Frustrated by the lack of media coverage for your event or exhibition? Wishing you knew how to make it into the Los Angeles Times or snag the lead story for the six o’clock news for the right reasons rather than the wrong ones? Whether you have $5 million or $5 to spend on marketing and communications, there’s no reason why your museum shouldn’t be covered by the media. Learn from top PR professionals the essential dos and don’ts of earned media and how to develop the right communications plan to fit any size organization with any size budget. Moderator: Lisa Sasaki, Director, Audience & Civic Engagement, Oakland Museum of California Presenters: Kelly Koski, Director, Communications & Audience Development, Oakland Museum of California Erin Garcia, Assistant Director of Communications, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Julie Jaskol, Assistant Director, Media Relations, J. Paul Getty Trust

1. PR DEMYSTIFIED
How to Secure Positive Media
Attention for Your Museum
WMA 2014
Erin Garcia – Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Julie Jaskol – J. Paul Getty Museum
Kelly Koski – Oakland Museum of California

2. Session Take Aways
* Understand how the media works
* Gain knowledge about what is a story
* Learn practical tips for how to work with the media
* Gain insights from seasoned PR folks

3. How the Media Works
Erin Garcia
Assistant Director of Communications
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

4. What is media?
* The media
produces editorial
content
* Also known as
non-paid, earned
media

5. Earned Media = Publicity
* Meaning of
“earned media”:
non-paid efforts
by PR
professionals

6. Paid Media = Advertising
* Marketing professionals
place advertising
* Paid advertising is also
known as paid media

7. Who is the media? What do they do?
* The media or “press” =
employee or freelancer that is
working for/or on contract
with a media outlet
* Names you might hear:
reporter, journalist, editor,
reviewer, writer
* Reporters, freelancers, writers
actually write your stories
* Editors and producers
edit/polish/place stories

8. Evolution of media
* What was and is the news cycle?
* 24-hour news cycle began
with the advent of radio &
intensified with Cable TV
* Recent factors that changed the
news cycle:
* Internet
* Social media
* Access to information faster

9. Old news cycle

10. Current news cycle

11. Evolution of media
* News cycle is driven by the media’s
focus on being first to report
* How we get our news effects the
news industry
* Rise in digital consumption via the
internet/apps has coincided with the
decline of print media

12. Social evolution of media

13. Today’s media landscape
* THE BAD NEWS: the media is shrinking.
* Often writers no longer have a beat –
or cover several beats
* Fewer and fewer critics
(critics = reviews)
* A preview or feature might be merged
with a review
* State of print media:
* 16,200 full-time editorial newspaper
jobs were lost between 2003-2012
(Pew Research Journalism Project)

14. Today’s media landscape
* The GOOD news:
reaching audiences
is easier than ever

15. Expectations on the media today
* Media outlets must write story,
gather images, fact-check, create
video content and post on
social channels
* Focus on visuals: everything is about
click-thru for online
* Visually appealing stories therefore
are preferred (good news for
museums!)
* First, fast, and exclusive

16. What makes a news story?
Julie Jaskol
Assistant Director, Media Relations
J. Paul Getty Museum

17. Timeliness
* Timing is everything
* Your timing can create
news – or kill your
chances

18. Proximity
* News is something that
happens to or near an editor
* A local angle really helps
* What’s news in Peoria is not
necessarily news in New York
– pick your outlet wisely

19. Significance/Impact
* The more people
affected, the
bigger the story.
* The bigger the
impact on
people’s lives,
the bigger the
story

20. * Anything new,
different, surprising
or unique.
Novelty

21. Novelty
* If you can apply a
superlative – do it

22. Relevance
*Does your story
connect with events
currently in the news?
* Is it part of a larger
conversation going on
in the media?

