TV series focuses on media relations (04/13/97)

TV series focuses on media relations

OTTAWA - Canada's Vision TV premiered a new Canadian TV series titled "Gaining a Voice" that is being broadcast on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning on April 4. The eight-part series shows viewers what really goes on inside the media and what it takes to get coverage.

"Media dominates today's world, therefore communities and cultures in Canada cannot thrive unless they develop an active presence in the public mind. Such a presence is created by the media. The media can shape a group's image, sense of identity and self-worth. The media are important for the survival of any group, especially in today's competitive climate," said Andrij Hluchowecky, president of the Media Resources Advisory Group.

The TV series is sponsored by the Media Resources Advisory Group (MRAG) and is the result of 12 years of work in the field of media relations for community groups. MRAG is a community-based non-profit organization that was started in the spring of 1986 by individuals from the media and multicultural communities who were concerned that media coverage of ethnocultural events, concerns and issues is often inaccurate or absent.

The MRAG's first project was a survey of how community groups deal with the media. This survey revealed that few individuals or community groups know how the media work and/or how to effectively communicate their message. These revelations led to a series of media relations workshops and the publication of the widely distributed book "Gaining a Voice," which profiled several ethno-cultural communities, including the Ukrainian community, in Canada.

The book highlighted the Ukrainian Canadian community's media strategies as applied to the Ukrainian internment issue, and the allegations and media distortions associated with the war crimes issue from 10 years ago. The video series is an extension of the book.

Eight half-hour programs tell viewers how to contact the media successfully and explain how decisions regarding news stories are made.

Visits to Greenpeace, Pollution Probe and the Ottawa Food Bank teach viewers how to package information effectively, and what it takes to organize a successful media campaign and how to target an audience. The experiences of REAL Women, the Japanese Canadian National Council and internationally renowned media critics are highlighted to advise viewers of the resources available to them to correct misportrayal in the media.

Mr. Hluchowecky is a communications consultant in Ottawa and is presently communications director for British Columbia Member of Parliament Herb Dhaliwal. Prior to working on Parliament Hill, Mr. Hluchowecky was director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ottawa Bureau and program manager for the Canada Ukraine Partners Program, an international development project for Ukraine.

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