Representatives from most local communities met in the Farsett Centre on Saturday 27 November for a training day on press publicity and public information. The event was arranged by the Bahá'í Council and hosted by Iain Palin and Pat Irvine. Its purpose was to increase awareness of the need for taking “Media Matters” seriously and not missing opportunities to bring the faith into the public domain.
Dr Palin explained about ‘Local press and how to use it’ and this was communicated with a very attractive presentation. All participants had to do an exercise of writing a local press release and in an atmosphere of good humour the offerings were assessed to see how they could be improved. One representative said, “Now I realise the need for each Assembly and group to have a Press Officer to take on the vital role of getting to know and communicate with the press in their area.”
Pat Irvine gave a lively session “Image does matter” The audience appreciated that the image of the faith, as seen by the public is absolutely essential and it is so easy for media to pick up the wrong impression. As one participant commented: “We really must be trying to put over the correct image and avoid the errors of the past”
There were also sessions on “Local External Affairs”, “Questions, Questions” (dealing with media queries), and using the World-Wide Web. Everyone present agreed that the day was most valuable and hoped that a similar day would be organised next year and that all communities would be represented.
KM
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