Working with the Media to Promote Teen Pregnancy Prevention

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MAKING IT HAPPEN114Using the tools ofthe tradeReporters expect story ideasand messages to be packaged inparticular ways. Each of thesetools has particular uses:Press releases. A short descriptionof the story you want totell, a press or news releasedescribes the who, what, when,where, how, and why right upfront. Never more than onedouble-sided sheet of paper,double-spaced, a release usessimple, nonjargony language,short sentences, and shortparagraphs. It should be writtenin a news style so that it can beprinted in smaller papers as is.Press or news releases followa standard format.Media advisories. Similar to anews release, a media advisoryannounces the particulars of apress event in bullet form. Itoften is sent a few weeks beforean event so that it can be addedto reporter’s coverage schedules;in contrast, a press releaseappears on a reporter’s desk muchcloser to the actual event. SeeTable 3 at the end of this chapterfor a sample media advisory.Press conferences and mediabriefings. Press conferences andbriefings offer a visual eventaround which to organize anews story you are pitching. Itis essential, however, that youhave something newsworthy toannounce and an effectivespokesperson to announce it.There is nothing worse thanholding a press conference in anempty room—and it does happen.Here are a few guidelines:• Choose a convenient site forthe media. Get a room thatwill just accommodate thenumber of people you expect(or even a few less) so thatthe event will not look underattended.• Make sure you have the necessaryequipment —microphones,podium, chairs forreporters, a banner or posterfor a backdrop.• Time your event carefully.Give reporters time to attendyour event, do additionalreporting, and file their storiesbefore deadlines—10 or11 a.m. is often ideal. Connectyour event to a related hook—like National Teen PregnancyPrevention Month in May.• Hand out press kits and havea sign-in sheet for the press.Press kits. For distribution toreporters at a press event, apress kit usually includes apress release, an event agenda,a fact sheet about your organization,brief biographies of eventparticipants, and supportingdocuments (reports, statistics,
lists of story ideas, and expertcontacts).“One-pager.” A one-pagedescription of the basics onyour initiative or program:• name, address, phone, fax,and email• program description• funding sources andsponsors• brief program history includingstart date and purpose• leaders and participantsFacts and stats sheet. Reporterslike to be able to cite the latestteen pregnancy data available. Ifpossible, get community statisticsfrom your health department.National and state dataare available from several agenciesand organizations listed inthe Resources section. Be sureto list your organization as acontact. See Table 4 at the endof this chapter for an exampleof a facts and stats sheet.Story ideas. Although mostreporters do not like to be toldhow to cover a story, they doappreciate leads on potentialangles, sources, and interviews.Look at your initiative with areporter’s eye. Tell a personalstory. Locate a good visual for aTV crew or print photographer.Describe how this issue affectsviewers or readers. Tell themFOR MORE ON WRITING AFACTS AND STATS SHEETSee Table 4 at the end of thischapter for an example.how much teen pregnancy costsyour community.Editorial board meetings. Makean appointment to offer a backgroundbriefing to your localpaper’s editorial writers on teenpregnancy, your initiative, ora new report. Explain to themhow important this issue is totheir readers.Opinion pieces (op-eds) and lettersto the editor. Op-eds areusually written by experts in theirfield—like you!—or by prominentpeople in the community. Mostop-eds are between 500 and1,000 words long. Check withyour local paper about how tosubmit an opinion piece. Sendyour op-ed to the opinion pageeditor at least two weeks beforeany related event. Letters to theeditor, which are much shorter(less than 200 words), mustusually be written in responseto something that has alreadyappeared in the paper. Submitthem as soon as possible followingthe original article.Reactions to events. Dependingon what kind of news you wantto make, you should considerproviding reactions to teenpregnancy-related news: legislativebriefings, governmentalproclamations, and similarevents. Do so by crafting a threetofour-sentence commentaryand faxing it to your local paper.115MEDIA
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Page 6 and 7: MAKING IT HAPPEN104campaign to dela
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Page 10 and 11: Core message worksheetDesired Resul
Page 12 and 13: Selecting a media optionOPTIONCONSI
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Page 18 and 19: FIELD NOTESMAKING IT HAPPEN116Getti
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Page 26 and 27: ConclusionMedia campaigns designed
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Page 30 and 31: TABLE 1 (cont.)MAKING IT HAPPEN128I
Page 32 and 33: TABLE 2Sample media messages for a
Page 34 and 35: TABLE 4Sample facts and stats sheet
Page 36: TABLE 4 (cont.)BRING “BEST BETS T

Working with the Media to Promote Teen Pregnancy Prevention

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