Today's seaports have two constituencies -- their customers and their surrounding communities -- and positive relationships with both groups are critical to any port's ability to thrive and grow. One way to help ensure those positive relationships is to build and maintain constructive working relationships with the news media.
Some, perhaps most, ports strive to serve the needs of their local media, but few extend that same consideration to the national and trade press, especially media who don't have day-to-day contact with the port.
The effects of poor media and community relations were perhaps best detailed at the 2008 American Association of Port Authorities annual convention in Anchorage, Alaska, when Capt. Gordon Houston, president and chief executive officer of Port Metro Vancouver, explained how the port of Sydney, Australia, was banished by the citizenry from its longtime home to Botany Bay.
Capt. Houston spoke eloquently about the importance of port open houses and strong community relations -- to illustrate the critical role that the port plays in the community's economic and cultural life. No relationship can help or hurt that effort as much as the port's rapport with the news media.
Often, the media are held at arm's length out of fear. But that fear can become self-fulfilling when a poorly informed journalist incorrectly reports events, statistics or news at the facility. Most journalists aren't looking for the sensational stories. Of course, they have to report on "bad" news, such as labor issues, ship fires, accidental deaths, oil spills and the like. But, on an ongoing basis, "good" news is equally important, such as new cranes and vessel calls (what cargos they are bringing to local store shelves) or even heightened security (and how that makes local residents and their families safer).
When the community is behind the port, politicians tend to fall in line. One excellent example is the Port of Jacksonville, Fla., which is in the midst of a massive expansion drive with very little dissent. That is due in large part to the port's communications with the area's public and the business community.
In addition to solid relationships with the local media, ports also must nurture relationships with the national and trade media. Security, labor, congestion and trade issues have focused more national media attention on individual ports. Calls from wire service or network reporters should be handled quickly, as they're usually on tight deadline, and an ignored call or a delayed response can lead to an incorrect news item that can take days to fix.
Owners and operators of the vessels that call at ports probably don't read the port area's local paper -- but they likely do read one or more of the international trade magazines. Those journalists should be regarded as an asset because, after all, without a successful maritime industry, they wouldn't have jobs!
To assist the media in covering a port accurately, I've listed some actions below that port officials can take that will likely improve press coverage:
- Add a media/press page to the port's Web site that includes a primary and secondary press contact together with e-mail and mailing addresses, as well as phone, fax, after-hours and cell numbers.
- Post photos (both low- and high-resolution) of seaport operations and key port personnel (which should include a portrait shot as well as "at-work" photos).
- Post up-to-date and historical cargo and passenger statistics.
- Regarding news releases, remember more is better than less. Don't be afraid to overwhelm the media. What may seem inconsequential to a port director may be real news for the media.
- Hold periodic open houses for the media to afford port tours and briefings to reporters who often report on the waterfront without ever having visited it.
