
hold the copyright, don’t post it unless you obtain written
permission from
the copyright holder to do so. (Please note: televised newscasts ARE
copyrighted material, the copyright being held by either the station or
the
network.) This includes placing copyrighted music with your own
pictures
or video. As it stands now, the person responsible for posting the
pictures or video is the one who is responsible for obtaining
permission,
and is the one legally liable if material is used without permission.
At the current time, the Internet is something of the ‘Wild West’,
as far
as guidelines and regulation are concerned. However, this topic is
heating
up with Congress and the FCC. Copyright holders have successfully sued
web
sites which used their materials without permission.
Overall, when it comes to media interaction, the rule of thumb is
“when in
doubt, don’t”. If there is any question on how to handle a
media
contact,
refer the question to the Kingdom Media Officer/Kingdom Seneschal for
a
ruling.
Sample Incident Report:
Incident Report – _________ Kingdom Media – Group Name
Initial Contact Date:
Contact Person: (Include name and contact information for any media
person
who contacts you. That way the Kingdom Media Officer can follow up
with
them directly if necessary)
Description of Incident:
Submitted by: (Include your complete contact information, so the
Kingdom
Media Officer can follow up if more information is required)
Date Submitted:
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