Public Relations Handbook - Narcotics Anonymous

Discussing these kinds of topics will help an area thoroughly plan for a large-scaleprint project. Thoroughly planning print projects can better help an area servicecommittee achieve its intended results.If a member, group, or committee is contacted by a reporter for an article,there are some approaches that can make these interactions more successful. Provide written information about the NA program: create talking points(simple, clear points of information about NA), use NA literature, and provideNA pamphlets or articles from local newsletters or The NA Way Magazine. Remember that we offer no opinion on outside issues. For example, if areporter tries to question us about a needle-exchange program or medicalmarijuana use, we refrain from commenting. Have a group of addicts participate rather than one individual member. We can request to see an article before it is printed but we must rememberthat we have no control over how a reporter will depict what we say. We can cooperate with reporters by helping them find a point of view for theirarticle that is in keeping with our traditions. For example, we can highlight thefact that the type of drugs used by an addict doesn’t seem to affect that addict’schance at finding recovery. Paraphrasing NA literature can help thesediscussions.The approaches above can help areas become more responsive in theirinteractions with reporters.D i s c u s s i n g a n d a d d r e s s i n g k n o w n c h a l l e n g e s i n m e d i aUnfavorable media coveragePlanning for how to deal with unfavorable coverage of NA in the media can helpareas in their public relations efforts. If the unfavorable coverage is a result of a lackof information, then providing accurate information may help to balance thecoverage. In other situations, trusted servants may decide to do nothing and simplycontinue to provide consistent, reliable information about Narcotics Anonymous inother public relations settings. This may not directly amend the negative press, yet itmay indirectly balance the public’s perception of who we are and what our programhas to offer.Media and the addict working aloneThere is some basic guidance that applies to most public relations efforts in mediasettings. The first is that members should not do this type of service alone. If amember is unexpectedly contacted by the media, a committee or area should beinvolved as soon as possible. Trusted servants also need to remember that onemember’s opinions can be seen as the opinions of NA as a whole. Accountability to aservice body ultimately benefits our media efforts.The situations described above can benefit from having a committee membercontact the region or NA World Services.Broadcast projectsPublic service announcements and public-access television are ways tocommunicate with the public, usually at no cost. Both are community servicesprovided by broadcasters or cable-service providers. Communities around the worldmay have a variety of ways of including an NA phoneline number or website address44 | Chapter 5 | Media