Some media channels will air public service announcements for free, usually
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interest of journalists and radio and TV newscasters. Announce the event through a press conference, and ensure that all relevant media contacts are invited ahead of time.
Note that sometimes the press conference is in itself an event. Events can also be announced through a media advisory, which should be sent out to all relevant media
contacts ahead of time.
Box5. Conductingapressconference
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1. Choosealocationthatisaccessible,adequatelyequippedandlargeenoughtoaccommodate allinvitedattendees.
2. Setthedateandtime. 3. Prepareanagenda,andabriefingnote.Thebriefingnoteshouldcontainalistofspeakerswith
titles,andthekeypointstobecoveredbythepressconference.Havecopiesofthebriefing noteavailablefordistributiontoattendees.
4. Keepthepressconferenceshort,usuallynomorethan30to45minutes.Onehouristhe absolutemaximumtime.Toensureavailability,reservetheroomforonehour.
5. Selectspeakers,assigntopicsandsettimelimitsforeachspeaker.Ingeneral,havesomeone makeanopeningstatement,followedbyotherspeakerswhocansharedifferentperspectives
orprovideadditionalinformation.Limiteachspeakertoafewminuteseach.Apportionmost ofthetimeforaquestionandanswersessionattheend.
6. Assignamoderatortofacilitatetheopenforumandtomaintainorder. 7. Invitepublicfigures.VIPstendtodrawreporterstoanevent,andhavingimportantpublic
figurescanenhanceyourprogramme’scredibility.BecausetheseVIPshavebusyschedules,be suretoinvitethemwellaheadoftime,andfollowupregularlywiththeirstafftoensuretheir
attendance.
8. Chooseattractivegraphicdisplaymaterialstoconveyyourmessage. 9. Prepareanewsadvisory.Includeacontactpersonandphonenumber.Mail,e-mailandfaxthis
toreportersonyourmedialistatleastoneweekbeforetheevent. 10.Followuponyourinvitationstomedia.Callthemandencouragethemtoattend.
11.Preparemediakitsandhandouts.Theseshouldcontainasummaryofthetopicbeing presented,preparedstatementstobereadbythespeakers,andphotosandgraphicsdepicting
thetopicoftheconference. 12.Setupthepressconferenceroombeforetheactualdate.Checktoensurethatequipment
microphones,audio-visualequipmentandfacilitiesforrecordingandtranslation,ifapplicable areworkingproperly.MakesurethatthereareelectricaloutletsavailableforTVcamerasatthe
sidesorinthebackoftheroom.
13.Onthedayoftheconference,havethemembersofthemediasignin.Providethemwitha copyofthemediakit,agendaandotherhandouts.
14.Startandendontime. 15.Remembertothankthemediaandguestsforattending.
16.Followupandcontactreporterswhorequestadditionalinformation.
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AdaptedfromDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,Atlanta,2002