Government Media Releases

Now that I’m well on my way to completing my report, I’ve been reflecting back on what I enjoyed doing most during my placement. I really enjoy the media relations side of public relations, so I was really happy that I got asked to do at least three media releases during my time at The Department for Communities. I did notice quite a few factors about writing media releases for a government department, as opposed to writing one for a regular client. You need to be very clear with your information and not use too many clichés when writing for a Minister. They even frown upon using a really clever headline, it has to be very straightforward and to the point, and you are not encouraged to use any puns. I’ve got a link to one of my media releases below. This website is great because it contains all WA government media statements. It’s great to look at and to see the type of media statement’s you may be required to write if you ever work for a Government Department.

http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/ByPortfolio.aspx?ItemId=133340&search=&admin=&minister=&portfolio=Youth®ion=

There is also a large approval line when it comes to government media releases. Everyone in the Community Relations unit needs to have their media statements approved by the Community Relations Manager before it can be moved on again. If it is a contentious issue, the media statement may also need to be approved by the Director of Community Relations or the Director General. The statement can then be forwarded to the Minister’s office for approval there. This needs to be done for every media release written for a Minister.

There are times, however, where a media release written within this Department doesn’t involve a Minister. In these cases, once the media statement has been approved by the Manager (or the Director of Community Relations or the Director General if needed) it can be prepared for distribution.

Another thing that I noticed about the distribution of media releases at the Department of Communities is that they are sent to everyone rather than tailoring them to specific, relevant media. In class we were always taught to tailor our media releases to specific media and to be exclusive and offer different stories and newsworthiness to different media members. This doesn’t appear to happen at this Department, and because of that I can’t help but think that perhaps they are missing out on potential media coverage.