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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE: 

Establish, develop and manage media relationships to promote the policies of Government 
SAQA US ID UNIT STANDARD TITLE
12437  Establish, develop and manage media relationships to promote the policies of Government 
ORIGINATOR
SGB Government Communication and Information Stms 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-  
FIELD SUBFIELD
Field 04 - Communication Studies and Language Communication Studies 
ABET BAND UNIT STANDARD TYPE PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL CREDITS
Undefined  Regular  Level 7  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L7  6 
REGISTRATION STATUS REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date -
Status was "Reregistered" 		 2018-07-01  2023-06-30  SAQA 06120/18 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30   2027-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard. 

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD 
This unit standard is for people who have or seek responsibility for government communications programmes and need to establish and maintain working relationships with media organisations and representatives.

Persons credited with this unit standard are able to:
  • Identify and monitor media ownership and operational culture to promote government image;
  • Develop and manage mechanisms for interacting with the media; Negotiate media access and news coverage; Monitor and analyse media coverage;
  • Advise and prepare management and spokespersons for media experiences 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    The credit calculation is based on the assumption that learners are already competent in the following areas of learning when starting to learn towards this unit standard:
  • Communications, language and journalism at a minimum of NQF Level 6
  • Experience in dealing with the media.
  • Knowledge and understanding of government policies and processes 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD RANGE 
    The following scope and context applies to the whole unit standard:
  • The term "media" in this unit standard refers to press, radio, television, film, and magazines, and encompasses print, graphic, electronic, computer, and telecommunications, in the following contexts: public, private and community.

    Specific range statements are provided in the body of the unit standard where they apply to particular specific outcomes or assessment criteria. 
    		•

    Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria: 

    SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1 
    Identify and monitor media ownership and operational culture. 
    OUTCOME RANGE 
    Limited to media organisations relevant to government communications 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERIA     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1 
    1. Media organisations are examined and implications are identified for establishment and development of media relationships in relation to ownership and operational cultures. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2 
    2. Factors that may impact upon the management enhancement of relationships are identified in terms of ownership and operational culture. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3 
    3. Media ownership and operational culture are outlined in terms of their potential impact on government communication and the promotion of a positive image. 

    SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2 
    Develop and manage mechanisms for interacting with the media. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERIA     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1 
    1. A media contact list is developed and maintained in terms of completeness and currency of information. 
    ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE 
    Media list refers to a database of diverse media
     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2 
    2. Systems are ensured to be in place for the pro-active release of relevant information to the media. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3 
    3. Media queries are responded to timeously and in a way that promotes Government image. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4 
    4. A relevant media contact list is developed and current, and comprises public, private and community media contacts. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5 
    5. Issues of common interest between Government and the media are identified and opportunities are identified and created to interact around such issues on a regular basis. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 6 
    6. Changes to Government programmes and policies are communicated to the media in accordance with relevant briefing methods. 
    ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE 
    Briefing methods include, but are not limited to, press conferences; press releases; interviews; special briefing sessions
     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 7 
    7. Relationship building activities are undertaken in a manner that promotes harmony between Government and media. 
    ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE 
    Activities include: visits to media houses; cocktail sessions; invitations to visit Government offices; joint training sessions
     

    SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3 
    Enhance media access and news coverage to promote government image. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERIA     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1 
    1. Government activities and communications are evaluated and documented in terms of actual and potential level of media interest. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2 
    2. Media selection recommendations are made in order to maximise coverage and achieve communications objectives. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3 
    3. Media strategies are formulated to maximise media coverage and achieve communications objectives. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4 
    4. Media recommendations and strategies are ranked in terms of their ability and capacity to provide required message coverage and to meet communications objectives. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5 
    5. Timing of events and activities are communicated to the media in accordance with agreed time schedules, and contact information is provided to enable confirmation of information and activities. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 6 
    6. The potential impact of intended government communications on news coverage is considered and amendments are made which are likely to enhance the image of government. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 7 
    7. The media source is selected in accordance with the type of message and target audience. 

    SPECIFIC OUTCOME 4 
    Monitor and evaluate media coverage. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERIA     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1 
    1. Options for monitoring media coverage are assessed in terms of the use of media monitoring services, or internal systems to record media coverage, or a combination of both. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2 
    2. Media coverage is evaluated in terms of effectiveness in achieving message placement objectives, anticipated impact, and public relations objectives. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3 
    3. Corrective action is taken timeously and in a way that maintains mutual understanding between government and the media, where inaccurate coverage has occurred. 
    ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE 
  • Corrective action includes issuing public notices, engagement in discussions, and positive dispute resolution.
  • Inaccurate coverage includes non-factual information, distortions and omissions.
     
