This document provides 36 tips for getting more media coverage from various media professionals. Some key tips include putting a human face on stories, localizing stories, avoiding an insular "beltway mentality," being immediately accessible to reporters, providing newsworthy updates regularly, and writing catchy headlines and leads for news releases. Media professionals emphasize being honest, personable, and listening to their advice regarding what makes a compelling story.

1. 36 Tipsfrom Media Professionals
ere are 36 tips about how to get more media coverage I 0 Put a human face .on your Story. "Nothing
H
sells like a
for your state or local Libertarian organization. These human face. You need to have your facts and figures, your
suggestions are straight from media professionals - statistics, bur a human face will trump your faces."
the Wbite House reporter for USA Today; the Washington
correspondent for the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain; a booker II Try to localize your Story. "You want to give an example of
from CNNcable network, and a producer for a WashingtOn-area how your issue will impact your neighbor, your community. Many
radio station. smaller newspapers will only take Stories 'With a local angle."
These tips were collected at a seminar at the National Press
Club entided: "How to Get ~Iedia Coverage for Your Issues and 12 Avoid the beltway mentality. "We think what's important
Spokesmen," sponsored by one of'W'ashingtOn, DC's most to us is important to the folks back home." Frequently, it isn't.
successful public relations firms, Creative Response Concepts
(CRC). Quotes are verbatim from the various journalists. 13 Take your message to alternate media sources like talk
radio. "There's nothing to reach the masses like talk radio.
I Good media coverage starts with a good media fa.'(or mail There's nothing to get your message out like talk radio."
list "There's quite a bit of turnover; keep your list up-to-date."
14 "Recyde your press dips" on a regular basis to show the
2 "It's ~portant to have a regular list of contacts. Have a 'core' media that you're already newsworthy.
list mata/ways gets your press releases."
I5 Be L:~tive. "The more creative you are, the more the
3 Keep your press releases to one page.rTwo pages just . media wants to keep in touch with you." ..
annoys them."
16 Be immediately accessible. ::D;i~·tr..nsce;'~/ev~rything
4 Wote good headlines. "Make it sery and interesting." else. I can't srressrhis enough. When Ineed information, I need
ie now."
5 Use a subhead in your press release. "There is supporting
evidence that a subhead 'Willencourage the reader to read the 17 Be honest. "Once crossed, a reporter will never trust you
first paragraph." again. Once you've breached that trust, it's gone. If you don't
know an answer, tell them so."
6 Writeabout breaking news. "Piggyback on headlines. What's
compelling to you isn't ah••. news, but what's news is always
ays 18 Bepersonable. "It goes a long way."
compelling."
19 Take advice, "Listen to what [he media tells you about
7 Don't call journalists late in the afternoon. "Try to contact their business."
reporters in the morning - before 1 or 2:00 in the afternoon. By
4:30 or 5:00, they're scrambling on deadline."
20 Target your media message, "Know the publication you're
reaching out co. Understand your various options of coverage."
8 Send out press releases on a regular basis. "If there is no
21 Provide noueuy. "We're always looking for new people to
consistem contact, they're going to forget about you. Regular
contact is important." talk to - fresh angles."
9 Trt to mft your press releases as a "horror story." "That's
22 Be [he first to spot J [rend. "Help us identify trends: give
us solid examples. Two [things happening] is a coincidence;
Wh:H sells newspapers; that's what gets TV ratings."
three is a trend!"

2. '.- "
23 Put a specific journalist's ~e on ~v~ fi..~"[USA 33 Faxed p~s releases still work better than e-rnail. It will
Today] gees more than 1,000 pages of material each day," and be "three to five years" before ehe Internee is a primary conduit
faxes without a reporter's name gee tossed into the trash. for news. "We do not receive press releases by the Internet. It's
still down the road."
24 If you leave a phone message, "Keep ie short!"
3 4 When calling a reporter, your first question should be:
25 If you mail your press release (instead of faxing it) try "Is it a good time to talk?"
hand-addressing the envelope. "A loe of people say they're more
indined to open hand-addressed mail." 35 On talk radio, be interesting and provocative. "We want
people who wiil make our listeners say, 'Did you hear what they
26 Provide your home phone. "Home phone numbers are said on ~"W'RC?'"
invaluable. Please give me your home phone number" to contact
after business hours. 36 Grab people's anention wtth the first sentence of your
press release. "If someone hies me in the first sentence, I might
27 Never call a reporter after 4:00 pm. "Don't call me on get to the second sentence."
deadline. If it's after 4:00, I'm on deadline."
28 Don't send a press kit unless requested. "I must confess,
fancy press kns end up in the trash."
29 Call reporters back ?'sM. "If I call you, you can assume I
need you right away, Don't neglect call-backs."
3 0 If you leave your phone number on voice mail, "sla»
doum, and maybe say it twice."
31 For events you want televised, give advance warning -
but not too much. "It's helpful to call on Monday if you have
something going on on Thursday or Friday."
32 Be (politely) persistent, "If I don't call back, call again,
Sometimes, the only v.ay you get nouced-s to call two or three
times."

