CharityComms

"If you are aiming for the Society Guardian, you're failing."

These are the words of journalist and broadcaster Vivienne Parry who told a room full of charity communicators at the recent Charity Communications ‘07 conference that they should target stories at the tabloid press instead.

Guardian Journalist David Brindle, who spoke at the same conference, disagreed. "Publications like Society Guardian and Third Sector have an important role to play not least because other media pick up ideas from them," he said.

Trade Off

It's a benefit highlighted by a recent report into how charities and the trade press work together published by think tank nfpSynergy. The report, called Trade Off, found that coverage in the sector press can have huge advantages for charities including reaching key audiences, creating fundraising and partnership opportunities and raising awareness.

Society Guardian editor Patrick Butler supports these findings. He told CharityComms that, rightly or wrongly, positive coverage in Society Guardian is seen as an endorsement for charities which gives them credibility.

Raising charity profiles

"About three years ago we did a 300 to 400-word article about a small Manchester-based charity representing children in care and care leavers," he said. "At a conference one year later I met someone from the charity who told me that before the article, the organisation had no profile. But days after they were in Society, about 50 directors of social services had contacted them and their website hits had gone up by 400%."

Similarly, says Butler, if charities feature in Society Guardian their story is likely to be read by decision-makers in the NHS, local government or social services.

"We're not an accreditation agency, we write about things that interest us but I think that if charities get coverage in Society it could possibly mean things might happen that could not have done before," says Butler.

Benefits of sector media coverage

Getting into the sector media, of course, isn't easy. Former Senior Reporter at Third Sector Nathalie Thomas says each journalist at the publication will get around 50 press releases and calls from charity communicators every week. She thinks charity communicators spend time trying to get into the publication for two main reasons.

"Firstly because stories we run are very often picked up by the nationals," she explains. "One of the social affairs reporters on the nationals told me that he finds our magazine really useful. ‘You definitely get the best stories out of the sector - I quite often pinch them,' he told me.

"Also charities can get positive coverage in our Business Partner section. I know charities have used us to get corporate partnerships."

Is it easier to get coverage on web editions?

Coverage on Third Sector's website is equally beneficial for charities. Online News Reporter Peter Jump says it's slightly easier for charities to get coverage on the Third Sector site if they have visuals to accompany innovative campaigning stories. For example, downloads of TV adverts. But, he argues, many charity communicators have the wrong impression about what Third Sector covers. "Some think we publicise charity activities but it's more about political trends and sector-wide issues," he says.

"The best way for charities to get coverage in Third Sector, the magazine or on our website, is to comment interestingly and promptly on an issue of the day. The larger charities are prompt but the bigger they are the blander the comments. Everybody is afraid of upsetting their donors so they won't say anything interesting and that means we go back to the same people who do."

Risking better exposure?

However, there's a danger that if charity communicators spend too much time targeting the major players in the sector press, they're likely to risk other exposure. Trade Off author Lindsay Sutherland spoke to a total of 17 charity communicators and members of the trade press. Some trade press representatives argued that charity communicators favoured the bigger titles.

"Because of the type of magazine that we are, charities will probably be a lot more willing to give comment to The Guardian, for example, than us because maybe we're not considered big enough," said one member of the trade press in the report.

Responding well

However, Sutherland says that when sector press like the Society Guardian approach charities themselves, it's dangerous for charity communicators not to respond well and quickly. "I spoke to Peter Flynn, Head of Press at Cancer Research UK, and he said that a few years ago, the charity made less of an effort with the major sector press and this resulted in some bad coverage. He said relations have significantly improved now that they make the time to respond well."

Sutherland concludes that targeting and responding to the sector press has to be factored into relevant charity communicators' roles. She says it can take a lot of time and effort to target trade titles one by one and it might be a while before the coverage has any impact and solid relationships are built up. But, concludes Sutherland, the benefits of coverage in the sector press are worth charity communicators' patience.

It's an attribute they'll certainly need.

How to target the sector press

Thomas advices charity communicators keen to get coverage in Third Sector to approach reporters at the magazine on a Tuesday or Wednesday after it has gone to press. "At the top of some of the pages in the magazine it specifies who that section's edited by," she says. "Contact that person and suggest stories for that slot. Your success rate is always going to be very high if you do that."

For charity communicators hoping to get into the Society Guardian, the outlook is less optimistic. Butler says it's best to email ideas to him because he's unlikely to take calls.

"Unless charity communicators are convinced I've made a major misjudgement in not getting back to them there should be a default assumption that I'm not going to go for it," he concludes.