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The first point to remember is that the media are not obligated to provide free
air time or space to a school. They are in the business of selling advertising
space and time. They do not make money from coverage or free advertising of
school events.
The people who work in the media have different assignments. It's very
important to contact the right person for your event and establish a good,
working relationship with these people. Many media outlets have assigned a
person to the education beat. Get to know this person and call them first.
Never contact more than one person with the same information at the same
station or newspaper.
Remember that the media is a deadline dominated business. There are times when
they will not be able to talk or your request is too late. Always let them know
a couple weeks in advance of an interesting event which they could cover. This
will place an event on their assignment calendar. Call back the day before to
confirm coverage. If your event has been cancelled, let them know in plenty of
time. They are busy and their calendars cannot be cluttered with events that
have been moved to a new date or venue
You can provide newspaper coverage for many events by writing a news release
and providing a good quality black and white picture. Make sure that the
newspaper is aware that you are doing this for them and be aware of their
deadlines for submission and the format required for submission.
Recognize that your event may be important to your school community, but in
reality most school coverage is not front page material. Call the media to
events that have an interesting angle. Most schools run food drives: why is
yours different? Provide photo opportunities that have some appeal to the media
you have contacted. TV is not interested in still shots and newspapers don't
like pictures that they can't compose.
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Photographers dread the
"handing over the cheque'' picture. Arrange to have
pictures taken of loading the food drive results onto the truck. Remember that
photographers and TV people require time to develop and edit their material. Do
not be late with this type of coverage. Arrange for an interesting backdrop
location within your school.
Let one person do the talking. Assign one person to speak to the media when
they arrive. This person should know all about the event and who was involved.
They should also know how to spell and pronounce the names of the people
involved.
Remember that when the media is invited into your school to cover an event,
they may find something else that is more interesting to cover as well.
This interesting event may have a better chance of making the front page than
your great activity coverage. Reporters don't always talk to the people that
you want them to talk to. They will also look for opinions from the
disenchanted, disenfranchised groups in your school because they are part of
the whole story as well.
Someone once said that you should never have an argument with someone who buys
their ink by the barrel. Newspapers always will have the last word because they
write them. Be fair to reporters covering your events, and remember that they
can quote you on anything that you say.
The final point is to be sure to thank the media for the coverage that they
give to your activity. Don't be afraid to ask parents in your community to
express their appreciation as well. You will get continued coverage if the
media feels that their audience is interested in hearing about events that are
happening at your school.
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