The impact of any event or action your group plans can be greatly
enhanced by media attention. Larger events relevant to the surrounding
community can reach an audience of hundreds of thousands if covered by a
TV station or daily paper. Media attention can put you in contact with
people in your community working on similar issues who will lend
support.
A good rule of thumb is to spend 10% of your organizing time on
attracting press. For small events, you need spend only a few minutes
on press outreach. Send a personal note to an editor you know at your
campus paper and follow up with a few calls. For large events, consider
the likelihood of coverage from each news source on your media list
before wasting paper and time. Remember that some TV stations have no
news on weekends, that daily newspapers run small issues on Saturdays
and Mondays, and that "big name" reporters schedule their assignments as
much as two weeks in advance.
Suggestions for attracting the media to larger campus events
- Make a list of places to send press releases. Include the "Assignment
Desk" at all local TV news stations (including cable) and daily
newspapers. Include the "news editor" at key campus publications,
local weekly papers, and radio stations with big news departments.
Also include the "News Desk" and "Photo desk" at the nearest offices
of Associated Press and UPI. Finally, add any "education journalists"
specifically assigned to cover events at your campus as well as weekly
TV news shows. Call in advance to get the names of these people. For
each outlet, include its name, address, phone number, and fax number
in your list.
- 10 days before your event, mail a press advisory to weekly papers or
TV shows and follow up in 3 days.
- Mail your press release to the entire list so that it will arrive 3
business days before your event and call them 2 days before the event.
Use a formal, upbeat style. Don't read a long pitch. Pause
frequently, so that the reporter will have a chance to give you
feedback. That way you can tell whether he or she is actually
considering covering your event. Make sure you take neat notes on
whether the reaction you get is "no way," "maybe," or "probably."
- The day of the event, call each media outlet (except weeklies) in
their first hour of business for the day (5:30am for radio, 7am for
TV, 8am for daily newspapers. If they don't know about the event,
offer to fax them the press release and make sure you have access to a
fax machine. Write down those you expect to come.
- At your event, staff a table marked "PRESS." Hand each reporter
literature and sign them in so that you can find out later if they run
a story.
- Befriend and cultivate good relations with the media. If possible,
designate one person to follow up with reporters who seemed
particularly receptive.
Press Release Suggestions
A press release should include the rationale for an event, what you
are trying to change, and all relevant information that you would want
to be considered by a journalist, but keep it brief. Include your
strongest facts or stances. Reporters may use your exact words and text
of your release. One page with all event information is standard. At
the top of your press release, include the date you want the information
to first be announced (usually the day of the event, never later).
Immediately below, include the names of at least two press spokespeople,
one of which must be available during business hours. Right below that,
write the title, time, date, location, directions, and names of
participants in your event.
Have a group of people has a review the drafts of the press release.
This group will be able to divide the work of followup calls.
The body of your release should be written in clear simple English,
with short sentences so that it could be read on the air. The first
sentence should describe the whole event: "Two hundred students rallied
today at the University of Buffalo to demand a 50% reduction in their
tuition, which is now $15,000 per year." The rest of the release should
explain everything so simply and clearly that your aunt or your
grandfather would understand what you were trying to accomplish.
What about press conferences?
A press conference is a formal presentation of your case designed
exclusively for the press. The key question to ask when deciding
whether to have a press conference is, "Will reporters come?" You will
be best off when there is some other big event (perhaps organized by the
university) to which your press conference can serve as a form of
"counterdemonstration." Or when a big story that has been brewing for
weeks or months finally breaks, such as the results of a campus
referendum. A press conference announcement only needs to be one page
long, usually with the information about time, location, topic,
participants, etc. spelled out in outline form. Make sure reporters
receive it two days before the event. Followup calls should be made to
key reporters and then on the morning of the event.

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