Tips on Promoting Your Contributions to the Media
The focus of Co-op Month for 2005 is the seventh
co-op principle, concern for community. The case studies included
in this tool kit make clear that co-ops have a strong commitment
to the communities in which their members live and work. Supplemented
with examples from your own co-op, this information is likely newsworthy
in your community. There are a variety of ways to bring this information
to the attention of local media. Following are a few key ones.
1. Distribute a news release or media
kit on cooperatives and their involvement in the community.
Draft a news release on Co-op Month and co-ops’
commitment to their communities and distribute it to your local
media. Use the draft news release in
this kit as a starting point. But be sure to supplement it with
information from your own co-op and other co-ops in your area. Write
the news release as if it were a story in a newspaper. Be sure to
include a contact name, phone number and email. A joint news release
from all the co-ops in your area would be the most effective. If
you have multiple documents, such as brochures or background sheets
on specific community projects, assemble the material in pocket
folders with the news release on top.
Distributing a News Release
Distribute the news release or media kit
to any reporters and editors you know in the community. Email,
fax or mail the materials as appropriate. Don’t overlook
editorial writers. They could be more interested in your materials
than reporters. Reporters that cover the business, finance, or
farm beats are most likely to be interested in Co-op Month activities.
If you don’t know anyone in the local
media, target news or assignment editors that seem appropriate.
Business editors would be a likely choice at newspapers; assignment
editors at broadcast outlets. Your distribution list should include
representatives of your area’s daily and community newspapers,
the nearest Associated Press bureau, relevant trade publications,
and nearby radio and television news departments. Also good to
include are producers or hosts of community-oriented television
and radio programs. Date the materials October 1 or early in October.
Ideally, distribute the materials a few days before the date on
the news release.
Follow up distribution of written materials
with a phone call or email to the recipients. Offer to answer
any questions or meet with the reporter or editor to go over the
materials.
Follow Up
If your efforts to sell the story don’t
produce results immediately, don’t give up. News cycles
and competing events may prevent your news from receiving immediate
attention. Look for news hooks that will give you reason to pitch
the story again. Reporters and editors may be interested in stories
later, especially if the topic hasn’t been covered by their
competitors. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are periods
when hard news is generally slow and many less timely features
are published.
If you connect with a reporter as a result
of your Co-op Month effort, build on it. Suggest a follow-up informational
visit to your co-op or lunch meeting. Propose a story on your
cooperative or the collective power of cooperatives in the area.
Make sure to include a local angle for a local publication. It’s
good to be aggressive, but realistic, in pursuing a story. Reporters,
as the saying goes, don’t suffer fools gladly.
2. Prepare a report on the contribution
of your co-op to the community and distribute it in early October.
A more ambitious media strategy involves preparing
a report on your co-op’s contributions to the area’s
economy and distributing it to media early in October. Depending
on resources and the amount of lead time, the report could be rudimentary
or sophisticated. See the media section of this tool kit’s
How to Celebrate Co-op Month in this
tool kit for advice on preparing a report.
Once your report is prepared, pick a date in early October to unveil
it. This could be done through a news conference, through email
distribution, or simply by posting the report on your co-op’s
website. If you settle on a news conference, a mid-morning time
is best.
Preparing a News Advisory
Before the release date, write a one-page
"news advisory" announcing when and where the report
will be unveiled. Provide just enough content information to peak
reporters’ interests. Give brief details about the event
but specific details about location, time and participants. Advisories
should arrive with the journalists about a week before the event,
either by fax, mail or e-mail. Follow up with phone calls and
emails a day or two out to remind reporters of the scheduled event.
If there is advance interest in your report,
consider circulating "embargoed" copies before the official
release date. Ask reporters to honor the embargo in return for
an early look at the report.
Also prepare a news release summarizing your
report for use at the news conference. Highlight the key findings
in the beginning of the news release, which should be no more
than two pages.
Preparing Speakers
If you are organizing a news conference,
arrange for a couple of speakers who are knowledgeable and comfortable
talking before an audience. The report’s author could summarize
the findings while your CEO puts the findings in perspective.
