Bring Media & Policymaker Attention to WIC NWA Leadership Academy June 11, 2013: 3-4:30 p.m. EST PRESENTERS: Dale Erickson, WIC Program Manager, Douglas County Health & Social Services, OR; Heather Miranda, Director of Health Support Services, Piedmont Health Services, Inc., NC; Stacey Flanagan & Arielle Burlett, Neighborhood WIC Public Health Solutions, NY

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NWA: Introduction & Washington Update

Dale Erickson, OR WIC: Local newspaper, local TV station

Heather Miranda, NC: National news

Stacey Flanagan & Arielle Burlett, NY: Hosting a member of Congress

NWA: Q&A

Agenda

• Explain steps to communicating with newspaper and television media about WIC

• Explain steps to inviting and hosting Congressional members at a WIC clinic

• Describe ways to prepare WIC talking points

Objectives

Washington Update • House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural

Development, FDA and Related Agencies Marked Up their Appropriations Bill. It provides – $6.655 billion for WIC in FY2014

– Set asides for breastfeeding peer counselors ($60 million), MIS/EBT ($30 million), and Infrastructure ($14 million), dependent on meeting caseload needs first

– Not ideal, but likely low water mark

• The full House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Agriculture Appropriations bill on Thursday

• The House will likely begin debating the bill on the floor by the end of this month

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE: 1. Send a letter to your member of Congress urging him/her to support full funding for the

WIC program. 2. Contact the media to showcase the importance of WIC to your community 3. Host a member of Congress at your WIC clinic

Local Media Connection Dale Erickson Douglas County, Oregon

When to? • Significant events ▫ NNM, Farm Direct Season, National Food Theme

Months, National News related to food/nutrition,

▫ Program changes- office move, significant staff changes

How to?

• Refer to APHA Media Advocacy Manual

• (downloadable from http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/A5A9C4ED-1C0C-4D0C-A56C-C33DEC7F5A49/0/Media_Advocacy_Manual.pdf )

How to? • Pay attention to TV, Radio, Newspaper- what is

already going on? Look for articles, shows of a local health interest.

• Call or e-mail for contact information.

• Have your topic in mind. Explain why it is of interest to the public.

• Best to have article or script pre-written, if possible.

Preparing

• Know your facts. Dates, statistics, phone numbers, names. Have notes.

• Read previous articles, watch or listen to previous programs to get a feel for the flow.

• Rehearse.

Advice

• Just do it

• Keep a file of articles, news letters, etc, to customize

• If in doubt, contact the media office for advice

National Media Connection

Heather Miranda RD, LDN Director of Health Support Services,

Piedmont Health Services

Contacting the media or when they come to you…

• Reasons to contact the media • An important event is

happening in your community related to WIC

• Getting an important message out that, when legislation threatens the program

• Answering to claims made in the press about your program

• That yearly press release, maximizing that opportunity.

• What if they contact you… • Deciding if you should or

shouldn’t • What controls do you

have, making the most of the interview

• How to maximize your program and show it off

• How do you maintain relationships with the media

Deciding to do an interview

• Will this be right for your agency

• Will this allow WIC to be viewed in a positive light

• What do you want to showcase, is it news worthy.

• Who is your audience, will this make the impact you want

How to contact them? • Meet press at local events-

make contacts • Call them not just when

you want something • Keep track of contacts and

make regular contact • When you don’t get a

response, don’t give up

• Steps – Write an email to the

station director or appropriate contact about what you want to do

– Make sure to show how this story is timely and relevant

– Make sure that it benefits you and them

What do you pitch? • Read current periodically

to see what is in the news • Frame your story so it will

fit what is up and coming • Develop press releases

that have emotion and information content

• Don’t give up – If you don’t hear back call

the second time – Find out what they are

looking for – Make sure you are not

expecting too much, you have a 30 minute story and they have 2 minutes. You have a two page press release and they only have space for a couple of paragraphs

Capturing Emotion • Make sure the

content will capture people attention

• You may think it is important, but does it matter to others

• Have pictures, or emotion based content to share

Preparing • Be flexible about when to

meet, or do the story • They are often on deadlines

and if you can meet them, you won’t go to press or you won’t run

• Get your talking points in order, important factoids are essential (I make notes for myself and practice them)

• Having personal stories can bring life to the story (keep them short and to the point)

• If you have a participant that can be quoted or taped that increases the impact. Good stories love real life people.

• Avoid red tape, work with the press, figure out what will make the story be the best for your patients and agency and get you on air or to print.

So what really happened… • I was contacted after responding to NWA email looking for a family in the South who

utilized WIC and Food stamps • I contacted my breastfeeding peer counselor who has close relationships with many

participants and had her select one that would be a good fit. • We picked a participant who was very local to the clinic (more on that later), who was

articulate and comfortable being on TV. Next the TV crew called me to determine next steps, they wanted to film the participant at home, but I wanted to give visibility to WIC and our Health Center. I requested it happen on site. We compromised and had it at both places.

• They mentioned the need for some in Atlanta to speak about WIC on the National and Local level. I offered, if they could not find anyone, I could do it for them…

• The next morning, they called and asked to come back and film me and take more video of the clinic.

• Immediately upon learning they would be coming I confirmed the space, based on the reporters requests, contacted NWA about talking points and practiced. I only had like 2 hours to prepare

• Practicing might sound odd, but I wanted to make sure I got the lines I would say right. I wanted to come off confident. In the end, my last line was the sound bite for the story. Create a sound bite that benefits WIC and your participants. I took the talking points and created a bulleted list of items to discuss and would be the answers to the reporters questions.

