Talking to the Media

AFT is aiming to raise its profile and that of systemic family therapy in general. AFT and its members have messages they want to get across, on behalf of members and the client groups they serve.

The media is an excellent conduit for communication (fast, efficient… cheap), letting people know what we do and the value of systemic work. It reaches:

• Government.
• Other policy makers.
• Related organisations.
• Clients.
• Their families, friends, neighbours, employers.
• Other media (a news story in one publication may spark a feature or radio programme in another. Computer archives mean journalists only have to type in key words to access spokespersons used in the past).

Who will be involved?

AFT is collating a list of members happy to talk to the press. Our members have a wealth of insight and experience, useful to journalists and the public, on such issues as:

• Family relationships and family life
• Child, adolescent and adult mental health
• Parenting issues
• Separation, divorce, conciliation and mediation, inc the effects of relationship breakdown on children
• Child behaviour, including ADHD
• Anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders
• Step-families
• Social policy e.g. child protection
• Fostering, adoption and ‘looked after’ children
• Domestic violence
• Self-harm
• Drug and alcohol misuse
• Refugee support

If you would like to be included on AFT’s media database of potential interviewees, please contact AFT media and communications advisor, Jan Parker, via email janparker@aft.org.uk or tel 07931 726246, with brief details of your CV and areas of particular experience and interest.

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What do journalists want?

Most who contact AFT are:

1. Seeking interviewees’ understandings and experiences, and also perhaps illustrative examples.
2. Know these are likely to make an interesting and useful article.
3. Aware that AFT is a quick and relatively simple route to access these. It is not in their interest to misquote or mislead interviewees in a deliberate or cavalier fashion.

However, most members with fairly regular contact with the media have been misquoted on occasion.

How do we minimise the risk of misquotation or misrepresentation?

Most journalists are not specialists. Even if they are, they are unlikely to have detailed knowledge of systemic practice and family therapy. So:

• Keep it simple. Decide three key points you want to get across. Say the most important things first, then expand in more detail.
• Remember, if the interviewer wants to ask supplementary questions, they will. The simpler your message, the less likely it will be muddled or misquoted in the writing and editing processes.
• If a journalist calls and you are not prepared, take his or her number, details of what they want and their deadline time (most print media interviews are conducted by phone). Prepare brief notes then phone them back.
• Some journalists are happy to email sample questions in advance of interview if time allows. Some also agree to the interviewee emailing their responses. If you feel more confident writing your replies and having a record of your words rather than embarking on more ‘fluid’ conversation, this may be worth suggesting.
• Avoid jargon.
• If unfamiliar with the publication or programme, ask. What is the target audience? Circulation? Angle of the piece? Word length? Journalist’s own thoughts about the issue thus far? This will help you tailor your responses accordingly.
• Never assume anything is 'off the record' or that the mike or tape recorder is turned off. Only say what you’re happy to be broadcast or to see in print.
• Ask for clarification. Questions may seem ambiguous or unclear, especially if the journalist isn’t familiar with the topic.
• Given the media (and public) relish for controversy, and the fact that subtlety may be lost in the editing process, it is wise to think carefully before being drawn into criticism.
• If a interview is pre-recorded and you are unhappy with one of your answers, ask to do that question again.
• Print journalists sometimes allow interviewees to check quotes prior to publication, especially if the issue is complex and/or deadlines allow.
• If you aren’t able to meet the journalist’s deadline for interview, refer them to the AFT press advisor, who’ll help find someone who can.

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Use of case histories/examples

• These help shift the focus of articles from theoretical discussion to human experience. They illustrate why the issue discussed is significant and its impact on real lives. They can illustrate systemic and family therapy ‘in action’. Like all good narrative work, they operate on many levels. And…
• They need to be anonomised scrupulously (more so than, for instance, cases presented at conferences). No information may be given that may lead to the identification of the client by those who know them or know of them. Identifying details of the agency working with the family may also need to be avoided. ‘If in doubt, leave it out’.
• Teams and co-workers may appreciate prior discussion and agreement if case histories are to be offered.

Speed

• The media works fast, and the pace is getting faster.
• Speed of response is essential. If a journalists contacts you when you’re busy, return the call promptly or arrange a mutually convenient time for interview. If you wait until tomorrow or even until after lunch, they may have found someone else.

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Be clear about your role.

• You are speaking as a systemic family therapist (or however you describe yourself professionally), not as an employee or as a spokesperson for AFT. Please express this clearly to the journalist.
• Many employers have strict guidelines on speaking to the press. These rules are often waived when the employer is assured that you will speak as an individual and not as a trust or agency spokesperson, and that issues will be discussed in a general way rather than in reference to the employers’ particular policy or practice. It is very important to first check employment contracts and codes of conduct, and gain any necessary permissions. You may want to do this in advance of any approach from the media. Your union should also be able to advise.

Which media?

It may help not to be too sniffy about the tabloids, magazines and regional press and radio. They reach the parts of the population that the ‘quality’ broadsheets, compacts and other media can’t or won’t reach.

Recent circulation figures (source: ABC July 2004):

• Marie Claire – 360,789
• Woman’s Own – 519,388
• Mother and Baby – 81,024
• GQ – 124,022
• Daily Mirror – 1,846,734

(every newspaper and magazine sold is read by an average of 2.5 people)

Specialist publications may have relatively small circulation but big influence, for instance:

• Prospect – 24,429
• New Statesman – 24,860

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Use your instincts

The AFT media advisor will not put journalists in contact with members unless it seems constructive and safe to do so. However, if at any time you feel unhappy with a publication, the journalist’s approach or the content and ‘angle’ of the piece, decline the interview.

On very rare occasions, AFT members may find themselves asked to respond quickly to fast-running news stories. If these in any way relate to the trust, agency or organisation in which you work, or to clients you work with, it is generally safest to say nothing. We can always return to the issue, if appropriate, when the pace slows and more discursive, thoughtful pieces are written.

What next?

Further AFT information sheets are available on this website. These include ‘Working with TV’, ‘The journalist-friendly press release’ (for AFT members involved in research and other projects), and the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) Code of Conduct.

AFT’s media advisor is Jan Parker, email janparker@aft.org.uk She is happy to answer member’s queries or concerns regarding AFT and the media, and to assist in the preparation and distribution of member press releases. It would be appreciated if colleagues contacted by the press would let Jan know, so she can keep track of coverage.

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