POLICY 149
Media Policy
LHCS Statement of Purpose
"We believe it is our responsibility as Christians to raise children in the light of God's Word. The education of children must be Christ-centered, equipping them to become responsive disciples of Christ who seek the will of the Lord in all aspects of life."
LHCS Mission Statement
"For the children of Christian parents, Laurentian Hills Christian School provides Christ-centered quality education to the whole child in a supportive, loving, diverse, dynamic and growing parent run school."
LHCS Vision Statement
"Kitchener-Waterloo Christian School Society advances dynamic, excellent Christ-centered education through unconstrained facilities, exceptional programs, and extensive resources that cultivate responsive disciples of Christ."
The principal is the school’s spokesperson and is responsible for all communication with the media. In the absence of the principal, a designated vice-principal or board member will assume this role.
All requests for information from the media must be referred to the school’s media spokesperson.
No one is required to be interviewed by the media; if the media want to interview a teacher, the teacher’s permission and the principal’s permission must be obtained.
The principal has the right to deny press interviews with staff on the school premises; staff have the right to deny an interview with the media at any time or place.
If the media arrive uninvited, they will be escorted to the principal’s office and the ground rules concerning interviewing staff and students and disrupting school routines will be explained.
The media will not be allowed access to students or to roam hallways or the grounds of the school.
Normally, the principal will decline any attempts by the media to interview students. If it seems appropriate for a student to speak to the press, parental permission must be obtained in writing. The decision to allow a student on camera should be very carefully considered, weighing all the consequences.
If a press conference is called, a pressroom will be set up at a site away from the scene of the incident (e.g. local church or office board room).
Members of the media will be contacted by phone or fax to inform them of the press conference.
During the press conference, the principal will read the prepared statement and state when further information will be available.
Copies of the press release will be made available to all media personnel.
The name of a young person (as defined by the Youth Criminal Justice Act) who is alleged to have committed an offence or of a young person who is a victim or witness will not be released to the press unless the school is authorized to do so by the police.
If there is the possibility of a criminal investigation, a police spokesperson will be responsible for releasing the details of the incident.
The Guidelines may be updated by the Principal without further approval from the BOD.
Guidelines
:Determine if the police will be making a statement to the media.
Follow the school’s media policy.
Identify the media spokesperson
the principal is usually the designated spokesperson for the school
designate an assistant who has been trained in media relations
Contact the media before the school is contacted by the media
the principal will likely know whether or not the incident will generate media attention
the information should be shared as soon as possible
Caution staff, students, and others about speaking to the media
all requests for information or interviews must be referred to the principal
Inform the media when a prepared statement will be available
inform the media if a press conference will be held
Prepare a written statement
state the facts clearly and concisely, avoid statements which are speculative
answer as many of the following as possible: who, what, when, where, why, and how
don’t release the names of the victims or persons involved
focus on the positive actions the school is taking to help students and staff
express sorrow on behalf of the staff and student body
make positive comments about the student(s) involved
announce events open to the school community: memorial service. parent meeting
avoid disclaimers of responsibility until all the facts are known
state when and how the information will be up-dated
Share the prepared media statement with the staff
remind staff to avoid speculations
Involve community media spokesperson
ask the police/RCMP’s trained media spokesperson to assist in the press conference
meet with this person before the press conference and agree on what information should and will be shared by the police and/or school
Set limits
establish geographic and time limits by informing the media as of where, when, and for how long the press conference will be
inform the media as to what types of questions will and will not be answered. For example, "Until we have been advised by the coroner, we are not able to state the cause of death." "The police are investigating the situation and have advised us that they will be the ones to release information about the suspect and the victim."
Prepare for the press conference
brainstorm a set of questions the media is likely to ask
decide which questions will be answered
have a variety of ways of responding to questions you are not able to answer at this time
have a media coach (another administrative team member) at the back of the press room giving support and signals on which questions to answer and when to cut an answer short
Prepare the site for the media’s visit
if possible, hold the press conference away from the scene of the incident
if held at school, close off hallways or rooms so the media will not have access to class lists, teachers’ names, and other private information about the school population
post signs directing the media to the press room
have refreshments available
greet the media as they arrive; escort them to the assigned area
provide copies of the prepared press release
be sure the media vacate the premises at the end of the press conference
Do
present the facts
be cooperative
be prepared for questions which might violate confidentiality or hinder investigation
insist that the privacy rights of your students, staff, and parents be protected
offer to find out answers to questions you don’t know the answers to; invite the reporter to call you back at a designated time
limit the number of questions you will answer
take your time to form your answers
Don’t
speak "off the record"
argue with a reporter
adlib or speculate or lie. Stick with what was stated in the prepared statement.
say "no comment". If you can’t answer a question, explain why (e.g. "The relatives need to be notified." "Answering that would jeopardize the investigation.")
panic
lay blame
play favourites and invite only certain members of the media to the press conference
After a Crisis
compile media accounts and press releases for future reference
address the media several weeks or months after the incident to inform the public of new programs or changes the school has made
announce how the joint effort of the community has resulted in changes to the school’s programs and/or policies
thank the media for its involvement and assistance
adapted from SCSBC "Responding to a School Emergency"
Adopted September 2006