SCHOOL NUTRITION ASSOCIATION ARTICLE RE-SHARE
• Invite the media to visit your school cafeteria. ▸ Consider inviting a television or radio personality or newspaper columnist to serve lunch or breakfast. ▸ If you’re hosting a tasting, ask a media personality to vote with parents and students on the new menu item. • If media cannot come to you, offer to come to them: ▸ Send your newspaper a close up photo of your success and a brief description. ▸ Offer your radio or television station an in- studio interview or an on-air taste test of a sampling of your most nutritious, colorful meals. • When reaching out to the media: ▸ Plan ahead – some reporters like to have a few weeks of notice prior to an event. ▸ If the education reporter takes a pass, consider calling a health/wellness or food writer. ▸ When the media visits, consider the visual: Are your colorful fruits and vegetables visible? • Be prepared for questions before you pick up the phone: ▸ Have on hand the number of children served, prices, sample menu, nutrition education materials, and other details about your program. Consider sending this information to the reporter in a follow up email. ▸ Remember that reporters may know very little about your program, nutrition standards for school meals, the difference between meals and competitive foods or the cost constraints of your program. ▸ Focus on nutrition! Tell reporters about the whole grains fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products you serve and don’t forget to highlight the things a reporter can’t see, like reduced fat, sugar or sodium offerings.
Be Treated Fairly • Your position and job title should be acknowledged. • You should not be interrupted. If you are, try to handle with a physical gesture and with words such as, “I know your audience will want to know…” • Do not allow the reporter to lead you down a path you don’t want to take. Take care when responding to leading questions, such as “Doesn’t all the fat in school meals contribute to the childhood obesity problem in the U.S.?” Remember your key messages. Briefly acknowledge the question, then “bridge” to the points you want to make. • If you think that the reporter is planning a negative story on some aspect of your operation you can decline to be interviewed. If this is the case, you may want to work closely with your public relations office. Remember that this can also be used against you, as in… “We wanted to speak to the school foodservice director from X school, but they declined our request for an interview.” It may be better to have a carefully controlled interview, rather than a negative message such as this. • However, you should remember, that you don’t have to talk to the reporter. And if you do, you are under no obligation to answer questions you don’t want to answer. “I don’t know”, “I have no opinion on that” or “That’s not my area of expertise,” are perfectly acceptable responses. Perhaps you can refer the reporter to someone who would know the answer. Also, a good rule of thumb is if it doesn’t feel right, if the interview itself or a question in the interview makes you uncomfortable, go with your instincts - don’t do the interview. Tips for Media Outreach • Always start with your school district communication staff. They may already have a working relationship with local reporters and ideas on the best way to pitch your story. They can also update you on current school district restrictions on filming or photographing children and suggestions on how to work around these rules.
Wt h oe rmk i endg i awci at hn tbhee a mc er idt ii ca a lc apna rfteneelr i innt i smpirdeaatdi ni ngg, bt huet gs uo cocde snse. wBse l ao bwo uatr es cgheonoel r aml etai pl ss aonnd hyoowu r t po r omgarna amg’ es mp reodgiraa mi n qtuoi r lioe cs aal nmd ehdoiwa . t Oo tphreora crtei svoe ul yr cperso, mi noct el uydoi nugr talking points, are available at www.SchoolNutrition. org/PR. What to Do When the Media Calls Wo bhl iegna tyi oonu troebc ee ihv eo nae sc ta lal nfdr ohme l pt hf uel mw he de ni ae vyeoruphoasvsei bal en, ha so wweevl le. rL iysot ue dmbuesl ot wk e ae rpe i sno mm ien tdi pt sh af ot ry oy ou uh taov ek er ei gph itns mprionddutcheer. next time you get a call from a reporter or Be Prepared • It is usually very valuable to find out who else is being interviewed for the story. Perhaps it is someone you know, or someone you could contact to find out more about the slant of the interview. If you have any concerns about the interview, ask others if the interview was fair. • You should ask the reporter for information on the story they are writing or reporting on. What is their message? What do they already know about the topic?
• Find out the deadline for the story. • Depending upon your district policy, inform your public relations or community relation’s office of the request for the interview. • It is perfectly acceptable to ask the reporter to call you back later when you have had time to formulate your thoughts, when things are less hectic in your office, or when you have approval from your school public relations office. • Write out your key messages—limit this to no more than four messages! If you are going off-site for the interview, take your notes with you. For a phone interview, have your notes and any supporting background information in front of you. Be Comfortable • For a television interview dress comfortably, but look professional. Wear simple colors—no plaids or busy prints. Your jewelry should be simple. • If the cameras are coming to your school you can choose the location for the interview. Notice what will be in the background. What else will the cameras see? • Don’t be too comfortable in a phone interview. Consider standing up and be alert.
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FreshBites
SUMMER 2022
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