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Author:

Wayne Hsiung

Published on:

August 20, 2013

Press Kit and Instructions

Press materials are below. The below templates are probably not ideal for this event. REPEAT: the below links are NOT ideal for this event. Please contact us separately at dxe@directactioneverywhere.com, if you are interested in a fuller press release template, as we do not want to post the full template publicly until the day of the event.

However , if you would like to draft your own press release from scratch, or need a template for other events, please go ahead and use these: 

Template Press Advisory (Send on Thursday - two days before event)

Template Press Release (Send immediately after event begins - by smartphone, if necessary)  

General Press Tips 

-          Announce news only (an event, a development).  “Animal rights activists said X” is not news, “Animal rights activists had the exact same protest they had last Saturday” is not news every Saturday.  Tell the press what they want to know, not what you think they should want to know.

-          Contact the right people.  Reporters have particular beats, so send your materials to the people who are interested in your issue.  Do not, do not, do not just blast a press release out to every reporter whose email address you can obtain.  A national security correspondent doesn’t care about your animal rights protest and will be irritated that you’ve bothered her about it.  Find out who covers animal issues, protesters, maybe environmental issues.  Google recent animal issues to see who has covered them – ag-gag, Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Humane Society of the United States, Mercy For Animals, animal cruelty…those terms will bring up recent coverage.  Ideally, you should send your release directly to these individuals.  If you do not have direct contact info, use the generic “news” email address.

-          No frills.  Make sure the press has the information they need right up front and nothing more.  Do not make them search through your materials to find the info they need – they won’t do it and you’re lucky if they even read past the first paragraph.  Be short, sweet, clear, and right to the point.

-          Don’t send attachments.  Send email out via BCC to those on your list. 

-          Few things are worthy of press kits.  Don’t burden the press with them for now.  By the time you’ll need a press kit, you’ll know what warrants a press kit.