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Letters to the editor and phone-in shows

A fast way to secure free media coverage is by making the most of right to reply programmes, call-ins, talk radio and letters pages. It’s cheap and easy and means you can control your message and get your request for volunteers broadcast to large audiences.

Phone-ins

The producers of shows on LBC, 5Live, Radio2’s Jeremy Vine Show, Radio 4’s Any Answers, talkSPORT, Radio 4’s You and Yours, local talk radio programmes and Five’s The Wright Stuff are desperate for callers who can ignite debate, voice an opinion or inform their audiences.

You’ll need to watch or listen in regularly to their programmes and if an issue comes up which you can comment on, then call quickly. The likelihood is that if you’ve got something pertinent to say and are confident then you’ll be put on air:

  • If it’s a local/ regional radio station make sure you have a local angle or comment on a local issue to offer.
  • Don’t ignore the discussion and crow-bar your organisation’s message in. That annoys producers and they won’t put you on air again. Subtly introduce relevant information and invite volunteers to get in touch with you.
  • Don’t read from a script. You need to sound conversational and natural.
  • If you do get put on air, follow it up the next day with a call to the Producer. Explain that you’re always available for comment and give them your mobile number. Or, offer another feature/ debate/ story idea for their programme which could focus on your organisation.

Have a look at askCHARITY’s Media Directory which features a guide (with producer's contact details) for charities who want to approach the Jeremy Vine Show.

Letters to the Editor

A good way to have your say and get your volunteering message across is by using the Letters to the Editor pages of local and national newspapers.

  • Your letter will have more clout and is more likely to make it to print if it’s signed by several organisations.

Here are letters the charities Resources for Autism, CSV and Volunteer Reading Help had printed in The Observer in response to one article about volunteering. 

Find out how VSO had a letter from their Director of Programmes published in 38 local papers.

Op-ed 

There are also opportunities to get a lengthier article published in newspapers. Usually referred to as “op-ed”, one-off articles by external contributors are sometimes published on the page facing the main editorial column.

  • Contact the newspaper and offer to write a short article for them.
  • You will need to offer a strong argument or reason as to why they should give you the space.

The Guardian publishes articles called “Response” which they describe as, “The Response column offers those who have been written about in the Guardian an opportunity to reply. If you wish to respond, at greater length than in a letter, to an article in which you have featured either directly or indirectly, please email response@guardian.co.uk. We cannot guarantee to publish all responses, and we reserve the right to edit pieces for both length and content.”

The Guardian’s Comment is Free site allows anyone to post a comment in reaction to any of the paper’s content. You can also publish your own articles on the site. Find out more about this in the article Are you a citizen journalist? and Blog on. 

Right to reply

Here are some other more formal routes to making comment on programme content:

 

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