A blog by Daniel Torchia, managing director of Torchia Communications, recently published in The Catholic Journalist, a publication of the Catholic Media Association.

Ask 10 Church leaders their opinion on working with secular media and chances are you’ll get a majority that responds with a less than favourable reaction. In my experience, the dominant attitude in the Church with respect to its relationship with mainstream, secular media is one of negativity, sometimes indifference or even at times despair... The time is ripe for a collaborative approach to challenging this wall or alienation between the Catholic faith and working members of the press. 

In 2024, two cases jump out in support of this hope-filled claim: The ordination of Frederic Langlois, a young priest from the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke, and the Knights of Columbus summertime Supreme Convention held in Québec City — two of the markets in our hemisphere most believed to be critical of the institutional Church. With an approach comprising disciplined journalistic writing, proactive info-sharing and courteous, professional and accessible service, the local media not only received our messages (and messengers) with appreciation and balance but freely made the choice to shed light on the inspirational and universal (human-interest) elements of the stories, characters and angles inherent in and related to these events…. 

 “Our mission is based on communication, since we must announce the Good News,” says Gérald C. Lacroix, Cardinal Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Québec. “Our Lord Jesus Christ did the same thing. He established dialogue with all people. When I speak with media, I consider first and foremost that I’m speaking to a person, and I make it a point to care for the dialogue and relationship before and after the interview. I have been blessed to have solid relationships with members of the press, relationships that are characterized by a lot of honesty and hope. I have no reason to be fearful.”

These successes are far from anomalies. Over the past 17 years (that) I’ve been blessed to work at the intersection of faith and media, this scenario has played itself over and over. Can this relationship truly be a fruitful and positive one repeatedly? Yes, provided a few conditions are met. 

Firstly, the power of journalism. Humans have a deep affinity toward neutral, third-person accounts. While the role of professional communicator in the Church today may indeed contain elements of reputation management, promotions and education, it also includes an element of “resident journalist” chronicling the ups and downs of the life of the diocese, ministry or organization. And there’s no better way to do that than through journalistic writing.

Secondly, consistent info sharing, in good times and in bad. We know that pain, struggles, defeats and crises on the individual level can lead to personal growth. Organizationally, they also lead to credibility and affinity,  not only among one’s core audience groups but also with media. We’ve all been warned about fair-weather friends. The warning applies to we who work in organizational communications: we have nothing to gain by being solely fair-weather storytellers. 

Thirdly, let go of what you need to let go; control what’s yours to control. Is it reasonable to bat 1.000 in baseball? Neither is it reasonable to control 100 per cent of your interviews or other conversations with media. The media are free to write what they want, but we can control critical elements of the dialogue. Instead of fighting to control the totality of the segment or article, we must focus on our quotes, our own websites and newsrooms and our non-verbal communication, which starts with being present... 

 Fourthly, Reuse and recycle. Proactive media relations pays off handsomely. When we sit down to write our pieces or pitches, we get the full story complete with supporting quotes and relevant images or video so it becomes easy to reformat and repurpose content across other owned and even external channels... The marketing industry calls it omnichannel, integrated communications, and it’s not only effective, but also economical. 

 Fifthly, train for culture. Organizational cultures do not change overnight. The process requires  a vision, internal champions, a plan, repetition and time...