NCJ Number
81628
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Bruce Beaudin, director of the D.C. Bail Agency and Thomas Crosby, newspaper reporter, present a dramatization for agency program directors which demonstrates how to handle the media.
Abstract
Two typical incidents are dramatized with 'live' interviews with a program administrator followed by the immediate 'story' releases. These skits set the stage for specific hints on how to ensure accurate news reports of facts abut an agency's role in the criminal justice process. The session illustrates some basic rules. The agency spokesperson or director should get to know media representatives before a crisis occurs and use one of these four ways to communicate with the media: on the record, off the record, not for attribution, and background. All interviews should be preceded by agreed-upon ground rules. The session illustrates serious mistakes made by an 'honest' administrator and an equally 'honest' newspaper reporter. For the final conference report, see NCJ 51935.