TIMELINE

1. Develop a Contact List

Get in touch with your local media outlets and identify contacts and their phone/fax numbers. Local media include newspapers (dailies and weeklies), cable television stations, and local TV and radio stations. Don't forget college media stations. To get the right contact, ask who would be the most appropriate person to cover your event. Ask how far ahead of the event you should send the news release and how they prefer you send the release (i.e., via fax, mail, or dropping it off).

2. Write a News Release

Generally the media will be more interested in covering the event if:

• there is a local angle (The Great Secchi Dip-In comes to our town!)
• the story is of interest to many people (How clean is our lake?)
• there is conflict (Development pressures in our watershed are affecting our lake)
• there is a human interest angle (The 4th grade class of the elementary school will be on hand for dipping)
• local community leaders or celebrities will attend (The mayor has been invited to measure lake quality)

Tips on writing a good news release

• At the top left corner include your organization name, a contact, and phone number (day and night) for follow up questions.
• Start with a good headline. (ALL CAPS, centered and underlined). Remember you are competing with lots of other news releases that come across a reporter's desk. Include the key points in your headline. For example, "Local volunteers to sample health of Lake Wannabeclean on July 3."
• The information should answer the five W's...Who? What? When? Where? Why? Bullet out your news release answering these questions. Add basic information on your volunteer monitoring program, your lake and/or watershed, and the national Dip-In. Throw in some facts about lake water quality nationwide. Include names of any local celebrities or elected officials expected to attend the event.
• Limit your news release to one page and end it with # # # at the bottom center (it means "the end" in media talk).

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3. Invite The Media

Fax, mail, or deliver your news release, and a specific invitation to attend, to your media contacts.

4. Follow Up

Follow up your news release with a phone call to make sure your contacts received it. If not, be prepared to give them any details.

5. Prepare a Media Kit

Prepare a media kit that reporters can take with them to write the story. Your kit should include:

• Background information on the Secchi Dip-in. (1 page max)
• Any information on water quality issues or trends data (1 page max) related to the water body you are sampling.
• Contact names that the media can use to call and obtain quotes or more information.

6. At The Event

Be prepared to provide "on the spot" interviews. Several key people, preferably experienced volunteers, should be designated to be interviewed. They should be knowledgeable about the Dip-In and be able to provide details about your program. Identify possible photo/video opportunities.

7. If The Media Doesn't Show Up

Even if the media are planning to attend your event, sometimes there are breaking stories that they are forced to cover instead. Be prepared! Make sure you have a friend or volunteer who can take quality pictures at the Dip-In. After the event, write up a second news release that describes the event and includes the components discussed above (local angle, interest to many people, etc). Local papers will often print news releases verbatim, so make sure it is written as a news story. Send the news release along with some good photos and names and phone numbers of people who can be interviewed over the phone. Be sure to provide a caption with the photos including the names of the people in the photos. Follow up with a phone call to make sure they received the information and ask them if they have any questions.

8. Remember Your Thank You Notes!

If the media does cover your event, be sure to follow up and tell your contacts you thought they did a great job covering the story. Everyone likes to be thanked and this will help you to establish a relationship with the media for future efforts.