At the True Spin Conference on January 22nd, 2010, I had the opportunity to hear Holly Minch offer advice on how nonprofits can take full advantage of each piece of news coverage and use coverage to increase their visibility to supporters and donors.
Here’s what she had to say…
Want to hear some direct advice from a reporter? Hear what advice Public News Service offered to our members about press releases and working with reporters in the September Skills Training recording:
Access the streamed recording at the following link:
Our September Skills Training featured Skip Wood and Erick Mack of Public News Service, who offered advice for many good questions that members had about press releases, reaching reporters, and working with the media.
Before the training, both editors contributed a series of training documents to our training center on press releases and story telling.
You’ve crafted an award-winning press packet – all the information the media will ever need for your big event. But it only gets a couple inches in the paper, or a big storm arrives the same day your packet comes in the mail and the storm is the only thing that gets coverage. And even if you do attract some media, you’re disappointed because they left so much out!
The attached diagram from Skip Wood at Public News Service is an excellent visual framework of being strategic in the structure and framework of your press releases.
It includes many of the essential aspects including header, paragraphs, bullet points, and the strategic inclusion of additional information.
Skip Wood has been with Public News Service for ten years, first as producer/reporter and currently as editor. For the last eight years, he has also been a producer for "Hear It Now," a talk show on the Prairie Public radio network, a PBS affiliate. Before all that, he was news producer for KXJB-TV, Fargo for 21 years.
This article by Susan Young, President of Get in Front Communications, gives 15 good tips for what you should do and not do in a press release. It takes into consideration that reporters and other news-eaters may only have at most a few seconds to scan each press release that comes in front of them, and how releases can be constructed to catch the eye of the glancer.
When to use a press releaseTo let the media know about breaking news from a press briefing, the release of a report or other newsworthy event. A release can also be used to summarize a story or report contained in a scientific journal, or as background information. Releases should be written like the best of all possible "stories" coming out of your event.
