Communicating government programs with media
HAPPY Valentines Day to everyone! We had a two-days training in the metro and part of my role as one of the facilitators was to present a communication plan that covers the trade and industry sector as well as consumer welfare advocacy programs in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The training was a much needed one especially for government technical people who know how to package a report but could not get their messages across the way mainstream media does it with ease and gusto. I implied during my presentation that it is not enough that one knows how to write grammatically correct narratives and capture razor sharp photographs in order to be a government information officer. It is also not enough that one speaks well when heard over radio and it also helps if PIOs project themselves with ease and confidence when appearing on television shows.
I narrated what one of the assistant secretaries of the Presidential Communication Operations Office said in Baguio during a recent event that one cannot call himself a media practitioner if he or she has not encountered death threats and faced with a libel suit to which I paraphrased saying, you cannot be a public information officer if you don’t know how to prepare and implement a communication plan.
The desired outcome of our training is to review our communication process and enable designated spokespersons or information officers based in the provinces to effectively convey messages of our department to the public. Precious Leano of the European Union-Trade Related Technical Assistance Project laid down the basics of Communications 101 emphasizing message flow from sender down to the receiver taking into consideration the feedback as an important component of the process.
Explaining the communication process through a media landscape chart, Leano stressed that government informants must consider different approaches depending on geographic, sectors, age range and even income categories. A careful study on stakeholder’s profile can also help PIOs determine the most efficient and effective way to reach target audiences whether print, radio, television or the new media.
An Information Officer must also consider the most efficient and effective way to reach their target audience. What the audience perceives is most likely based on the communication they receive prior, during and after the transaction Leano added.
While Public Relations Officers manages the reputation and sustains the good image of a firm using popular media, PIOs facilitates communication between government, the media and the general public.
Jeah La Guardia presented a case study on Go Negosyo-Kapatid Mentor Me promotions program of her office and she said they use multiple approaches such as summits, forum/workshops, media and books. She said that being present in all these media platform does not necessarily mean, your message is getting across to your audience. Being in all these doesn’t mean you are getting attention from your target audience and your message is being grasped. La Guardia added that their marketing and communications are aligned with entrepreneurship and everything that they can build from it and therefore every collateral and marketing effort should talk about it.
Recent PR survey according to her reveals that traditional media is still relevant because it’s a trusted source. We may be in a smart-phone generation but those who really want to know things will still get information from the newspaper, TV, and radio La Guardia added.
Crafting a communication plan requires a communications mindset. What messages to deliver and how it can be received better by the end receiver are all components of any advocacy as planned in a communication program.
The PIOs or target users of these programs must gather adequate information that is necessary and helpful for clients make critical decisions.
A government communication plan that is accepted and implemented by concerned sectors must give clearer direction for all stakeholders in the implementation of key roles and responsibilities. It was implied by my boss during her keynote address that that apart from government and private sector partnership, the private sector is a better spokesperson for these programs, thus the need to generate these stories from them and communicate these efficiently and effectively utilizing all possible resources available from all sectors.