Public Relations Guide for Rural Housing Organizations (manual

Clip any newspaper articles, make notes about radio, television or other media coverage, andkeep a file. Put your press releases and background materials in accessible, dated files.The media files you have built, including clippings about your organization from the printmedia and information about events you have organized, will save you working from scratchto provide content for your annual report. Public relations is one of the importantcommitments your organization should fulfill and is intrinsic to your mission; include it inyour annual report’s list of accomplishments!Press ConferencePress conferences are widely over-used. “Press conferences should be organized only as a finalresort” (Bonk and Sparks 1991, 70).In a small rural community a press conference is attended by the media only if it relates to afast-breaking news story for which time is of the essence, when you need to contact a numberof media contacts in a short timeframe, or when the story is newsworthy enough that it wouldattract media from outside the community. It can be difficult to make a press conference livelyand visual.Technical PointsThe following hints will facilitate the success of your press conference.- Choose your site carefully – use hotels or public buildings near media offices. The roomshould not be too large – if attendance is poor, the room might look empty.- Pick the time carefully: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are best.- Supplies should include a podium, speaker system, microphone stand, backdrop (blue ifpossible)(or even better, provide an informative backdrop such as a poster with a bigheadline, or a photograph that supports the reason for the press conference), chairs(arranged theater-style with large center aisle), easels if needed, electrical outlets forthings like TV lights or laptops for PowerPoint presentations, a table (for media sign-insand to display materials from your organization), and water for the speakers.- Send written announcements by fax, mail, e-mail, or hand delivery to editors,assignment desks, reporters, every related organization that produces a communitycalendar, and representatives of other organizations that support housing causes andwork sympathetically with your organization.- Make sure that the room is open at least 30 minutes before the event so that arrivingpress may enter the room.Housing Assistance Council 37