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Contributions from
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Tribune
Tajikistan needs policy change
Untapped potential
New approaches for Bolivia and Nicaragua
02/2005
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Untapped potential
Too little money, too little time, too few staff: civil society organisations in most developing countries continue to suffer from inadequate efforts for public relations. As the example of Latin America shows, this neglect reduces their influence on decision-makers in politics and business.
[ By Frank Herrmann ]
They give legal advice to indigenous associations, equip health centres in rural areas and market organic coffee. In Latin America, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) do a lot of worthwhile work. But as the media hardly mention these activities, the public remains unaware of the NGOs. While journalists generally do rate their initiatives high, the inability of NGOs to foster regular media contacts means that reporters and editors often are unable to provide them with the publicity they deserve.
Bloody civil wars, environmental catastrophes and unrelenting corruption have been the motivation for setting up thousands of NGOs in Latin America in the past decades. With the exception of a few black sheep, they all make valid contributions to the development of the societies they work in. “They are an important source of information for journalists,” says Jan Ronneburger, head of dpa, the German news agency, in South America. “They usually enjoy a greater credibility than government sources or economic institutions.”
Over the years, NGOs have accumulated a wealth of experience, knowledge and competence. This has made them experts on all social matters, from issues of human rights and gender, to those of environment and health. Sadly, however, most of the organisations keep this wealth of information to themselves. Many shy away from journalists – perhaps for fear that their work might be criticised or inaccurately reported or simply due to a lack of opportunity. Those that do make PR efforts often fail because their attempts are unprofessional and inadequate.
At the same time, there is a growing public demand for information in Latin America. People want to know what is going on with donations, how an organisation defines its mission, and why it should be listened to. However, when it comes to public relations, there is a huge gap between what Latin American NGOs would like to achieve and what they actually do accomplish. This was made evident by a study commissioned by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, which was completed last year. 50 large and small NGOs from five Latin American countries were questioned on the topic. Just a quarter of them had a PR plan and only four had a specific budget. Two thirds of the organisations concerned did not even have a website.
The consequences are alarming. The public is largely unaware of the work these civil society organisations do. Correspondingly, the organisations’ influence on political, social and economic decision-makers remains limited. Their ability to exert pressure on government ministers and business managers is minimal. Their lack of presence in the media also complicates contacts with potential sponsors.
In Latin America, public relations work, which is an integral task for all successful NGO activities in advanced countries today, is often seen as something exotic or fashionable, a luxury which is, at best, justifiable when business is good. To a certain extent, international donors are also responsible for this appalling situation. They fund projects worth millions without earmarking resources for public relations in spite of the fact that good PR work does not even have to be expensive. It is based on continuity – including financial continuity.
Typically, NGOs do not hire PR experts. “There is a lack of experience in many organisations,” says Mario Gonzales of the Peruvian National Association of Journalists. “They have no communications department; they show too little interest in working with the media.”
People active in civil society organisations are usually employed according to their skills – but this is not the case for public relations. It is common for engineers, lawyers or even secretaries to handle media contacts. Few have any basic journalistic skills or even background knowledge of PR. The result is that press releases are interspersed with hardly comprehensible jargon. More often than not, such documents end up, unread, in the editorial waste paper basket. It is also typical of NGOs to celebrate anniversaries without inviting a single journalist.
Handling media contacts clumsily, however, leads to poor and often inaccurate reporting – whereupon many organisations become all the more reluctant to deal with journalists. In acknowledging the need for meaningful public relations, senior managers must change their way of thinking. The activities of the organisation should be given priority, not the people leading them. Typically, Latin American NGOs come up with glossy brochures showing directors shaking hands on the front page, while information on actual projects is relegated towards the back.
Up-to-date management involves staff in decision-making, encouraging them to take on responsibility, and trusting their expertise. Unfortunately, this is not typical of Latin American NGO leadership. Rather, the persons in charge jealously guard information and only share data on a “need to know” basis. However, all employees are responsible for media contacts as all are liable to be asked questions by journalists at any time. Credibility, acceptance and transparency within an organisation, on the other hand, serve to motivate the team and have positive impacts on the image it conveys to the outside world.
Many organisations in Latin America lack the knowledge and inclination needed to tread new PR paths. Information material is cooked up by self-declared layout persons who waste valuable time, money and other resources. It would make more sense to engage professionals who could provide a better product faster – and often for less money.
There is also a widespread misconception about what communication is all about. Many top-level managers think that public relations is a one-way street, done and dealt with once a brochure has been distributed, a press release sent off or a poster hung up. They do not consider that journalists might want to ask some questions and, accordingly, do not provide opportunities for them to do so. Very few NGOs bother to systematically check whether their message reaches the target group. For instance, it is not unusual for posters aimed at the illiterate to contain several paragraphs of writing.
Both journalists and NGOs benefit from maintaining closer contacts, says Martina Hahn of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation. “The NGOs need the media to make their work known. But in a similar sense, the media need NGOs, in order to stay supplied with material and topics for newspapers or broadcasting programmes. They also need NGOs to provide them with experts and relevant information.“ After all, nobody is better qualified than NGOs to give journalists the background information they need on social stress, environmental problems or questions of human rights.
The guide entitled “Relaciones Públicas para ONG” is available through the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation e.V.
Apartado Postal 18-0371, Lima 18 Miraflores, Peru
Tel. (00 51-1) 241 53 87 / 88, Fax. (00 51-1) 445 93 74
medios@kas.org.pe
Frank Herrmann
is a freelance writer and consultant. He has written a guide in Spanish on public relations for the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation’s “Media & Democracy in Latin America” programme in Lima. frank_herrmann@yahoo.com
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