3. HoW'~~ 'Yrite 'an Effective
Ne-ws- Reteas-e
The News Release • The name of the person responsible for
the release; -
News releases are used to notify the news • A telephone number where that person
media of an event that has happened or will can be reached;
happen. These events include: meetings, • A statement of when the release should be
announcements of candidacy, staged events, made public (it will be "For Immediate Release"
actions of LP groups, and comments on current nine times out of ten).
events by LP leaders or candidates. In short,
anything which could be of interest to someone Format/Appearance
outside the LP is a possible topic for a news
release. A news release should be easy to read. If it
Prepare a Media list. The easiest source is isn't, it won't be read. Therefore, always
the Yellow Pages under the headings: double space; always leave big margins around
Newspapers; Radio Stations; Television the copy; always indent paragraphs well in
Stations. It's desirable to send your releases to from the margin - about ten spaces. _
the "Political Editor" or "News Editor." - It is
even better to find out that person's name, by If the release is more than one page, staple
calling the newspaper or station. There are the pages together, and indicate page numbers.
other sources of media lists besides the Yellow Use a standard designator at the end of the
Pages, notably the library. Include the wire release, such as "'#," "-30-," or "End." Type
services (AP, UPI, etc.) if their offices are in "MORE" at the bottom of each page to show
the territory covered by the release. that the release continues on the next page.
You may wish to use one release for news- Style/Structure
papers, and another for television and radio.
You will be writing them as you would like to If you have never written a news release
have them printed or read, and different media before, or if all of your previous ones have
will be able to use different lengths of stories. been lousy, take a look at a number of news
articles from your local paper. Read them for
Write to be heard. And write your release style, not content. Note that-all newsarticles
exactly as you would like to see it printed in the are written alike; they all read !he same way.
paper. Very often it will be, if you do a good Remember that if your release doesn 't read like
and reasonable job. Don't write a four page any other news release, the reporteror, editor
release if the paper can only be expected to print will have to rewrite it. He doesn't want to
three paragraphs. rewrite it. So he probably won't use it.
Most reporters and editors are busy (and A news release is not a short story. It does
sometimes lazy) people. They do not wish to not have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
rewrite your release, and the chances of getting Instead, it follows a specific structure known as
your release used by the media are an inverted pyramid.
proportionate to its correctness of style,
structure, and content. Fortunately, mastering Decide what you are going to say, then
style, structure and content is easy. -prioririze. your points in .order of importance,
and write them, paragraph by paragraph, in
Always Include ••• descending order. The important points come
first; the trivial detail comes last.
• The name of the organization issuing the The Reason: Editors have space
news release; requirements, and may need to cut your story to

4. fit available space. They cut from the bottom Confine these to the bare details. After the
up. Maybe the editor will have room only for announcement goes out, call the individual
your first two paragraphs; if so, you'l1 want to recipients, make sure they have received it, and
say what you have to say in that space. invite them to attend.
Paragraphs should be short, no more than Helpful Hints
two or three sentences, and sometimes only one
is enough. Involved, complicated thoughts do • Hand deliver your press releases to the
not fit easily into news articles. appropriate person. As with ev.erything else in
politics, personal contact is crucial. If you have
Because of the importance of the inverted a major story, you may wish to meet a friendly
pyramid, always tell Who, What, Where, and reporter over breakfast to discuss it in detail.
When in your first paragraph. Be sure to make at least one personal call on
every news entity in the district as early in the
What to Say campaign as possible. It will help you to get
your stories printed, and will also be helpful
The first paragraph covers all the bases, and when it is time to seek their endorsement later
should be written as if the entire story could be in the campaign.
told - not the details, but the essentials -
even if everything else were cut out. • Follow up your news releases with
personal phone calls. Reporters and editors
And What Not to Say will come to know you, and may even call you
for commentary because they know you're
A news article is not an editorial, and a around. Always treat them as people; they'll
news release is not a vehicle to propagandize as appreciate it.
such. Express as much opinion as you want,
but do it between quotation marks. • Correct all grammar and spelling.
Avoid esoteric terms understandable to no • Cultivate local newspapers and stations.
one but another libertarian ("epistemology," They need news, and are more likely to run
"neo- Rothbardian "). your release in its entirely.
Back to quotes: Make them up. If you are • Think of ways to catch the editor's
writing a news release about your candidate, attention visually. Buy a rubber stamp and
you don't have to call him. If you will be stamp "NEWS" in red ink on the release, or use
handling releases regularly, make prior color in the letterhead.
arrangements with the candidate that he will
stand behind any quote you attribute to him. • Preview your ads with the press,
especially if it is an attack ad. If your ad is
Photos and Tapes unique enough yoomay get substantial airplay on
newscasts, along with extra comments by you.
Use them, if they relate to the story and are
good quality. Include them with the release to • In some of your releases, target issues the
newspapers. For television, use slides or film press feels strongly about. By displaying areas
clips if you can get them, as well as photos. of agreement with the local press, you are more
For radio stations, provide cassette tapes of the likely to get your other stories covered.
speaker. for use on the air. These should be
very brief. • Learn deadlines. Don't try to push them.
Announcements
From Libertarian Political Action, Techniques
An Advance Announcement is used to for Effective Campaigning,
notify the media of an upcoming event. A Publication of the Libertarian Party.

