CITY OF VANCOUVER

CORPORATE POLICY
SUBJECT:

Media Relations

CATEGORY: Administration

POLICY NUMBER:

AG-009-01

PURPOSE
This policy recognizes that the exchange of information between the City and newsgathering organizations provides a conduit to our citizens. Our part in this relationship is
to be responsive and accurate.
SCOPE
All City staff.
POLICY STATEMENTS
1

Open Government
The City of Vancouver is an open environment and acts cooperatively with news
media pursuing stories in the public interest. This is a guiding principle in our
relations with news media.

Media Calls Are Important

Media calls must be given a high priority and should be dealt with quickly at every
level of the organization. Reasons for this include:

Media are always on deadline, which may be a matter of days or weeks for a
magazine reporter or, quite literally, minutes for radio reporters.
If the City is not able to get out its side of a story, the media will often publish
or broadcast whatever opinion it has managed to gather.
The media are customers, and the treatment they receive is reflected in a very
public way.

If an answer to a question cannot be found quickly, the media should be informed.

3

Departmental Media Contacts

The City of Vancouver encourages a decentralized model for speaking to the media.
The reason for this is that media want to speak to an expert on a particular issue,
not a public relations person. And these experts usually reside at a local,
departmental level.
The City Clerks Department Corporate Communications Division is often a first
contact for the media. In helping a reporter to get answers, the Division often
facilitates an interview with the appropriate expert. It is the responsibility of
departments to determine their media contacts by identifying (and making available)
the appropriate expert on an issue.

News Media

Page 1 of 3

City of Vancouver

Corporate Policy

Individual departments and divisions should determine the role of media contacts in
light of the following:

Media calls for factual material (e.g., the number of street lights in Vancouver)
can often be handled by almost anyone in the department, providing there are
no confidentiality or other sensitive concerns.
Calls asking for professional interpretation on a particularly sensitive issue
usually require the involvement of a dedicated media contact. Everyone in the
department should understand the difference between factual and interpretive
media calls. Staff need to be aware that media queries can often turn quickly
from factual requests to interpretive ones; at such points, staff need to defer
to the media contact.
There should be a dedicated media contact(s) and back-up for holidays and
illness. Everyone in a department (and in Corporate Communications) should
know who the dedicated media contacts are and how to reach them.
Notification of media interest in issues of potential corporate interest should be
passed on to Corporate Communications.

Reports before and after Council Meetings

News media stories are often generated from Council reports, which are generally
available one week before meetings. Staff must be careful to remain absolutely
neutral and factual in discussion of Council reports, both before the meeting - when
Council has not yet made its decision - or after the meeting - when Council's decision
is the final word.
News media, in pursuit of controversy for the sake of a more interesting story,
customarily attempt to draw staff into giving an opinion or interpretation. This is
often true in the case of Council reports and other matters of policy. Staffs proper
role is to provide factual detail where required, and to refrain from expressing
opinion or interpretation that may inadvertently be perceived by the media, and the
public, as Council policy. To paraphrase, staff must not seem to usurp Council's
role.

Confidentiality
While it is important to be forthright with media requests for information, staff
representatives should seek further advice where issues of confidentiality are
involved. Personal information should be protected at all times. Never give home
phone numbers without prior consultation with the individual concerned. Also, some
information requested by the media may be confidential (the Freedom of
Information coordinator in the Office of the City Clerk may be consulted on issues of
confidentiality).

Role of the Corporate Communications Division

Corporate Communications assists all city departments in their communications
planning. With the exception of those departments with professional media liaison
staff, the Division also produces the City's news releases. This coordination avoids
duplication and inappropriate approaches to media. The reason for this is that the
Division has the expertise and media contacts to help the City speak to the

News Media

Page 2 of 3

City of Vancouver

Corporate Policy

appropriate audiences in the most effective way. Also, because of the division's
role as the City's advertising agency, it is able to coordinate advertising and media
relations strategies.
If departmental media contacts have concerns about the prospect of a media
interview, they may call Corporate Communications at 604.873.7270 for quick tips.
With appropriate notice, Corporate Communications can put on half-day media
training sessions, using videotape analysis of interviews.
Corporate Communications has produced a two-page guide titled When the Media
Calls, containing practical tips on how to respond to media calls, and points to
remember for interviews.
PROCEDURES
When the Media Calls
APPROVAL HISTORY
ISSUED BY:

News Media

Corporate
Management
Team

APPROVED BY:

Corporate
Management
Team

DATE:

1997/02/11

Page 3 of 3