Planning A News Conference

By Heather C. Conover
Conover + Company Communications

News conferences can be an excellent way for organizations to share information with their target audiences, however they require very careful planning. Here are a few tips:

First, critically analyze the information you want to share to determine if a news conference is appropriate. Is your story an emergency or breaking news? Do you need to reach a broad audience? If you have newsworthy and time sensitive information needing to reach a broad audience, a news conference is probably in order. A news conference allows you to share your story with many media outlets simultaneously and provides reporters an opportunity to hear information first-hand, ask questions, and obtain photos.

Your planning phase should include the selection and preparation of your spokesperson(s). It is best to limit the number of spokespeople at your news conference to one or two and make sure that they are media trained. In addition, develop talking points and a question and answer sheet so that the spokespeople know the issues well and can address the tough questions.

Give consideration to the time and place to hold the news conference. Find a convenient location with a backdrop that reinforces your message and where inclement weather will not be an issue. In addition, make sure that reporters’ technical needs, such as microphones, radio and TV hook-ups, and lighting can be supported. Be sure to find out the deadlines of your key media outlets and choose a time that will allow reporters to meet their deadlines.

After determining whether your news is local, regional, national, or international, develop a list of contacts at the media outlets that will best reach your targeted audiences. Your list will likely include wire services, daily newspapers, television and radio stations, and, perhaps, consumer magazines and industry publications. Once you have details of your event, call the Associated Press and ask them to put it in their daybook. Next prepare a media advisory and email or fax it two days in advance of the news conference. Follow up with phone calls the same day and on the morning of the event. If a newspaper seems unlikely to send a reporter, call the photo desk and ask if they can send a photographer. Call television stations before 9 a.m. when the day’s stories are assigned.

Next issue: Holding the News Conference

Winter 2006 -Volume 16, Number 1

All articles are copyrighted by the authors in the year published.