Document NG6YeVerx42v5dzYrr4aBxEng

PUBLICIZING SAFETY It is essential to use the light, human touch in stones, illustrations, features, and safety films Chances are, there will be enough solemn stuff to balance the gaiety This does not mean one should make fun of accident victims or of safety, but the treatment can be bghtened by "unstuffing" safety a bit Some Basics of Publicity If a company does not have a publicity department, this fact need not kill off all chances of getting publicity into local pa pers or on the air It hurts, of course, for publicity men are pros in getting publicity and naturally know their way around in media circles better than a safety man does However, even in the absence of a company publicity depart ment, the safety man can get publicity for safety activities by gbing directly to the newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV The safety director should not pretend to the editors and the program managers that he is a publicity expert On the contrary, he should cash in on his innocence of any of the wiles professional publicity men em ploy to wangle space or tune Editois and program people are usually not difficult to approach--provided that the safety man is courteous and friendly and shows the proper humility Naturallv no editor or anyone else likes to have 'vtieone come charging in and pretend 'i.at he is doing a big favor by delivering i<s story the world has been waiting for The common sense and salesmanship needed for success m the safety field cer tainly are enough to enable the safety man to present his case clearly and effectively to the paper or radio station Handling an accident story In any public relations or publicity pro gram, it is just as important to know what Fig- 8-6 TV news crew interviews Howord Pyle, president of the Notional Safety Council Visiting dignitaries and presentation of Nationol Safety Council awards create excellent opportunities for top-drawer publicity 8-10