    		•

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4 
    4. Recommendations address variations from expected performance levels. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5 
    5. The results of analyses of all relevant media coverage are distributed to relevant stakeholders through the appropriate reporting mechanisms. 

    SPECIFIC OUTCOME 5 
    Advise and prepare management and spokespersons on media experiences. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERIA     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1 
    1. Management and spokespersons are briefed on media interviews in terms of the characteristics, communication techniques, and potential impacts of the interview. 
    ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE 
    Media interviews include interviews for newspapers, radio and television reporting
     

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2 
    2. Management and spokespersons are briefed on interview approaches and techniques of specific interviewers in a manner that prepares them adequately for engagement with the media. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3 
    3. Objectives are established with management and spokespersons for interview outcomes in planned situations. This includes communicating significant information relevant to the circumstances. 

    ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4 
    4. Management and spokespersons are briefed on responses and techniques for achieving positive communication outcomes in unplanned media exposure situations. 


    UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS 
    Accreditation Options:
    Providers of learning towards this unit standard will need to meet the accreditation requirements of the Public Sector ETQA.

    Moderation Option:
    The moderation requirements of the Public Sector ETQA must be met in order to award credit to learners for this unit standard. 

    UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE 
    Essential embedded knowledge will be assessed through the specific outcomes in terms of the stipulated assessment criteria. This includes the direct assessment of knowledge. 


    Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO): 

    UNIT STANDARD CCFO IDENTIFYING 
    Identify and solve problems:
  • Planning for contingencies, taking corrective action when communication has yielded negative results, anticipating issues and communicating them to spokespeople during counselling.

    Understand the world as a set of inter-related parts of a system:
  • Understanding the impact of communications on a variety of audiences; understanding the relationship dynamics between media, government and public sector. 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD CCFO WORKING 
    Work effectively with others and in team:
  • Interacting with the media; negotiating media access; maintaining good relations with the media; involving all stakeholders; counselling spokespeople. 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD CCFO ORGANISING 
    Organise and manage oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively:
  • Ensuring contact lists are updated; planning to interact with media; responding on time to negative messages. 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING 
    Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information:
  • Identifying and monitoring media ownership; managing media contacts; evaluating impact of communications. 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD CCFO COMMUNICATING 
    Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills:
  • Interacting with the media; issuing communiques; interacting with stakeholders; briefing and counselling spokespeople. 
    		•

    UNIT STANDARD ASSESSOR CRITERIA 
    Assessors should keep the following general principles in mind when designing and conducting assessments against this unit standard:
  • Focus the assessment activities on gathering evidence in terms of the main outcome expressed in the title to ensure assessment is integrated rather than fragmented. Remember we want to declare the person competent in terms of the title. Where assessment at title level is unmanageable, then focus assessment around each specific outcome, or groups of specific outcomes.
  • Make sure evidence is gathered across the entire range, wherever it applies. Assessment activities should be as close to the real performance as possible, and where simulations or role-plays are used, there should be supporting evidence to show the candidate is able to perform in the real situation.
  • Do not focus the assessment activities on each assessment criterion. Rather make sure the assessment activities focus on outcomes and are sufficient to enable evidence to be gathered around all the assessment criteria.
  • The assessment criteria provide the specifications against which assessment judgements should be made. In most cases, knowledge can be inferred from the quality of the performances, but in other cases, knowledge and understanding will have to be tested through questioning techniques. Where this is required, there will be assessment criteria to specify the standard required.
  • The task of the assessor is to gather sufficient evidence, of the prescribed type and quality, as specified in this unit standard, that the candidate can achieve the outcomes again and again and again. This means assessors will have to judge how many repeat performances are required before they believe the performance is reproducible.
  • All assessments should be conducted in line with the following well documented principles of assessment: appropriateness, fairness, manageability, integration into work or learning, validity, direct, authentic, sufficient, systematic, open and consistent. 
    		•

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015. 

    QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD: 
      ID QUALIFICATION TITLE PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL STATUS END DATE PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
    Core  50585   National Certificate: Public Service Communication  Level 6  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6  Passed the End Date -
    Status was "Reregistered"     		 2023-06-30  PSETA 
    Fundamental  48726   Advanced Diploma: Diplomacy  Level 7  NQF Level 07  Passed the End Date -
    Status was "Reregistered"     		 2023-06-30  PSETA until Last Date for Achievement 
    Elective  58012   National Certificate: Disaster Risk Management  Level 7  NQF Level 07  Passed the End Date -
    Status was "Reregistered"     		 2018-12-31  CHE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    NONE 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.