The Importance Of Media Coverage

Posted 04/16/2018 by Adam | Posted in How to Protest

Media coverage not only brings attention to your cause, but helps to draw more supporters from the community to get involved.

TIMING

Gather a list of relevant reporters to contact no earlier than one week from your event. The best time is four days prior.

Do not ignore staff writers and by going straight to the editor. You will likely get ignored. Look for reporters that have covered community impact stories and events, and reach out to them directly as individuals for best results. You should be establishing relationships!

Also, be sure to save screenshots and clippings of coverage after your event and save the contacts of those who covered your event. A quick thank you can help your relationship too.

SPEAKING TO THE MEDIA

Having a designated speaker for the group, and have three to four solid talking points. Come from facts not emotion.

PRESS RELEASES

  • Create an clear, impactful, concise headline. Do not fill the headline with unnecessary verbiage.
  • Begin with a summary of the story – the most important information should be at the beginning. Everything that follows will be details.
  • Write it in a way that will require the reporter or editor to do as little editing as possible to publish your piece. They are bombarded with stories. Many times, outlets will publish the press release itself with only minor changes if it is written in a way that appropriate for a publication. Make it as easy as possible for them to choose yours.
  • Include at least one quote from someone connected to the story, for example your group’s leader.
  • You may want to include a brief sentence or two at the end summarizing your organization’s purpose or your group’s connection to the cause. But this is not required.
  • Finish by directing to your website or a contact for more information.

Here is an example of one of our press releases.