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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s May 2006 newsletter –
‘Events
and the media’.
Over the past few weeks we have managed the media for the
Enviro 06 Conference & Exhibition and for the
Australian Water Association’s forum, ‘Climate change and
the water environment’.
In this issue, we offer some tips to help you get good media
coverage for your event.
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Lynne Goodwin, Mary
O’Callaghan and Sarah Bartlett
In this issue: Events and the
media
Planning a
media conference
Preparing
'talent' for a media conference
Journalists
are homo sapiens too!
What to put in a
media kit
Surf club
Quotation of the month
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Contact us
Planning a media conference
By
Jenni Metcalfe
Media conferences can be organised very quickly but
early planning avoids potential problems. Here’s a check
list that you might find useful in planning your media
conference.
Three to four weeks before the event
-
Identify the story - why do you want to publicise it?
-
Get agreement by all involved that a media event is desirable,
and on the nature of the event.
-
Identify the spokesperson.
-
Choose the date and time (early in week, morning is best).
-
Identify the media - local/national, radio/TV/newspaper/all.
-
Draft the media release.
-
Contact magazines, trade journals, specialist TV shows with
longer lead times.
Two weeks before the event
-
Get the media release approved by all involved (it should
be approaching final version).
-
Identify and arrange photo opportunities, demonstrations etc.
The week before the event
-
Progressively issue media release on an embargoed basis.
-
Book cars, equipment, mobile phones.
-
Inform the local receptionist of the event.
-
Rehearse the events of the day.
Two days before the event
-
Issue the media release generally, on an embargoed basis.
-
Follow up major journalists by phone.
-
Check the equipment needed for the day, including mobile phone.
The day of the event
-
Phone television stations to see that they got the release;
‘sell’ the story.
-
Get to site 90 minutes beforehand; check any directional signs,
equipment; final rehearsal.
After the event
-
Be prepared for follow-up radio interviews.
-
Evaluate, hold a ‘post-mortem’.
Preparing 'talent' for a media
conference
By
Sarah Bartlett
Participants in a media conference are known by journalists as
‘talent’. Here are a few tips to help the ‘talent’ prepare for
the event.
-
Define the key messages. These are not statements for ‘talent’
to repeat by rote but a reminder of the message they wish to
convey. Prepared messages will help them avoid straying from the
topic. Make sure all messages are approved by the organisation
as a whole.
-
Have participants practice different ways of expressing the same
message in simple, everyday language.
-
Make sure participants have provided a mobile number and that
they make themselves available from an early hour on the day of
the event.
-
Participants should speak with enthusiasm and clarity. Find
aspects of the story or issue that the panel are passionate
about and focus on these.
Journalists are homo sapiens too!
By Lynne
Goodwin
Many of us have experienced the frustration of dozens of
bounce-back emails from journalist contact lists. An up to date
list of contacts is vital to connect with the right people at
the right time.
If mail does bounce back, delete the contact from your file.
If you are sure the journalist is still practicing, follow them
up. You can contact the media outlet directly to find out
whether they still work there, but this is time consuming. It’s
more efficient to subscribe to the
Margaret Gee Media Guide—an online database of all known
media in Australia. The list is updated quarterly, so all you
have to do is copy it into your own list.
Equally important is having a good relationship with
journalists.
Being able to approach the media is vital to for getting the
right coverage. Building a friendly but professional
relationship with the media is the key to getting your event
covered. You can do this by:
-
inviting them to lunch to discuss story ideas
-
calling them when new information on projects becomes available
-
conducting a media briefing during events based around topical
areas of interest
What to put in a media kit
By Mary
O'Callaghan
One way of sparking media interest in a conference or other
gathering is to supply journalists with a media kit in advance
of the event. Find out whether the journalists you are targeting
prefer hard copy or electronic versions (ask them).
Here are ten things to include in a media kit:
1. A cover
page that acts as a table of contents
2. Venue,
date and time, and a map showing how to get there
3. Details
of any media conferences, including contact details
4. Media
releases
5. Media
briefs
6. Top
story ideas
7. The
program for the event
8. Short
bios and contact details for all major speakers
9.
Background material to help the media understand the
organisation/program
10. Contact
details (mobile, landline, email) for your media liaison person
Surf club
Fed up with all the bad news? Positive News is about people,
events and influences that are helping to create a more positive
future for the world and its people.
Quotation of the month
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss
of enthusiasm”.
Winston Churchill
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