23. Human Interest
* Is there a compelling
human story?
* Often a compelling
human story can
redeem a lackluster
pitch.

24. Fame/Celebrity/Prominence
* If your story includes
a celebrity --
capitalize on it
* (Naked supermodels
can’t be beat)

25. Conflict/Controversy
* A touch of conflict
can lure an editor --
“Scientists
disagree,”
“Educators are
split…”
Crystal Bridges Museum Gives
Underappreciated Artists a National Show
The Bentonville, Ark., institution searched outside traditional art hubs for
new painters, sculptors, video artists
By Judith H. Dobrzynski
Sept. 9, 2014 1:10 p.m. ET
For the new exhibit 'State of the Art,' Crystal Bridges searched outside traditional art hubs for underappreciated artists. Pictured,
Tim Liddy's 'Circa 1953' (2014) Tim Liddy/William Shearburn Gall
Since November 2013, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
has been scouring the country for artists who have been overlooked or underappreciated by major
contemporary museums and galleries. And many in the art world have been wondering what the
institution built with Wal-Mart WMT +0.06% money would turn up. On Sept. 13—when "State of the Art:
Discovering American Art Now" takes over 19,000 square feet of the Bentonville, Ark., museum—they will
find out.
The exhibit, says Crystal Bridges' president Don Bacigalupi, is a "massively diverse" selection of 227 works
by 102 artists. He and assistant curator Chad Alligood traveled more than 100,000 miles to find them,
making studio visits to nearly 1,000 artists, most known only locally if at all. They were looking for art
that filled three criteria: virtuosity, engagement and appeal, a more populist filter than those of many
other contemporary art museums.

26. Other things you need to
develop a good story:
* Good visuals
* Quality high-res images
* Photo releases
* Image rights for artwork

27. Other things you need to
develop a good story:
* A good, compelling, appealing
story teller
* (Not everyone has a Neil
DeGrasse Tyson)

28. PR PRO TIPS: Exclusivity
* You can transform a
routine story by
offering exclusivity
* Pick your outlet
carefully and play by
the rules
* This one can be tricky

29. PR PRO TIPS: Access
* Behind-the-scenes access is
fun and flattering
* What seems like daily
routine to us is fascinating
to others

30. Practical Tips for Working
with the Media
Kelly Koski
Director of Communications &
Audience Development
Oakland Museum of California

31. Working successfully with the media
* Deadline driven.
* Be responsive.
* It’s all about relationship
building. Communicate in
good times & bad.
* The media is not your friend –
they have a job to do.

32. Where do people get their news?
* Print – visual, limited space
* TV – visual, short, general, distilled
* Radio – audio, repeats
* Online – immediate, lives forever,
user comments
* Blogs – real time, influencers,
shareable, user comments
* Social Media – real time, influencers,
shareable, user comments
* Word of Mouth – most trusted,
powerful endorsements, story
changes

33. What is news?
* A “first”
* Trend
* Something unusual or unique
* Human interest
* Food
* Money
* Heroes
* Celebrities
* Criminals
* Underdogs
* Crisis
* Animals
* Milestones, anniversaries

34. Example: TREND

35. Example: TREND

36. Help the media…and yourself
* Policies can prevent media
access to get the story.
* Brainstorm alternate ways to
get your story covered.
* Good internal relationships
are key!

37. What do you need to know
to get your museum in the news?
* Your organization, your product,
your industry
* Reporter’s needs – do your
homework
* Medium (different mediums,
different needs)
* Your audience -- Who are the
reporter’s viewers or readers?
Tailor your story to the audience.
* Three key messages – know them
BEFORE you pitch and before you
talk to the media

38. What NOT to do with the media
* Never say “No Comment”
* Don’t repeat a negative
question or phrase
* Don’t use museum jargon
* Don’t go “off the record”
* Don’t lie or say something
you are not sure about

39. Sharing your news with the media
* Media release
(press release/news release)
* Media advisory
* Photo opportunity
* Media availability
* Photo Release
* Calendar press release
* Event press release

41. Tips for successful interviews
* Know who is doing the interview, the
outlet, & the audience
* Develop and practice 3 key messages
* At the beginning, state your objective
* If asked an unrelated question, bridge
to your key messages
* Bridge not block -- “What I can tell
you is….”
* Use examples!
* End with a call to action
* Stop talking!

42. Keep up with the media
* Scan media daily
* Listen to NPR & local radio
* Read the headlines in the paper,
or skim the online articles
* Use news feeds and Twitter to
keep up with your key media
outlets and reporters

43. QUESTIONS?