CONTACT - June 2017
Vol 15 # 6
In this issue:
Hurricane Season begins June 1
When Are You “On the Record” With a Reporter?
In case you’ve been living under a rock, ARRL Field Day is just three weeks away. Have you sent out invitations to your elected officials and served agencies, promoted your effort in your local media, and started working on staffing your PR booth? If not, you’re running out of time! Be sure to review the PR area of the 2017 Field Day packet for more outreach suggestions. Remember, there are hundreds of bonus points available for PR during Field Day; don’t leave those points on the table!
Numerous ham radio media outlets are reporting the first Hamvention at Xenia was an overall positive experience. Those who stayed in the flea market area might have a different perception, however.
ARRL utilized social media on a scale never before attempted. With regular tweeting, Facebook Live broadcasts and video interviews with authors and VIPs, we brought ARRL Expo to those unable to attend. The levels of engagement we received from our social media efforts were some of the highest levels of online engagement ever. We are reviewing our output and will be looking for ways to expand and improve our coverage of Hamvention and other conventions moving forward.
Michelle Patnode has joined the full-time ARRL staff as Media and Public Relations Assistant.
A recent graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a degree in Communications/Public Relations, Ms. Patnode has been at ARRL as a social media intern since last year. Her primary duties will be in assisting with social media content creation, social media analytics, and multimedia creation and editing.
She is studying for her Technician license and hopes to be active during Field Day.
Please join me in welcoming these new PIOs to the ARRL family:
Arkansas: Joshua Carroll, N4JLC
Southern Florida: John Wells, W4CMH
Hurricane Season begins June 1
June 1 is officially the start of the hurricane season. If you live in an area affected by hurricanes, now is a good time to review some safety tips. Ready.gov, the National Hurricane Center, the Hurricane Watch Net, and the VOIP Weather Net are all resources for you. Stay tuned to ARRL media for details on the 2017 Hurricane Webinar, which is being finalized as of June 1.
When Are You “On the Record” With a Journalist?
You’ve agreed to an interview; when are you “on the record?” The folks at Non-Profit Marketing Guide help clarify this issue. This is valuable information; take the time to read it.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the road. Spent the third weekend of May at Hamvention, where I interviewed as many people as possible who passed through the ARRL Expo area. Then I was at the Rocky Mountain Division convention in Wyoming, where I delivered the keynote address. It’s great to see such support for newer technologies…not only in Amateur Radio, but in how we tell our story to the public.
As I mentioned earlier this month, we had more video coverage of the people and interests at Hamvention posted to our social media this year than ever before. Easy access to the technology, and the desire to up our game, led to the increased effort. Of course, we can do even more than we did this year, but I’m happy with the quantum leap forward we took.
If ARRL can do this, your club can, too. Stream your club presentations or convention video on your Facebook page or Twitter feed. You can reach people unable to attend in person, and save the video for enjoyment later. Win-win! Don’t be afraid to try new things and take a couple of steps in a new direction. Remember: even if you fall flat on your face, you’re still moving forward.
Thanks for all you do.
Sean Kutzko, KX9X
ARRL Media & Public Relations Manager
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