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How to Approach Local Media

For Public Events:

Distribute posters and flyers in as many places as possible: school, workplace, community centres, libraries, coffeeshops, and so on.

Do not underestimate the power of word of mouth. Make sure you spread the word through friends, family, work colleagues, and neighbours.

Consider having a local celebrity as a guest of honour at your event. This may help draw in better attendance and attract more media to your event, and of course, to your cause.

Tips for Generating Media

While local fundraising events do not often generate much media interest, there are some things you can do to enhance your chances of getting attention.

• Look for community event calendars in local newspapers and on television stations’ websites. Ask calendar editors to post the time and location of your Write-a-thon event on these calendars, so that other community members can participate.

• Invite a local radio or television station reporter to participate and cover your event.

• Ask an interested newspaper columnist to participate in or report on your Write-a-thon event. City desk editors may assign a reporter to cover the event.

Key Messages:

• Governments worldwide often detain indefinitely non-violent persons who are jailed, frequently for political reasons.

• Amnesty International’s human rights campaigns have been instrumental in obtaining freedom for tens of thousands of individuals who are jailed and tortured by their governments because of their political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender or ethnicity. Pressure from letters, faxes and e-mails written by Amnesty supporters has helped free more than 40,000 people worldwide.

• Individual members of our community can work from their kitchen tables, personal computers, or local coffee shops to promote human rights and support individuals worldwide. Local people are leading the struggle to defend human rights and save lives.

Remember:

A media advisory serves as a “teaser” alerting journalists to a future event:

• Provides basic information: who, what, where, when and why.

• Submit it a few days before the event so a reporter can plan to attend.

A press release is the news:

• Provides more in-depth information and context

• Distributed to journalists just prior to or at the event.

A media advisory and press release contain the following elements:

• Headline. (Remember to use a large, bold font – it’s eye-catching!).

• Short description of the event and the issue.

• List of speakers at your event.

• Quote from a group member working on the issue (if possible)

• The name, telephone and e-mail address of your group spokesperson.

• Short summary of your organization and activities in the last paragraph (press release only).

• Mention of any "Photo Opportunity" (if one exists); send the media advisory and press release to the photo editors of local news outlets and to reporters. Try to build in interesting visuals to your event – remember to use Amnesty International clothing and banners.

How to distribute your media advisory and press release:

• A media advisory must arrive at news outlets 3-5 business days before the event; make sure that your press release arrives at media outlets 2-3 business days prior to the date of the event.

• Send the advisory and press release to the attention of assignment editors, who make the decisions about which stories will be covered by an outlet.

• ALWAYS make follow-up calls. Call to make sure that assignment editors and targeted reporters received the advisory and press release and offer to answer any of their questions. Always be considerate of their time. Try to be brief, and call between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, before journalists are on deadline.

Remember the following:

• Keep it simple. Whether it’s a telephone call, a media advisory or an event, always try to focus on the messages you develop for you event (see the section above entitled, “Key Messages”). Repeat what you want to see in the paper rather than improvising under pressure.

• Localize. Local journalists look for a local angle – stress to them that you represent a local Amnesty International group, the world’s largest human rights organization with more than 1.8 million members.

• Monitor. Become a local media watcher. Watch local television news, listen to local radio and read local newspapers with an Amnesty International eye. Analyze which stories work and why. Look out for journalists, including columnists, who cover stories that may relate to our concerns.

• React. If you read a story that relates to Amnesty International’s human rights concerns in your local paper or broadcaster, call the reporter who wrote or produced the story and talk to him or her about Amnesty International’s work in this area. You may also want to write a letter to the editor.

• Contact. Keep a record of contacts you make at local newspapers and radio stations and note any journalists who seem particularly interested in Amnesty International’s issues – you will want to contact them at a later date when you are holding events.