The Eurofurence Public Relations team is responsible for communication with journalists that plan to cover Eurofurence or the furry fandom in general. It will take care of them during the convention. The goal is to allow a reasonable amount of media coverage without disturbing the convention atmosphere.
In a nutshell, we
- answer media requests
- take care of reporters on-site
- arrange contact between reporters and furries
- observe and collect media coverage
Due to the increase of workload we need to restructure our team. This opens positions for which we are looking for multiple volunteers:
Media ReceptionistThe Media Receptionist
- greets arriving representatives of the media and informs a Media Liaison or the Team Lead
- answers phone to make appointments and provides basic information about the Eurofurence convention and the conditions for on-site coverage
- maintains a list of appointments for on-site coverage
- maintains a list of on-site reporters
- works closely with the Team Lead and the Media Liaisons
There is no obligation to give interviews or appear in the media otherwise.
Only few qualifications are required:
- proficiency in German
- friendly and cultivated manners and appearance
Additionally, a Media Receptionist
- must not be active member of the Security Team or Con Ops at the same time
- should not be active member of other time consuming teams at Eurofurence
- works in shifts during daytime (the more MRs we have, the less work for each)
Media LiaisonThe Media Liaison
- informs on-site reporters about the Eurofurence media policy
- hands out and collects press badges
- hands out the Eurofurence fact sheet and other background information
- escorts the reporters
- helps finding attendees willing to give interviews
- should be comfortable giving interviews
- mediates in case of conflicts between reporters and attendees
Qualifications are
- proficiency in German and English
- friendly, cultivated and self-confident manners and appearance
- a good overview about the various facets of the Furry Fandom
- basic skills in talking to an audience
- basic knowledge with how various kinds of media work
Additionally, a Media Liaison
- must not be active member of the Security Team or Con Ops at the same time
- should not be active member of other time consuming teams at Eurofurence
- should be prepared to appear in the media (if only incidently)
- is "on-call" during daytime
If you are interested in taking over any of these positions (or even want to work both, but of course not at the same time!) please drop me an email at pr@eurofurence.org. There will be an on-site training and (if possible) jour fixes, so don't be afraid if do not have any practical experience yet. It is a great way to improve your communication skills. I'm using a lot of the skills I learned as the spokesperson of Eurofurence in my job, and it really helps me a lot as a technical support engineer.