A BAKER’S DOZEN OF RULES FOR NON-PROFIT ANTI-HUNGER GROUPS TO GET BETTER MEDIA COVERAGE
1) Repeat one simple, clearly understandable message over and over -- and then over -- again. Never assume that because you said something, people heard it and remembered it. And never let your message become too detached or too intellectual. Always bring the discussion back to fighting hunger.
2) Give each type of media outlet what they need. Newspaper and magazine reporters need written press releases and fact sheets. TV reporters and print photographers need easy-to-capture pictures of visually compelling images -- they don’t need talking heads. Radio reporters needs clear sound. The easier you make the work for reporters and editors, and better your coverage will be.
3) News means “New.” An ongoing program -- no matter how great -- is not news. Find some seasonal hook or new development upon which to pitch your news story.
4) Send out a written media advisory a few days before the event. The advisory should include who, what, when, where, and why and very clear directions to the event site. Be sure to explain the news --- i.e., the new action that will take place and the picture they will get.
5) Always follow-up a media advisory or press release with a phone call. You should consider a piece of paper as nothing more than notice to the media that they will get a phone call.
6) If first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again -- so long as each new time you try you have a slightly different hook. Never give up if you get beaten out at the last minute by a fire or a county fair. You never know precisely when an event will get covered.
7) Always deal with the right people. Create good local press lists and understand the proper roles of assignment editors and reporters. Food pantries and soup kicthens should fopcus not just on city-wide media, but also on borough-specific and neighborhood-specific newspapers and other media that might be more likely to cover local agencies.
8) Don’t nag editors about lack of coverage. No one has a “right” to get coverage, no matter how worthy the cause. For most editors, carping on them will be counter-productive; however, most will respond well to positive persistence.
9) Don’t oversell. If your announcements turns out to not have the celebrities or as much attendance as you promised, you will have a hard time every getting reporters back for your next event.
10) Don’t “over scare.” Don’t exaggerative the number of hungry people in your community. Let the facts speak for themselves. Even if 5% of the people in your community are hungry, most Americans agree with you that 5% is too much. Exaggeration tarnishes your credibility.
11) Learn to use sound bites. Swallow your pride about your comprehensive knowledge of the nuances of public policy and learn the fine art of sound bites. If you can’t say it in 30 seconds, it won’t get covered.
12) Better press relations are not a cure-all for your organization’s problems. Better press relations can help, but don’t count on better press alone to boost donations, deliver millions of new volunteers, or get your organization a great new board of directors. Organizational success breeds media success, and unfortunately, organizational failure breed media failure.
13) Repeat that one simple, clearly understandable, message over and over -- and then over -- again. Every new announcement you make and every new event you have should be used primarily to reinforce your original basic message.