INTRODUCTORY LETTERS

Once you have determined whom to contact regarding coverage of your organization and its issues, one the most efficient ways to first approach them is by sending an introductory e-mail.

The e-mail should contain the following:

• The name of your organization and its mission

• Key individuals in your organization with brief biographical information

• What issues your organization speaks to, and why those issues are of importance to their audience

• Any information you feel will give the media outlet insight into your work

• Suggestions (keep them brief) for stories with a local angle

• Ways in which your local organization’s issues and events tie in with a national story

After sending an introductory e-mail, be sure to follow up with the media professional to see if they need more information, have any questions or are open to further discussion. Keep media professionals updated on your group’s activities, and put them on your distribution list for any publications.

Note: If your mailing list includes daily announcements, then you may not want to include media professionals, because it could overload them with information and prevent you from earning coverage on your important issues or work

MEDIA ADVISORIES

OVERVIEW

Media advisories (or media alerts) are generally used to inform the media of an upcoming event or press conference and provide only basic information without many details. The goal of an advisory is to encourage coverage without giving away all the substance.

EFFECTIVE MEDIA ADVISORIES...

• Hook readers with their headlines

• Only include the “5 W’s” (who, what, where, when and why)

• Are no longer than one page

• Are emailed or faxed to reporters three to five days in advance

• Are followed up with phone calls to targeted reporters the day before the event to make sure they are coming
  

INEFFECTIVE MEDIA ADVISORIES...

• Are missing key information

• Do not contain any news

• Contain spelling or grammatical errors

• Are boring or confusing

MEDIA RELEASES

OVERVIEW

A media release allows the opportunity to provide more background information on news items, along with editorializing in the form of quotes. Examples of topics that would warrant releases include: breaking news items, key staff hires or board appointments, announcement of event winners, etc.

EFFECTIVE MEDIA RELEASES...

• Are written like news stories

• Summarize news with quotes and background

• Are written at a quality to appear in the morning newspaper

• Are not more than two pages long

PRESS KITS

OVERVIEW

By combining a media advisory with basic information on a particular subject, you can create a press kit that media professionals can access and utilize in a variety of ways. Press kits can be customized depending on the event, issue or campaign on which you are working. For example, an organization may want to have a different kit for media they are speaking to about anti-gay harassment in schools than for media they are talking to about marriage equality. While the basic information on the organization will be the same (this should be included in the left side of your folder) there will be specialized information on the issue and your organization’s work, event, etc. (this should be included in the right side of the folder).

EFFECTIVE PRESS KITS INCLUDE

• A one-page summary of your organization (mission statement, constituency, goals, other important facts)

• A list of upcoming events

• Issues of concern, with any media releases or background information you have available on the subject

• Contact information, especially for your designated spokesperson

• A list of key staff and/or board of directors, with biographical information

• Any publications or brochures your organization distributes

• Business card of media contact or designated spokesperson
  

EXTRAS TO CONSIDER INCLUDING DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION ARE

• Relevant photographs with captions (black and white pictures are preferred)

• Statements of support (testimonials) from allied groups

• A copy of an op-ed you have placed

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

OVERVIEW

A simple, effective forum to voice your message is the Letters to the Editor section. Letters are guest opinion pieces of about 250 words that allow you to offer a brief rebuttal to or support of an event or article. Every day, newspapers receive numerous submissions, all of which compete for editorial space.

EFFECTIVE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...

• Comply with publication submission guidelines

• Include all contact information so the publication can verify authorship

• Carry the most important message in the first paragraph

• Do not assume reader knowledge

• Inform readers of something they are not likely to know

• Contain credibility plugs that demonstrate that you are qualified to write on this topic

• Use positive language rather than negative commands
  

INEFFECTIVE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...

• Use self-righteous language

• Exaggerate points

• Make readers feel as though they are being preached to

• Are untimely or irrelevant

• Are impersonal or dull

OP-EDS

OVERVIEW

Op-eds are guest opinion pieces of about 500 to 800 words that summarize an issue, develop an argument and propose a solution. Like letters to the editor, many op-eds are submitted to newspapers every day.

EFFECTIVE OP-EDS...

• Comply with newspaper submission guidelines

• Include all contact information so the newspaper can verify authorship

• Are timely and relevant

• Provide a provocative idea or opinion on a controversial or unexpected topic

• Inform a neglected issue

• Contain a personalized message
  

INEFFECTIVE OP-EDS...

• Are too long

• Are untimely or irrelevant

• Exaggerate points

• Are impersonal or dull