Satish Reddy of Scribes INC give Media Tips
1) Know your media : Read your local paper, listen to your local radio and watch your local TV so you know how they report stories and what type of stories they like. Ring them up and check which journalists cover your issue and when their deadlines are. Introduce yourself and tell them what issues you work on.
2) Keep your press release short and to the point : Preferably all on one page or maximum two.
3) Send your press release in the body of the email : Don’t send it as an attachment and don’t include logos. Emails with attachments often get bounced back.
4) Follow up your release : Ring the news desk to check they have your release, whether they will be covering the story and if they have all the information they need
5) Pick your time to ring journalists : Try not to ring close to deadlines as they won’t have time to chat. You can fi nd out their deadlines by ringing the news desk. For example, journalists on daily papers are usually very busy in the late afternoon – it’s best to ring them mid-morning
6) If the journalists isn’t interested in your story, ask why : It will be useful learning for your next story.
7) Don’t be put off : There might be a whole host of reasons why your story isn’t used – a bigger news story might have squeezed it out, they may have just run a similar story or it might not have grabbed the editor of the day. Keep trying.
8) Interesting photo opportunities might generate media interest : Particularly for TV, which needs something to fi lm. For example, if you meet the council you could make it more interesting to the media by organising a photo opportunity outside.
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