Media Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions In practice, there is no checklist in a newsroom that news editors or journalists use to determine whether or not a story has the necessary news values to engage their audience. Instead, they rely on their professional experience and intuition to make that decision on-the-spot. Understanding news values helps NHRIs to better frame their work – for example, releasing a report, launching a campaign or announcing a new inquiry – as stories that will interest editors and journalists and result in more prominent coverage of their issues. In June 2012, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission released Caring Counts, a report that highlighted unequal pay rates for workers in the aged care sector. The report was prepared by Dr Judy McGregor, the then Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner. As part of research for the report, Dr McGregor spent a week working “undercover” in an aged care facility to understand the physically and emotionally demanding work done by carers. When the report was released, journalists commonly focused on her first-hand experience as a carer because it helped personalize the issues and was a unique approach for the NHRI to take in conducting its research. The extensive media coverage that followed the release of the report helped generate broad public awareness and support for the Commission’s recommendations on pay equity for workers in the aged care sector. 1.3. WORKING WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDIA OUTLETS A common trap when people talk about “the media” is to imagine that it operates as a single entity and follows a single agenda. While most media outlets, especially commercial media outlets, are based on the basic goal of increasing audience numbers, the manner in which they seek to do this varies significantly. Further, the range of media outlets is enormous, as are the type of issues they cover, the way stories are covered and the different audiences they reach. To engage effectively with the media, NHRIs first need to have a clear picture of the media outlets operating across the country at the national, regional and local level. In many instances, NHRIs can buy or source online a consolidated directory of media outlets. However, with the media landscape changing all the time and some online services not listed, NHRIs should consider developing and maintaining their own personalized directory of key outlets, including: • “Traditional media”, such as television, newspaper, radio, news agencies and magazines • “New media” outlets, such as online journals, blogs and discussion forums • Major media outlets operating in minority languages • Relevant professional associations, civil society organizations and partner agencies that distribute periodicals and newsletters or are active on social media. It is crucial that NHRIs are familiar with the various media outlets with which they will be engaging, including the different audiences they reach and how they have covered human rights issues in the past. This “auditing” exercise helps NHRIs to identify those media outlets they might approach with story ideas, as well as how to best respond to requests for information or interviews from different outlets, especially those that may be unsympathetic to human rights issues. Chapter 1: Working effectively with the media | 5