A third speaker might be a member of the community that has benefited
from a charitable activity of your co-op. Allow no more than an
hour for the news conference, with at least 20 minutes set side
for questions and answers.
Work with your speakers before the news conference. Make sure
they know the content of the report, the roles they are expected
to play and their key message points. Role play with your speakers
by asking them questions they are likely to be asked at the event.
Think about the Location
Hold the news conference at your co-op’s
headquarters or another central location. If your co-op is hard
for reporters to reach, consider using a room in a downtown hotel.
Pick a room appropriate for your expected turn out. If you anticipate
five attendees, don’t set up 35 chairs! It’s better
to bring in extra chairs at the last minute than to force your
speakers to address a sea of empty seats.
Don’t overlook the visual aspects of
a news conference. Display your co-op’s logo on the podium
or on a banner behind your speakers. One or more posters highlighting
the report’s major findings are easy to prepare and can
be very effective. Another approach might be a table display of
items reflecting different community projects your co-op has undertaken.
Items could symbolize fundraising drives, volunteer projects,
or school or environmental programs in which your co-op is involved.
Or fill the table with co-op products to highlight co-ops’
contributions to the economy.
Follow Up
After the report’s official release,
be prepared to circulate copies to key reporters or editors who
did not attend your event. They may still be interested in the
report even if they did not make it to your event. Include a news
release and a cover note with a phone number if they have questions.
3. Invite local media to an event at
your co-op.
If you do not have the time or resources to
prepare a report, consider holding a Co-op Month event at your cooperative
and inviting media to attend. The event might be a lunch or reception
marking Co-op Month in early October, with staff and members of
the community invited. Or it could be a briefing or roundtable discussion
about co-ops and their contributions to community. Another approach
might be an event to announce a new community activity focused on
Co-op Month. There are many suggestions for programs in the How
to Celebrate Co-op Month section of this tool kit. Use a media
advisory to announce the event to reporters and editors. And, once
again, don’t overlook visual aspects of any event you arrange.
4. Submit an opinion article or letter
to the editor to the local newspaper on the contribution of co-ops
to the community.
Two sample letters
to the editor and two sample op-eds
are including in this tool kit. Use those as a starting point for
your submission. It will receive more serious consideration if it
is localized with information about your co-op and your area. Be
sure to include a phone number where the newspaper can contact you
after normal working hours. That’s when newspapers are often
busiest. Most will need to confirm that you submitted the letter
or article before publishing it. They may also want to discuss edits
or ask you to rewrite portions of an op-ed.
Most newspaper now have submission guidelines
on their websites and prefer electronic submissions to faxed or
mailed letters or articles. Check the editorial or opinion section
or the "contact us" section of the newspaper’s website.
As a general rule, shorter is better. Three hundred words is long
for a letter to the editor. While there are exceptions, 700 words
is long for an op-ed.
Be careful about submitting the same letter
or article to multiple news outlets. Most newspapers will require
exclusivity, especially for op-eds. A few days after submitting
your letter or op-ed, follow-up with a phone call to the editorial
page staff to check on the status. They owe you an answer after
a reasonable amount of time, even if it is a rejection.
5. Sponsor an advertisement in the
local media.
A paid newspaper ad in October is an easy and
potentially dramatic way to get a Co-op Month message out to your
community. And it may be cost effective as well.
Community newspapers and those in smaller markets may have ad rates
that are quite reasonable. The sample Co-op Month
ads in this tool kit are available in a variety of sizes and
in both color and black and white. One of them should fit your budget
and the format of the target publication. The ads also come in versions
that allow you to insert your co-op’s name and message.
6. Develop a public service announcement
for broadcast media.
Co-op Month may qualify as a topic for a public
service announcement on radio stations in your area. Use the message
points in this tool kit to develop 15- or 30-second statements on
the value of co-ops to your community. Talk to station staff for
specifics on how to submit PSAs.
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