Cẩm nang tổ chức sự kiện - Một văn phòng báo chí có trách nhiệm 2 pptx

Why is coordination important? For one, it ensures that a program will get off to a good

start. Former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater asked the communications

directors of each cabinet department to report all announcements they felt could make front

page news. He did it with the idea that the president could announce some of each

department's major news and that he would know about any controversial news before it

happened.

Second, someone in another ministry or department could be working on the same program

or issue and could be at cross-purposes. The press could rightly ask: If a governmental

leader can't keep two ministries on the same track on the same issue, and if two ministries

can't work together, just how good a leader or minister is he or she?

Third, even when two government officials agree on an issue, combining their efforts will

make a message stronger.

Fourth, you might be surprised and embarrassed if others' efforts are publicized by the

press and you don't know about it. In one instance, a cabinet official announced a major

initiative without clearing it with the White House. While the policy announcement received

much media attention, its reversal by the president received even more. The cabinet official

was left embarrassed and was portrayed as having been undermined in the press.

Finally, just exchanging the calendars of government officials is not enough. The press and

public affairs offices should coordinate their plans as well. When government agencies

schedule major press conferences at the same time, journalists have complained loudly.

"Which press conference are we supposed to pick?" one reporter complained to a

spokesperson. "Don't make our job so hard."

The U.S. military, by contrast, emphasizes message coordination. Daily, near the conclusion

of the work day, U.S. Navy public affairs offices around in the world e-mail to the Navy's

central public affairs office in Washington a rundown of major media inquiries and

newsworthy events for that day. The central office summarizes the major inquiries and

issues, and e-mails this back to the public affairs offices. The spokespersons contact each

other on common issues and coordinate their answers.

"This prevents the press from 'double teaming' by going to various parts of the Navy and

trying to get us to say different things," says one spokesperson. "Very often I have found

the same reporter called a colleague in a different city with similar questions. Knowing

about all the major press activity allows me and my colleagues to coordinate our answers so

we don't appear in conflict, and it helps us understand what angle a reporter may really be

taking in a story."

Officials in many coalition governments complain that coordination is impossible because

there are representatives of widely different political parties in key positions throughout a

government. This hurdle does not belie the fact that coordination is just as essential in a

coalition government as it is in a winner-take-all election.

THE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

• The Message Starts With the Leader

• Creating a Communications Plan

• Working Out a Media Campaign