My first assignment at work was a challenging one, like I said in the last post; I was working in the ministry of agriculture in Botswana.
I received a call from the Deputy Agricultural information and Public Relations Officer asking for my assistance in his office, on my way to his office was asking myself “what am I going to do in my boss’s office?”
When I arrived he gave me the media list and he went on to brief me about the event which was to be held the next morning, he also gave me the notes of what the event is all about so that I will be able to answer some of the questions from the journalist on the phone.
My task looked simple, because the media have already been invited so I was just to confirm if they are coming to the event tomorrow morning. My only worry was I was in the second highest office in the section, so I was not comfortable, because if I make a mistake the boss will know from the conversation that something is wrong.
Challenges from the journalists
Some journalists told me to remind them about the event in the morning and I had to do that the next morning because we wanted their media coverage.
I remember one journalist asked me where the event will be held, then I told him it will be in the ministry’s packing lot, then he continue to ask, “What are you going to do if there is rain because it’s a raining season”. I had to make the decision on the spot so as to convince him to attend the event, I told him that we will provide a tent, of which I later advised my superiors to provide, incase of rain.
One journalist told me that if tomorrow morning for example, suddenly the President have an event somewhere they will not cover our event. He was trying to show me that they cannot guarantee us that they will be available for the event.
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| Permanent Secretary: Dr Chimbombi |
The event was success, there were a number of journalists who attended the event, and they were from both print and electronic media, state media and the private media. The event needed media coverage for publicity because it was the launch of the raffle for The National Agricultural Show Committee. A raffle ticket cost P2.00 and tractor worth over P159 00 is the first prize for the show. Feed Centre Botswana donated the tractor as part of the company’s social responsibility.
By Bakang Pesi Pesi
4 comments:
Hi Bakang,
Well done in having the confidence to accept the job of calling the media and doing it well!
Talking to the media can be challenging and sometimes scary, so i think its great you were able to improvise when they asked about what would happen if it rained, and more importantly communicating your answer to your colleagues.
Good luck for the rest of your internship!
Thank you Chards!I am glad i did it, it was really challenging task to do. i would say i improved with the number of calls i did, meaning the last call i was now confident and did it to perfection. i should thank also my boss for giving me that opportunity and for showing that trust on me..it is important to take the media inquiries to the colleagues so as to see how the problem can be addressed..
Am glad your boss had the confidence to give you the go ahead of calling the media in your second task with minimum supervision and also glad it was a job well done at the end.
I also was also given the opportunity to perform the same task but i had someone well experienced to guide me trough. Media at Botswana can be hectic to invert since there are more into controversial issues than P.R related issues. Wishing you the best especially with your relationship with the media. Media is a very crucial tool in P.R mate and if the relationship is poor, chances of achieving your intention becomes slim. Build on that.
thank you Trevor, it was a life time experience and it is going to help me a lot in future with my PR profession.
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