Media and Publicity

For the purposes of this policy, "media" refers to news media and other mass media that may be used to deliver information to the general public (e.g. online news, newspapers, radio, TV). For our policies on social media, see School Social Media and Staff Social Media.

At St Joseph's School, we manage media interactions carefully in ways that seek to protect the wellbeing of our school community and promote a positive public image of the school. We ensure that our interactions with media comply with privacy requirements (Privacy Act 2020). We respond to media requests for official information by following the requirements of relevant legislation (Official Information Act 1982, Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987).

Contact with the media may involve responding to media enquiries and concerns, speaking on behalf of the school, sharing information and views, and promoting the school. At our school, the designated media contacts are the principal and board chair. The principal and board chair work together to manage media contact, including preparing media statements and determining who speaks to the media.

Anyone involved with the school wanting to contact the media to promote a school activity or event should discuss this with the designated media contact(s).

Interacting with the media

We recognise that media enquiries may be received by anyone in our school community in a variety of ways (e.g. phone, email, social media, in person). Anyone who receives a media enquiry related to the school should pass the enquiry to the designated media contact(s). Staff should not comment on potentially sensitive issues or make formal statements to the media on behalf of the school, unless this has been approved by the designated media contact(s).

When responding to a media enquiry, we:

determine who is making the enquiry (i.e. name, organisation, role, contact details), what the enquiry is about and what information they want from the school, and when they need the information by (seeking clarification in writing as needed)
ask if they are contacting anyone else in relation to the enquiry (e.g. other schools, organisations)
take time to discuss and consider how and when we will respond (e.g. prepared statement or interview)
consult with others about our response as needed (e.g. affected members of the school community, cultural advisors)
inform staff and any others affected of our intended media response as needed
support the wellbeing of our school community as needed.

Certain situations may require specific actions:

If the media wants to take photos or videos of the school, students, or staff (or the school considers sharing school-owned photos or videos with the media) we seek consent – see Public Sharing of Personal Information.
If we receive an official information request, we follow the appropriate procedures, including responding within the specified time period – see Requests for Official Information and Process for Requests Under the Official Information Act.
If needed, we follow our communication policy for communicating with our school community about emergencies, disasters, or crises that may attract media attention – see Emergency Management and After an Emergency.

We may seek external advice as needed when we interact with media (e.g. Ministry of Education, NZSBA, lawyer, the police).

Our designated media contact(s) maintain a record of all communication with media according to our school records retention and disposal schedule. After any media interaction, we may review actions taken and consider any improvements needed.

Related policies

Legislation

Privacy Act 2020
Official Information Act 1982
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

Release history: Term 4 2024, Term 1 2024, Term 2 2023, Term 1 2023, Term 3 2020

Topic Number: 9125	Last Modified Date: 21/01/2026 11:11:49
Topic Version: 1	Published Date: 30/01/2026

Last review	Term 3 2024
Topic type	Core