It is important to maintain a database of the names of the media representatives you contact and summaries of your interactions with them. This could provide information about each media organization in your area. Knowing how a reporter responded to a suggested story or recalling what was said in an interview or the date you last contacted a journalist with a suggestion will help you do your work well. One study found that reporters often wished public affairs workers would remember the names of their media contacts.

There are a number of ways to maintain helpful entries of media contacts. Electronic databases are the preferred method.

EXAMPLE

Don’t try to list all the staff members of a newspaper or broadcasting station in your database. Journalists change jobs or assignments frequently. Use the Internet or telephone to update your list of contacts. Record only the names of those with whom you have had personal contact, such as sending them a news release or talking to them on the phone. Your list might begin with only one or two names, but it will grow.

EXAMPLE

When you are released, give the database to the new DPA or media relations assistant so the contacts can be maintained. Introduce the new public affairs people to some of the media representatives with whom you have developed friendships.