Pastor Jan Paulsen with Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman at a City Hall news conference, June 26.
An analysis of local and national media coverage of the Seventh-day Adventist World Session held in Toronto, Canada, June 29 to July 8, shows that there were 46 Session-related television and radio news pieces during the ten days of Session, and more than 20 articles printed in Canadian newspapers. Media reports featured everything from Session election results, to Adventist views on health, to the Sabbath programs at the Toronto SkyDome, which were attended by more than 60,000 people.
“It was a not-to-be-missed opportunity to let the Canadian public know more about the Adventist Church and what we stand for,” says Ray Dabrowski, communication director for the Adventist Church worldwide. He says that both the quantity of coverage and the way the church interacted with the media at the Session, “broke new ground.”
“Our goal was to facilitate, rather than limit, media access to information about the church and interviews with church leaders,” says Dabrowski. “While not every news report got every detail right, we were consistently surprised at the level of interest shown by the media, and their willingness to go beyond religious stereotypes in their reporting on the Session.”
Media reports focused on the size of the convention, calling it “the largest in the nation’s history,” and referred to the anticipated $50 million boost to the Toronto area’s economy. Adventist teachings on health and vegetarianism also caught the media’s attention, along with the Adventist belief in the soon return of Christ and the church’s teaching on observing the seventh day—Saturday—as a day of rest. A number of reports cited the extensive use of technology by the church at the convention. Other articles reported on the election of Pastor Jan Paulsen to lead the church worldwide, and the election of Pastor Gerry Karst and re-election of Pastor Lowell Cooper, both Canadians, as Church vice presidents.
Margaret Dougherty, a corporate communications coordinator with the City of Toronto, acted as liaison between City Hall and the General Conference communication department and said that she was “surprised at the level of publicity generated by the convention.”
“Often religious groups hold significant meetings here that simply don’t make it onto the media’s radar screen,” said Dougherty.
Bettina Krause, media relations coordinator for the Session, says that much of the work was done before the event began, “making sure that all local media outlets had an Adventist Church press kit and were aware that we were coming to town.” Once in Toronto, says Krause, the goal was to utilize E-mail, the Internet, fax and phone to keep media informed and interested. “We issued daily media advisories about upcoming highlights, made personal calls to reporters, issued news releases, and made sure that there was constantly updated news available on the church’s Web site,” explains Krause.
Of the six Session-related news conferences organized by the communication department, two in particular caught the attention of the mainstream media and generated coverage, says Krause. The first was a joint news conference with church president, Pastor Jan Paulsen, and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, held at Toronto City Hall on June 26, and the second was a June 30 news conference launching an official church statement on religious liberty and proselytism.
The media relations team for the church in North America, led by media relations coordinator Celeste Ryan, contributed significantly to the effort, says Krause. They contacted local media, accompanied television crews and reporters around the SkyDome and Convention Centre, and helped fulfill interview requests.
Media relations at the World Session were part of a strategic plan for the communication department of the world church, says Dabrowski. “As a church, we have a unique perspective to offer on current issues and an important contribution to make in public debates—from health concerns to human rights. Developing a recognizable, effective public voice is a high priority, and learning to be more media-friendly and media-accessible is an important part of that.” [ANN Staff]