Media Relations
Case Study:
Comprehensive Media Relations Program Positions Charter Schools as a Public School Alternative
For one metropolitan city’s public school district, years of declining enrollments, tightening budgets and revolving-door management led many in the community to support charter schools as an educational alternative – but not without curiosity and scrutiny first. To educate the district’s residents and distinguish facts from fiction regarding the city’s new charter schools, the leadership of MJB Public Relations Group developed and spearheaded a comprehensive media relations program for the newly formed charter school coalition.
Through the program, strong relationships were established with the local media, positioning the coalition as a leader in the local charter-school movement. News releases and calls to reporters secured ongoing media coverage regarding the latest actions and issues surrounding the launch of the city’s charter schools.
In addition, the MJB-led group served as media spokespersons for the charter school movement and coached the coalition’s management team for media interviews, local talk shows and radio programs, as well as securing opinion-editorial articles and special editorial reports in local news publications.
Through these efforts, the charter school group became a resource for the local media for education-related news coverage. In the city’s first year of operating charter schools, it opened 15 new charter schools with more than 4,500 children.
