Over my years working in TV newsroom, I noticed things that work and things that don’t work when businesses and organizations are trying to get coverage. Here is my list of “do” and “don’t” for press releases:
DO send your information by email (social media messages can get lost easily and people answering the phones don’t have time to transcribe your press release)
DO send it to multiple people or a general newsroom address
DO follow up with a quick call the day before the event to and make sure the information was received
DO list the date, time, and location of the event prominently
DO limit your pitch to one page of text
DO let us know about your event at least one business day before it’s happening, but not more than a month in advance
DO include relevant information we will need when writing the story
DO make it clear what you are looking for (coverage of the event itself, plugs in the newscasts ahead of the event, listing on the website events page, guest appearance on morning show, etc.)
DO include a contact person who is available on the day you send the press release
DO include images that can be used in web stories
DON’T send the press release as an image or screengrab (newsrooms may need text to copy into their planning systems)
DON’T send us an email asking if we want to receive your press release; just send the press release
DON’T forward a chain of messages and expect us to sort it out
DON’T split the crucial information among multiple attachments
DON’T include multiple, unrelated events in the same email or press release
DON’T include information that is not directly related to the story/event you are pitching
DON’T expect us to commit to coverage before the day of the event
DON’T gripe about past coverage and present this as our chance for redemption
Jon Ellis has worked in small-market TV news for 20 years in assistant news director and producer positions.
LINK: More Newsroom Notes