Media and publicity protocols

These protocols cover the basic procedures that we should adhere to within specified situations. Publicity is about letting people know what we do and the value of our work. It is important that staff and members of Allerdale Borough Council maintain strong, professional and honest links with the media at all times.

Key aims of media relations

• To improve the public's understanding of the work of Allerdale Borough Council.
• To demonstrate the Council's commitment to transparent ways of working, by being open with the media.
• To enhance the reputation of Allerdale Borough Council, by promoting and celebrating the successes and achievements of the Council and its partners.
• To defend Allerdale Borough Council from unfounded criticism, by ensuring that the public are properly informed of all the relevant facts.
• To influence the content and tone of the reporting of Allerdale Borough Council, by taking a proactive approach to media management.
• To boost staff morale.

Who does what...

Members

Members have a key role in communications. They communicate opinion and views and have a key role to play in publicising initiatives and successes. Allerdale Borough Council's functions are discharged corporately. It is, therefore, wrong for public resources to be used to publicise individual councillors. However, the Leader of the Council, Executive Members, the Chairman and the Chairmen of Committees will often be approached by the media, as representatives of the Council, to comment on corporate issues. It is essential that officers ensure that members, if they wish it, are properly briefed and guided on handling such inquiries. Officers should place a high priority on providing media guidance, when requested and where appropriate, to any member on ward issues. The Leader, Executive Members and Chairmen will also be approached for quotes for the Council's own news releases. All members are entitled to media training/guidance on request.

The Corporate Management Team

The Chief Executive and the Directors will help lead by example by responding positively whenever possible to requests for interviews or quotes.

Heads of Service

They will be responsible for providing key facts and details within their areas of responsibility to make sure media reports are correct and informative. They will lead by example by responding positively to requests for interviews /quotes. They will have responsibility for flagging up important issues to the Communications team. Officers should never give journalists their subjective views or opinions on specific Council policy.

Communications and Marketing Team

The Communications team is based in Allerdale House. Telephone: (01900) 702526.

It is responsible for:

• Corporate media relations.
• The management of all sensitive or seriously contentious issues.
• Co-ordinating suitable responses to media enquiries within the Council.
• Researching, producing and distributing news releases.
• Supporting members and officers during media interviews.
• Maintaining daily relations with the local media.
• Providing advice to directorates, services and officers on their media relations.
• Providing media training.
• Providing guidance and advice to members, where appropriate, on media relations.
• Contributing expertise to all major media campaigns.
• Providing advice on any media relations issue.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of Allerdale Borough Council's media relations.

The Council's approach to the media

Tell the public what we do

One of the highest priorities should be to provide the public with a much clearer idea of what services the Council provides and how we provide them.

Be open

There are many things we do that some people, inevitably, will not like, often because they have not been fully informed. It is the Council's job to give them all the relevant facts and promote a better understanding of the Council's services, plans and policies.

More importantly, there are many things we do that are wonderfully positive. We will endeavour to place a high priority on celebrating our achievements and sharing them with a wider audience.

Media relations and the law

We are required to provide agendas to the media on request.
We are required to admit the media to meetings and must specify exempt business to exclude them.

Staff should also adhere to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, contained in section 27 of the Local Government Act 1988.This makes it clear that any publicity describing the Council's policies and aims should be as objective as possible, concentrating on facts or explanation or both. Any comment should be objective, balanced, informative and accurate. Publicity produced by the Council should be free from any political bias.

It is not the function of Allerdale Borough Council's media relations to publicise individual councillors. In the interests of public accountability, however, it may be appropriate to publicise the views of a member who is representing the Council as a whole: for example when the Chairman speaks as the first citizen of the whole community.

News releases

A release may promote something positive, it may defend something controversial, it may provide information, it may explain a complex issue or it may notify the media of an event we want to publicise.

All our news releases should help promote a better understanding of Allerdale Borough Council and must be free of any party political bias.
The Communications team will issue Council news releases to ensure they are:

• Set out in corporate style.
• Corporately branded.
• Open. No Council release should conceal, confuse or slant the information in such a way as to be misleading.
• Expressed in plain English, avoiding jargon, councilese, legalise and acronyms.
• Factual. Our credibility with the media will depend on accuracy.
• Distributed to all the appropriate media and put on the Council's website.
• Developable. Releases should always include a contact name and number.

Embargoes will only be used when considered essential. This would most typically be when a news release is linked to a launch event, when an issue of confidentiality requires it, or when a third party requires it (e.g. announcement of award or additional funding).

Media enquiries and interviews

The media should address their initial enquiries to the Communications team. Councillors will normally be the first choice for TV or radio interviews. However, officers can handle broadcast interviews where necessary.  The appropriate councillor for media interviews is normally the Executive Member, Chair or Vice-Chair of the relevant committee.