The “No Tears” Guide to Media Partnerships
Lisa Anderson, Editor of Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw Women, Bill Warren, Vice President of Foundation Relations and Grants at National Geographic Society, and Dan Green, Deputy Director of Strategic Media Partnerships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discussed how to approach partnerships.
What You Want in a Partner
Before you embark on a partnership, it is important to find partners with common values and complimentary interests. This means you must consider your own organization’s brand. Also, consider if the partner will have the capacity to meet your needs. In the case of TrustLaw Women, this means finding partners that will be able to contribute quality content.
What You Can Contribute as a Partner
You also need to consider what role your organization would want to play. Again, this goes back to knowing your brand and what your organization does well, maybe it is research or grassroots advocacy.
What to Consider Before You Partner
Next, you should explicitly state your expectations. If you are partnering with media, this may mean editorial independence. Here you will need to weigh the benefits and costs, and decide if greater coverage of your issues is worth some criticism. You should also cover: Sources of funding for the project (will you be competing for grants), other partners (this will effect what content you might be able to use), and other special considerations (waiting two days to post the information, linking, etc). These issues are important to discuss with your potential partner.
When You Partner
Once you know your expectations, it's time to legalize it. Both parties should sign a partnership agreement that spells out expectations. You should also be transparent about the fact you are partners and let the public know.
Once You Partner
Becoming partners is just the beginning of the relationship. You now want to make sure you are both happy, so be available and continue to assess how the partnership is working. Giving each other credit (through links) is an important aspect of this.
Potential Partners
There are several types of partnerships the media is looking for: initial research, creation of content, distribution of content, and deeper engagement of audiences. This last category on engaging audiences holds a lot of untapped opportunities. Media organizations are increasingly interested in the idea of the “second screen experience,” what viewers are doing on their phones or computer while they listen to the news or watch TV shows.
Contibuted by Jeanne Paradis