5. . -
More Tips on News Releases
• Here are some more tips to successful news releases:
* Never send out a news releasea that doesn't have an individuals media on it. .
Editor or Reporter. Establish friendly relationship with your
name
contacts
. 1
• Keep an accurate, up-to-date list of targeted media people. Call your l~l media
and ask who is their political reporter, talk show host, etc. Get names, titles,
fax #' s, phone #' s. Keep your list up to date. 25 % of the list will be obsolete in a
year. Call through the list every six months. Note new media outlets in your area.
• Keep a special list of those who are specifically sympathetic to us-~tten or
said something nice about us. If they responded once, they are most likely to
respond again. They need to get every release.
* Mix up the type of releases you send. There are samples of each type included.
• News Releases-something happened or is about to happen.
Most likely to be picked up. Especially by local outlets.
• Issues Releases-an opinion. Will depend on how influential you are. Be novel
or unexpected The entertainment value.
• Useful Information Releases-provide a service to the journalist. State an
opinion and include interesting factual data. Allow the journalist to sound smart.
Do the research for them.
• Strategy Releases-the sporting event factor. A strategy that you're
implementing, i.e. young candidate appealing to GenXers. Combine with-an
issue. How you're going to succeed. Use objective facts and figures. to prove
your credibility. -•.~ ,_ ::,
Number of registered Libertarians going up: '
More candidates running than last year. More contributing members.
Bigger budgets. Rate of growth of members.
Repeat the good numbers over and over in different releases.
* secondsyourinterest them. Your headline is it. YouAdd aten seconds for them to have four
Make
to
releases professional and interesting.
have
punchy headline. You
read your
first paragraph. Your first paragraph gets them to read the rest.
•. Keep it.short. Never mor~ ~en one p~ge. Us~ s.tandard news writing style ..Be
mteresnng news. A tantalizing, sensational opiruon, Summarize the release In one
sentence (your first sentence), Keep opinions in "quotes." Facts without quotes.
Use short sentences. Action verbs. Be lively,
• Use the same header on your releases every time. A standard look. Change it

6. y~iy; Date our releases foi the next day and write :'Immediate Relc:a~e" on
them. This tells them this is pew, and the date says It has not been sitnng around
there desk for 'weeks. .
• Include your name and phones numbers. When they need more information, they
need in NOW! Be available.
* Put out more releases. A Party that does more will generate
more media. Constantly
remind them you're there. Tout your accomplishments. More releases increase your odds
of getting lucky.
* When quoting an official in your Party, it is not always necessary to have that person
actually make a quote. Just make something up and attribute it the them.
• Let the quoted person read the draft sentences before it is sent out. After awhile
you will get a list of issues you will always have to have the quoted review first
and another list of issues where the quoted won't need to preview the quotes.
• After the quotes are made, the quoted person should memorize the quotes he
"said" in case a media call in generated the quoted person will be on the same
page as the release .
• News releases are not a substitute for action. Success generates coverage .
• The interview call. Your releases will generate calls. You need to be available and prepared.
* The first four minutes are the most important. You never have to recover from a good
start. You never have to recover from a good start. Capture the attention of the
audience. Be interesting, fun, enjoyable. / '
.~
* able to fully address this Issue today so people can call us at 1-800":6-81-1776 (or 1-be
." •....
Several times (every fi!t~n minutes or so), find an opportunity-to Say, '''We may not
800-292-3766) or they can link to our website-at www .Ip.o rg (or www.lpnc.org)."
* When taking calls use thirty second answers. Use the Ransberger Pivot (contact the
Advocates for Self-Government for training on the Ransberger Pivot). For people who
disagree, make your point and move on.
* Make the host look good He may invite you back or to stay longer .
• What follows are sample ~ews releases. First is an announcement of a county organizational
rneenng. The latter are vanous styles of releases sent recently by the National Party.

7. -
, - . .. ".
,Public Relations
-'
• There are some 200,000 media contacts in the U.S. .
*
* The National Party can afford to send its News Releases to only about 2,000 of them.
The National Press Secretary urges and encourages each State and Local Party to
forward National News Releases onto media outlets in their areas.
• The media in your area is most likely not getting National releases. Especially if
you're in a smaller market.
*
Smaller market news papers are the most likelv to run our stories!
• Those smaller papers are not getting the regular and constant attention they need to
be aware that we are out here and have an opinion on every breaking news story.
• If your media contact just happens to be getting National releases and you start
sending them. They will kindly let you know that they are getting two copies.
* Secretary on the enclosed contact National News Releases, contactbythe NationalorPress
If you are not already getting the
sheet. Releases can be received fax, mail, e-mail
via the National Party's Announcement e-mail list.
• To subscribe to the announcements mailing list, send a message to
<announce-request@lp.org> with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
*
Note that the e-mail releases are 500 words while the faxed and mailed
releases are just 350 words to fit on one page .
• If you choose to forward the National releases, you can add your contact
information next to National's on the release but know the facts and background
information on the story in case you get called. If you don't know the data, leave
just the National contact information attached. , _
;
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