In the News by William Wray Carney

Author:William Wray Carney [William Wray Carney, Colin Babiuk, Mark Hunter LaVigne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781772124248
Publisher: The University of Alberta Press

TECHNICAL BRIEFING/BACKGROUNDER

The technical briefing is a variation of the news conference and often precedes it. Technical briefings are used with particularly complex issues that require extensive discussion with the media so they can understand the topic. The introduction of a new law, a budget or a new technical process, for example, may require a technical briefing. At a typical briefing, experts in the field provide a detailed explanation, in layperson’s language, of the issue. This commentary should normally be on the record, since media will want to cite an authority.

Much like a news conference, the technical briefing will consist of the briefing, usually on PowerPoint with supporting documentation, and a question period for clarity and understanding. After the technical portion is complete, a more senior person will conduct a traditional news conference and take questions on policy or politics. However, the expectation by that time is that the media will have a more solid and in-depth understanding of the issue than they would have had without the technical briefing. Technical briefings are best held in the morning, since afternoons are usually very rushed as reporters try to file for their deadlines.

Be aware that many reporters are tweeting at board meetings, technical briefings, news conferences and even court cases. (Though why the courts will allow this and not cameras in the courts seems a bit of a contradiction to me.) If you feel that the media can jump to incorrect conclusions by tweeting while the briefing is on, you can advise no tweets until the formal presentation is over and the media have the complete picture. But check this with a few of your media contacts to make sure they are comfortable with this. Rules on use of social media by both media and PR people are still evolving, and there may develop different protocols over time.

A variation of the technical briefing is the budget lock-up, used by federal and provincial governments to announce their annual budgets. Reporters are given extensive briefings, lasting between two and six hours, on the coming budget in complete detail. Media often have opportunities to interview budget specialists individually as well as during the technical briefing. The lock-up allows them time to write complete and accurate stories. However, by agreement with the governments, neither the reporters nor their outlets will release any details on the budget until the Minister of Finance rises in the Legislature or House of Commons to begin delivering the budget speech, usually mid-afternoon of budget day. The media are in effect “locked up” until the minister rises. By that time, however, they will have been extensively briefed and can be relied on to report accurately on the budget, always a complex, technical issue.

The key to this arrangement is the written agreement between media and government. Normally only lock-ups are used in this instance, primarily because of the length of time it takes to brief reporters. Most technical briefings last between thirty and sixty minutes, followed by the news conference, so there is little worry about the media leaving the briefing to broadcast the news.

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