Joye LeBeau

For years we as tribal people have lamented that the media pay no attention to us, do not tell our stories, or portray us with a stereotypical slant.

While there is still a long way to go, the tide is turning. More and more newspapers and magazines are starting to pay attention to tribal peoples. Unfortunately, it may not always be the kind of attention we want. As tribes and tribal entities come under increasing scrutiny, tribal colleges face growing attention from the media’s merciless eyes.

The media want news that will sell and capture the audience’s attention. News is a commodity to them. As a result, many news organizations look for stories that showcase struggle or conflict. They want to present a person who overcomes great odds. They examine sensational behavior.

Every organization will eventually have conflict. It is natural. Maybe someone gets fired and is not happy about it. Maybe there are financial concerns; maybe a crime takes place on the premises. Whatever happens, we need to be ready when the media shift their eyes towards us.

Most universities off of the reservation have long known how to use the media’s attention. In contrast, tribal colleges have, for the most part, ignored the possibilities. We need to be able to tell our stories, and we need to learn how to best use the media to our benefit.

Being proactive rather than reactive is essential. Taking action to inform, responsibly and accurately, will provide less opportunity for negative coverage and can sometimes avoid a crisis. Taking control of the story will help our organizations survive the media blast and can, in fact, provide an opportunity to grow as institutions.

One of the first steps is to develop a media plan. Although new to me, the idea of a media plan came up often through my research of public relations at universities such as Duke, Harvard, and Florida State. Why should we have a media plan? We plan for other crises — natural disasters, loss of telephone system or the Internet, and accidents in the workplace. It makes sense to have a media plan ready.

Almost all of us have heard of the moccasin telegraph — that infamous word-of-mouth news service where the town gossip is the reporter. With each telling of the story, it becomes more sensationalized. Gossip fuels the public relations crisis as surely as adding gasoline to a fire.

If you are the person designated by your tribal college to address a media crisis, your first job is to stop the flow of wrong information before it becomes rumor. Nothing quells the gossip inferno better than telling the truth. Write a fact sheet and disseminate it throughout your college to everyone, not just to the college leaders. This assures that even the town gossip can call and get the facts right.

While media plans differ from institution to institution, there are some similarities: Designate one person to be the official spokesperson; disseminate a fact sheet; keep staff apprised of the situation; have a centralized location for media to meet; and write potential scripts to be used during interviews. It is better to give information and respond to it on your terms rather than stay in reaction mode and panic.

Before a crisis occurs, it is good to develop contacts within news organizations. Reporters want to get their facts correct. If you take the time beforehand to meet reporters and editors, they can help get your side of the story published. Reporters are not always adversarial in nature. Getting your perspective can only add to a more balanced story.

By having a plan for a media crisis, you will save your institution time, money, and – most valuable of all — public trust.

Joye LeBeau is the managing editor for the tribal college newspaper at Si Tanka University where her duties include public relations work. She is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a descendant of Chief Standing Bear. A full-time student working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies, she has two children. Her articles and photographs have been published in several newspapers and magazines.