Media Relations Tools

News Releases—Most effective for stories with lots of facts and information, such as announcement of events or of research findings. Keep short—two pages or less if possible—and target mailings. Stay factual and objective; do not gush in flowery adjectives. Also effective in reaching specialized, trade or industry publication, wire services or small weekly and daily newspapers that do not have the staff to generate all of their own copy. NIS generates the University’s news releases.

Phone calls—Best for breaking news or pitches with a tight deadline (e.g., something happening on your campus tomorrow). Plan out what you want to say before calling, and keep your message brief in order to respect the reporter or editor’s limited time. Be prepared to leave your 30-second voice-mail pitch, since many phone calls will not reach a live human being.

Faxes—Do not send unsolicited faxes unless you have a previous arrangement with a reporter, editor or news organization. Best used for breaking news or when a reporter has requested follow-up information.

E-mail—Like faxes, not appreciated by most reporters unless you check first. Keep e-mail contents short, since some systems cannot accept very long messages. Use the subject line like a headline to grab attention.

Pitch letters—Most effective with trend stories or less time-sensitive feature ideas. Keep to one page, and write in a snappy, conversational style. Address to a specific individual, by name, whose interests and coverage areas you have researched.

Personal visits—Used to cement personal relationships begun at a distance, to introduce faculty or administrators to reporters, and to establish an ongoing relationship. Can be time-consuming and expensive. Best reserved for occasions when you have a specific and well-planned-out agenda, rather than for vague “get-acquainted” sessions.

Tipsheets—Good for conveying short, snappy story ideas in quantity. Can be general or subject-specific (e.g., business, health, environment). Especially well received by the broadcast media.

Alerts/advisories—Used for fast breaking stories, particularly when you want to offer expert commentary. Generally prefaced by a phone call, followed by fax or e-mail transmission.

Press conferences—Used to make a major announcement; or when one or more individuals from your institution need to be available for face-to-face interviews with a large number of media (three or more). Frequently overused by groups seeking attention, a press conference can be embarrassing if only one or two reporters show up. Use sparingly.

Op/eds—Can be used to position faculty members as experts on a specific topic. However, rules for writing op/eds are often difficult for faculty members to abide by, and rejection is frequent. Reserve for those few individuals who have a flair for editorial writing or who are willing to let you edit liberally.

Media seminars/fellowships—A chance to get journalists on your campus for in-depth information delivered over a period ranging from a half-day to a week or more. Allows for development of relationships with faculty and conveys the strengths of your campus in one or more focused areas. Cost can range from bargain basement to lavish. Must be planned by a staff-member with a talent for detail.

Expert guides—These receive mixed reviews, but many journalists say they use them. Trends are toward guides with brief biographical information on sources to establish credentials; smaller guides or flyers focused on a narrow subject area; and online guides, which are keyword-searchable.

Video news releases—Trend toward smaller newsroom staffs may make these more accepted among TV news organizations than in the past. However, they can be extremely costly to produce, so save them for stories you know you have terrific visuals. Often, a mailed or faxed pitch with an offer of unedited B-roll (raw footage) is equally successful.

Radio actualities—Best used for reaching smaller stations whose staffs are too small to produce many news stories. If offering over a phone line, pay attention to the quality of the feed. Many universities have been successful with a low-budget radio actualities program by producing and mailing cassettes.

Photographs/artwork—Terrific photos can sell a story that might otherwise be marginal. Trends include offering photos online, and digitizing photos into news releases.

Online information—Some journalists are sophisticated enough to use the Worldwide Web, but most barely even have access to e-mail. When offering information online, keep in mind that what you’re really doing is bypassing the media “gatekeepers” and reaching interested individuals directly.