• I answered the questions as they were asked, keeping it simple, others don’t know all the WIC terminology, didn’t want to confuse

• Remember you may get difficult questions, have answers that turn around the question to a positive, say the Reporter says: Aren’t all people who get WIC on Food Stamps? Are all your participants unemployed? Do you serve people who are undocumented?

• I also practiced my numbers, know those numbers, so you can spit them out, but make it impactful.

• After the interview, which took about 15-20 minutes, I made sure we got lots of shots of the clinic, several staff. You have to be careful about HIPPA, so we shot people from the back, or kept everyone obscured.

• Remember anything can be part of the interview, be careful what you say, but give good info.

• After the interview the reporter shared that only a few minutes would be used of the interview, the whole story was about 4 minutes.

• Make contact with the reporter after the story runs, thanking them. Relationships, relationships, relationships!

So what really happened cont.

What I learned

• I learned that all the work you put into it, does not show

• I learned that participant is most important, picking the right person

• I learned that people will criticize your story, online, accept that

• To not be nervous, just be calm and collected (easier said than done)

• Sometimes even when you say it right, the press gets it wrong

Summary and Advice • Make those contacts, when

you attend meetings and there are press introduce yourself, always make yourself known to the press, hand out business cards

• Opportunities come at odd times

• Remember your story has to be interesting to a larger audience

• Be careful about filling your story with to much WIC details, and terms, keep it simple but clear.

• Remember how WIC impacts the bigger picture, the healthcare system, which is a hot topic these days.

• Have some prepared press releases together that can be edited quickly

• Be flexible, work with the reporter on where to meet and timing, you control the environment

• Remember to smile, having an optimistic attitude can bring a lot to the conversation, and you are more interesting to listen too!

Stacey Flanagan, Program Director &

Arielle Burlett, Program Coordinator

Overview of Public Health Solutions

Public Health Solutions is a large, multi -tiered nonprofit organization that develops, implements and advocates dynamic solutions to prevent disease and improve community health.

Neighborhood WIC • We operate a WIC program in 10

neighborhoods throughout New York City, serving approximately 50,000 clients.

• We are located in several key congressional districts throughout New York City.

Important Links between WIC and Policy Federal • Child Nutrition Act: WIC Reauthorization / SchoolFood • Food Safety Legislation: Farmed Foods • Farm Bill: Food Stamp subsidies / local procurement

State • Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax • Pilot to ban purchase of sugar sweetened beverages with Food Stamps

Local • Healthy Food Access Initiatives • Green Carts • Health Bucks • Using food stamps at Farmers Markets • FRESH Initiative

Why Congressional Connections Are Important

• To echo the National WIC Association, we need to educate Congress about our programs so they are better informed in their decision-making

• Some Local Leaders grow up to become a part of Congress

• Connects the dots • Reminds Congress that WIC Works!

Partnership is Key to Success

• While we can not advocate, our success of “marrying our message” between Public Health, Hunger, and Nutrition policy is not possible without partnership.

• Neighborhood WIC is a part of many groups at a local and national level.

• However, most of our interface with Congress in through our attendance at the National WIC Leadership Conference and FRAC.

• In addition, we provide update letters to local and national leaders so that they remember our name.

• We engage in local efforts, as requested by leaders.

Steps for Planning Congressional Visits at Your WIC Center

Step 1: Schedule meeting with Congress member and/or staff

Invite the Congress member to visit your WIC Center!

Step 2: Follow up immediately after visit through email or phone Extend invite again and offer to schedule a visit.

Step 3: Coordinate with staff representatives to plan visit How long will they stay? What does the Congress member want to get out of visit? Should

the event remain focused on the Congress member or can you invite other community groups and local representatives?

Steps for Planning Congressional Visits at Your WIC Center

Step 1: Schedule meeting with Congress member and/or staff

Invite the Congress member to visit your WIC Center!

Step 2: Follow up immediately after visit through email or phone Extend invite again and offer to schedule a visit.

Step 3: Coordinate with staff representatives to plan visit How long will they stay? What does the Congress member want to get out of visit? Should

the event remain focused on the Congress member or can you invite other community groups and local representatives?

Step 4: Plan visit internally with staff leading up to visit All staff should know the plan for the visit and be prepared the day of the event.

Make sure the center is clean and photo-ready!

Step 5: It’s the big day! Provide information/media folders to the Congress member, staffers, and reporters.

This is a great opportunity to promote all of your initiatives and programming!

Step 6: Follow up with all reporters after visit Continue to update them when you have future events!

Lessons from Neighborhood WIC’s Congressional Visit

• Be prepared for reporters! -Provide media releases to all participants as they enter center. -Prepare media folders prior to event.

• An organized plan is key! -Choose a point person for interviews (WIC Director), tour guide, and time manager

• Ensure that all staff understand event plan prior to event day -Take into consideration client scheduling and center flow

• Make sure to follow up with Congress member after visit! -Thank them for their time and provide updates on future events and initiatives

• Continue to follow up with reporters

Congresswoman Grace Meng’s Visit

Talking with Flushing WIC Center Manager

Photo opportunity with one of our participants and her child.

Great Press Opportunity!

SING TAO DAILY

World Journal MING PAO DAILY NEWS

The China Press Sino Television, Inc.

New Tang Dynasty Television

The Impact is Endless! How has Congresswoman Grace Meng’s Visit Influenced Neighborhood WIC?

• Staff morale at our Flushing WIC Center has increased! • Flushing media outlets continue to call for visits and information

about our program and how WIC benefits the community • Congresswoman Meng is advocating for women and children on

the House floor! http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/4451683

Questions?

Questions? http://nwica.org/?q=advocacy/bringattention

Dale Erickson: dgericks@co.douglas.or.us

Heather Miranda: mirandah@piedmonthealth.org Stacey Flanagan: Sflanagan@healthsolutions.org