A day in the life of...

A press officer

A typical day in the life of a press officer at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People would start with collating stories and anecdotes received from our hearing dog recipients.  The press office receives letters, emails and phone calls from our deaf clients telling us about the huge difference their hearing dog has made to their life.  With their permission, we then turn that into a press release and send it to the newspapers in their local area as well as regional television and radio, if we think the particular story would capture their imagination. 

For example, recently we heard from Rob Jones in Brighton who is profoundly deaf and has had hearing dog Marlow for just a year.  Rob works for Brighton Council operating a street sweeping vehicle and Marlow accompanies him in the vehicle all the time.  As it is a council rule that all their workers wear high-visibility jackets, Marlow has had a special one made for him when he is on duty!  What makes this story even more appealing to the media is that Marlow’s own background is from the streets of the Republic of Ireland. 

This story was sent to the local papers, who loved it and printed a whole page with fabulous photographs.  This was picked up by the national newspapers and the regional television news programmes, and in one day we were working with two film crews filming Rob and Marlow doing the rounds in their street cleaning vehicle!  (LINK)

Later on that day we were organising for another of our hearing dog partnerships to attend a photoshoot for a national dog magazine, Dogs Today.  They had been chosen from thousands of entries to be one of twelve partnerships to feature in the magazine’s forthcoming 2009 calendar. 

In between these activities, the daily work has to continue of contacting newspapers and magazines to get interest in Hearing Dogs for Deaf People; taking photographs of new dogs that have passed through into training; arranging meetings with some of our corporate partners and updating and promoting our brand new website!  Our twice-yearly magazine Favour needs to be finished and sent to the printers and some time soon updates will need to be written for supporters of our hearing dogs who are featured in our Hearing Dog Friend scheme. (LINK)

Another aspect of our work is attending events held by our fundraising department whether it be the Great North Run or special receptions to showcase our work to potential financial supporters.  Also, at this time of year, a lot of work is carried out on our brand new 2009 Togs for Dogs pack (LINK), as we try and make it even more informative, interesting and interactive for children (and adults!) everywhere.

All in all, a press officer’s life is never dull at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People!