Appendix B: Advice on working with the media

In dealing with the press in your area it helps to keep some things in mind.

  1. Begin the publicity process by identifying contacts (by name) before you really have "an event" to report. The objective is to locate the key individuals and find out how they operate, e.g. when is the best time to contact them, do they prefer faxed information or a telephone call, what are their deadlines, etc.
  2. Find out the most appropriate contact at the paper in your town city or state. Your college or university public relations/community relations office should be able to get this to you. Another good source is your local library, where you'll find Bacon's Publicity Checker - subtitled the "Directory of Daily and Weekly Newspapers and News Services and Syndicates." Bacon's offers geographical listings of some 18,000 new groups. Bacon's also lists the area of specialty or `beat' each reporter/editor coversū the "university beat' or science editor are likely candidates. In the unlikely event your paper doesn't list either one, try the "Metro Editor."
  3. Find out the appropriate contacts at the television stations in your area. Again if your school's public relations office doesn't have these names and addresses, check out BPI Media Services. The best way to insure TV coverage of an event is to address your release to the assignment editor, or if you event is to take place Saturday or Sunday, the weekend assignment editor.
  4. For radio coverage, consider BPI Radio Contacts. Most stations employ a News Director; addressing your release to this individual by name will ensure that your release gets noticed by the right person. Call the station and find out the name before you need to have it - it will save time later.
  5. Timing is critical to getting coverage of your event. The more advance notice you give the media the better your chances of seeing your event in the papers and on the news. The rule of thumb is to send a release to the newspapers at least one month ahead of time; for TV and radio stations two to three weeks may be appropriate.
  6. Keep in mind that on a typical news day, the newsroom at CNN's Headquarters in Atlanta, GA receives 3,000 pieces of mail begging for coverage. To compete successfully against other story ideas and news releases being sent to your paper, TV & radio station follow-up is a must. If you fax your release to a newspaper or TV stations give them two days to take a look at it and then call your contact. If you mail your release, call within five to seven business days.
  7. Your phone manner can often make or break story coverage for you. Remember that time is a precious commodity in a newsroom. When calling it's often a good idea to ask up front "Am I getting you at a bad time?" or "Do you have a minute to talk?" It may seem academic, but a polite, professional attitude wins you more coverage than you'll ever realize. If your contact is available, explain to them quickly the nature of the call, the importance of the event, the timeliness of the event and (perhaps most important) any striking visual aspects TV assignment editors especially need visuals.

Tips on Writing a News Release

The news or press release is the workhorse of public relations communication efforts. How important it is depends on which desk you sit at. If you're a newspaper reporter who sees hundreds of release each week, releases can be viewed as a necessary evil. If you're a public relations professional, they're your meal ticket, your livelihood.

In a nutshell, the more time you put into communicating your "news," the better your chances of receiving coverage or at least a response. With that in mind, consider the tips listed below as a guide for news or press release writing and take a look at the sample releases and media advisory at the end of this chapter.

  1. Try to do some planning before you began writing your news release. Ask yourself these basic public relations questions:
    • What is the message you want to convey?
    • Who is your audience? (other students? faculty members? state education officials? the general public?)
    • Should the media come calling with questions in response to release(s) you sent out, who is your spokesperson going to be? Who can get your message across in quick 30 second sound bites full of information? Who is the most vocal, enthusiastic representative?
    • What is the most realistic outcome you can expect from coverage? National, regional or local newspapers? TV and radio stations? News Bureaus such as AP, UPI and Reuters? Engineering trade press magazines? Regional and national general interest publications?
  2. Keep your release to two sides of a page. This translates to roughly 375 words or less.
  3. Two elements of the news releases are crucial in getting the attention of editors and reporters: your headline and your lead paragraph. If you don't have their interest by the end of the first paragraph, your release -- and your coverage -- could end up in the wastebasket.
  4. With that in mind, before writing your lead paragraph, ask yourself the following questions: What is the most important aspect of this event? Who is going to be there? What is so newsworthy about it? How many people will participate, and from where? If you were a newspaper reporter, why would you want to cover this event?
  5. If you're really at a loss on how to write the lead, remember the "5 Ws" rule: Who, What, Why, When, Where. If you include a little of each in the lead, you've got a good paragraph. Granted, it's been done a million times. But it is still effective and gets the job done quickly.
  6. Throughout the release, avoid the passive tone. Strive for active verbs and adjectives that make the events jump out at the reader. Instead of saying "Thirty students from Michigan State University participated at the annual "Into the Streets" cleanup project," consider: "Thirty MSU students performed a miraculous makeover of five city blocks at the annual "Into the Streets" cleanup project."
  7. Vary your sentence length. Releases dominated by long sentences can be intimidating. Releases with short sentences only don't tell the whole story either. Interchanging the two styles guides the reader and keeps their attention.
  8. Editors and reporters appreciate the visual aid provided by bold type and bullets. By bolding the name of the event or important facts regarding it you allow the reader to skim your release. Bullets are good for listing conference sessions, speakers or reasons why the event is so newsworthy.
  9. Somewhere on the release -- preferably in the top right-hand comer -- include a contact person and phone number for the editor or reporter to get in touch with from your organization.
  10. Your last paragraph should serve as "boilerplate" material that supplies the year you're chapter was founded, its purpose and possibly the number of members.

How to Write a Chapter Backgrounder

  • In this day and age where convenience is everything and people prefer to have everything at their fingertips, the "backgrounder" is becoming a staple of public relations materials.
  • A "backgrounder" contains everything on an organization in one easy-to-read document. More than a history of the organization, the backgrounder gives the outside world a sense of what the organization stands for, what they do, how they do it, who is involved and what they achieve.
  • When putting together a chapter backgrounder, there are some basic questions to ask yourself. The answers to these questions will provide you with the `guts' of the backgrounder. The questions include:
  • When was your chapter founded?
  • Why was it founded?
  • How many students are members of your chapter?
  • Are there categories among student members? For instance, is there a new member's group? A recruitment coordinating committee?
  • How is your chapter governed? Who is your President, Vice President, Who is your Faculty Advisor?--Do you have a budget? How is revenue generated for this budget - through student government financial committees or solely by the chapter?
  • What are your Chapters goals? How are those goals fulfilled?
  • What are the various committees that operate within your chapter?
  • What educational programs do you sponsor? Are scholarships available?
  • At monthly meetings, are local speakers invited to address your chapter?
  • Does your chapter have a canon of ethics?
  • Does the chapter publish reports, papers or newsletter on a monthly or annual basis?
  • What awards or special commendations have been bestowed upon your Chapter?
  • Are there notable alumni from your chapter who are outstanding members of the engineering, business or political arena who are well-known in your town, city, state or nation wide?