Spring 1986 RAIN Page 31 SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION: TOOLS FOR ORGANIZATIONS Toolsfor Organizations is edited by the staffofthe Centerfor Urban Education's School ofManagement. The school offers classes, publications, and services to nonprofit organizations. public agencies, and other community groups. For more irformation, contact the School ofManagement, Centerfor Urban Education, 1135 SE Salmon, Portland, OR 97214. Communicating with the Media Thefollowing article is takenfrom the CUE Oregon Media Guide. It was originally written byformerRainmaker Rhoda Epstein and later revised by Louise Kasper. While all the guidelines listed in the article do not apply in every community, they are generally useful. The complete sixth edition of the guide is availablefrom RAIN. —SS The purpose of this article is to provide a tool for community organizations who want to communicate more effectively to the media. Before you begin a publicity campaign, make sure that mass media is what you want to be using. While you are preparing to do this, you might want to think about image, goals/results, timing. What is your message? Who are the publics you want to reach? How do you package your information to reach your audience? Following are some very basic guidelines on how to communicate with the media. Deadlines 1) Two weeks in advance. This is generally standard. Some media require three weeks. 2) Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to get tilings done. 3) If you know about events far in advance, some media appreciate an early notification to allow for their planning. A month in advance will enable some monthly publications to use your information. Call to be certain. 4) They are few and you are many. Press Releases (Also called information releases, news releases) 1) Write simple, declarative sentences and be brief. Type and double space all copy, using one side of the paper. One page is a good length, two pages maximum (unless the circumstances are unusual). 2) Your opening sentence should summarize what follows in the rest of the release. Your lead paragraph should contain the five newspaper Ws—^who,what,where,when,why—and sometimes how. 3) Your information should be accurate—check the spelling of names, check phone numbers and address, and make sure dates and days of the week agree. 4) You can title or “headline” your release; this gives an immediate indication of what the release is about (not for the purpose of suggesting a headline). 5) The release should have the name, address and phone number of the group sending the release. Letterhead stationary would provide this information. If this is your organizaton's first contact with the media, send along some basic information about your group on an additional sheet. 6) Include the name(s) and phone number(s) of the person(s) to contact about specifics of the release and/or the event. This prevents an “I don’t know what you're talking about” response when the newspaper, radio, or TV station contacts your organization. The phone number is especially important if a volunteer, working at home, is the information source of the news release. 7) Send clean copies of your news release—photocopying and quick printing are fast and inexpensive ways to duplicate press releases. 8) Photos are a complicated area. Most large newspapers prefer to take their own photographs but will accept black and white head and shoulder shots of people. Many smaller newspapers will accept photos. If you are not sure about the paper's photo policy, call. When sending in a photo, identify the subject(s) on a piece of paper attached to the back of the picture. Take care when writing directly on the back of the photo; use a soft marking pen, not a ball point or pencil which leave impressions on the photo. If you have an idea for a possible photo, write a note on your press release and follow up with a phone call. 9) Read the newspapers before you send your release to determine what kinds of stories they are running, the general styles of the newspapers, who are the editors of the special sections, and which reporters cover the types of stories you're sending. If your contact with a newspaper is going to be long term, work on building rapport with a news staff member. And remember to consider the circulation area of the
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