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● Introduction & Index ● What is PR ● Job Expectations ● Types of Media ● Building Relationships ● Media, Hams & FCC Rules ● The Basic News Release ● Interviews and Live ● Making your own show ● Easy P.R. ● Public Service Events ● Piggy-back to Events ● Pictures NOW! ● P.R. Research Aids ● Making Friends ● ARES® PIO ● Final Exam Information Next Page

Read it out loud! With the printout in hand, get someone else to read through the document and look at it carefully. If you don’t have someone around, read the document aloud. Reading it silently allows your brain to substitute the correct words for what is actually written. Verbalizing will force you to concentrate on what is on the page-not what you intended. This writer almost sent a Field Day press release substituting the word “conversation” for “conservation”. As we get ready to distribute the release, there are a couple of other points to help get your release considered. Most news organizations do not like documents sent as attachments to e-mails. Copy and paste the release into the body of the e-mail. If you consider that most e-mails are two or three paragraphs normally, this will seem like a large e-mail, but with the threat of computer viruses and worms so prevalent, most reporters will not open an attachment and their filtering system may automatically drop them into the spam folder. Pictures As much as you want to attach a photo to the release, this is another attachment and probably will not be of the quality needed by the paper. You can make a notation at the end of your release stating “photos are available on request” and let the news organization contact you with the requirements for type of file, minimum resolution and maybe a special address to send the photos. There is a section in this course dealing with news photography. Final Considerations After crafting your release, checking the wording, checking the spelling/grammar, reading it thoroughly two or three times and walking away for a break, it is time to distribute. The most common method is now to use e-mail, but alternates such as fax and U. S. Mail are still viable avenues to get your release read. But, you should never use multiple methods and “flood” the newsroom with the same data in three or more formats. It may sound trite and we’re intentionally being repetitive, but getting very familiar with the reporters in your market is paramount. This is not saying you should drop by and introduce yourself, but do your homework and figure out who covers technology or human interest stories. You will get a better response if you target your release to a specific person as opposed to news@newspaper.com. Resist the temptation to immediately call them and ask if they got your release. You have no idea what may be breaking in the newsroom and your call could be viewed as a distraction. If you have developed a relationship with the reporter, a follow up call in 24 to 72 hours may be warranted. Just be aware that even the best press releases do not mean you will get the publicity you desire. The news cycle dictates what makes the press or the electronic editions.