You can contact media representatives in several ways, including personal visits, e-mail messages, letters, telephone calls, faxed messages, or invitations to such things as open houses or special events. The following material explains how you can make these contacts.

Personal Visits

Generally, editors and reporters at weekly or small local newspapers will be more willing to meet with you in person than those working with larger media organizations. Newspapers and broadcasting stations are busy places, and journalists usually do not have time just to visit. So, don't be offended if a journalist seems busy. To help your visit be successful, do the following:

• Find out when media representatives have deadlines, and avoid contacts or visits during those times and immediately prior to them.
• Call the representative and make an appointment for a 5- to 10-minute visit. Keep visit brief.
• Take along a prepared news story or fact sheet. Don't schedule the appointment until you have a story. (See the current “Top Story” at www.newsroom.lds.org for story ideas.)
• Show that you understand what the media considers newsworthy. Some church representatives, unfortunately, supply handwritten reports of cake socials and church fairs. Make sure that your conversation and stories are high quality.
• Ask whether the journalist prefers to receive stories by e-mail, fax, telephone, or personal visits. Determine what time of day is best for visits.
• Ask whether the newspaper will use photographs that are not taken by staff photographers. Check requirements for resolution of photographs provided to newspaper.
• Make sure the organization has your name, position, and telephone numbers. Each media organization should have only one contact for Church information. You can involve other members as necessary, but those members should always contact you before contacting or responding to the media organization. Two DPAs should never be assigned to share the responsibility of first contact for a media organization.

Sending a News Release by E-Mail, Fax, or Mail

Staff members of major daily newspapers or radio and television stations are under too much pressure to visit with everyone who has a story. In these cases, it is best to send a release by e-mail or possibly by fax. Normal mail usually is too slow. See Placing Stories in the Media/News Writing Basics. If you are planning to send a release, consider the following:

1. Rather than sending the release to the news desk, whenever possible send it to a named person such as the news editor or news director. You can get the name of a person by calling the switchboard of the media organization. Check the Web site of the publication for other contact information.
   
   
2. A brief handwritten note attached to the news release can make the difference between the story being used and not being used. The note can be just one or two lines. If you know the person you are sending the release to, you could write, "Bill - Thought this story might interest you. Please feel free to call. Regards, Jim."
   
   
3. Send the story well in advance of an event. For example, if you are inviting a reporter to a ward social function, please invite him/her at least two weeks in advance.
   
   
4. E-mail or write a letter-to-the-editor in standard letter format and deliver it by hand if possible. If possible, it should be delivered on the same day the item appears to which the letter is responding. Letters should be well-reasoned and use sound logic. It may be well to have your priesthood leader and other trusted members offer suggestions. Be careful not to sound overly emotional about an issue.

Placing a Story by Telephone

Learn when it is best to appoach your journalists about stories. When you call them about stories, they can tell you whether they are of interest before they are written. The journalist man ask for specific details, choose to write the story themselves from information you supply, and discuss possibilities for photos or interviews. See Strategic Media Relations/Placing Church Stories in the Media/Recognizing Local Placement Opportunities. If you plan to call a journalist, use the following guidelines:

1. Call at a time when the journalist will be least pressured—mid-afternoon for a morning newspaper, early morning or late afternoon for an evening paper, or midmorning for specialist or feature writers. Do not call broadcast journalists just before they go on the air. A good rule of thumb is to contact them several hours before a newscast or shortly afterward.
   
   
2. Immediately explain your reason for calling. Give your name and tell the person that you are calling with a story suggestion. Some DPAs prefer to give their name and then tell about the story before explaining that they represent the Church. Use your best judgment, and learn by experience.
   
   
3. Use well-known secular terms, not Church language.
   
   
4. Write down beforehand the two or three strongest selling points of the story in four or five-word headings. Practice summarizing these points in 10 seconds each. Don’t get sidetracked into nonessential detail.
   
   
5. When you have explained the story, ask whether the journalist would like to see any of the ideas in a news release or written summary, or whether he or she would prefer to hear the details over the telephone. If the journalist has no interest in the story, don't try to push your ideas. Thank the journalist for his or her time.
   
   
6. You can tell a journalist you think you have a good story and would like to give him or her the first chance to use it. Then you have a reason to ask for an immediate response.
   
   
7. Do not ask to see or review the story. This is considered unprofessional, and the request will most often be refused. Rather, urge the writer to call you to check any detail for accuracy.

Placing and Cultivating Local Story Ideas

Many stories are developed for several weeks or even months before they are aired or published. Tactfully remind your media contact about the story idea and offer any help in developing it.

Letters to Feature Editors or Talk Show Producers

A feature story generally is much larger and more detailed than a news story and can include background information and additional detail. It might run from a third of a page to multiple pages with photos. Features do not have to cover events that occurred within the past day or two. They might be held for several weeks until there is space for them.

Similarly, talk shows allow a subject to be treated in more depth than a standard news story. They might consist of an interview with the host and might allow listeners to call in with questions or comments.

Features about the Church are less common than news stories because a newspaper or magazine has to be willing to devote more space to the topic. Still, many Church-related features have appeared in newspapers and magazines over the years.

Almost all newspapers and magazines prefer to assign their own staff or known freelance journalists to write their features.

Editors of features pages, writers on specialized topics, and talk show producers always are looking for good story ideas. You can place good stories if you suggest appealing ideas. When you are considering a feature story, use the following guidelines:

1. Evaluate the kinds of feature stories your local media run and consider which Church-related videos might be used. For example, after a major story on the increasing youth crime rate, you might offer a story on what hundreds of local families are doing each Monday evening to build family solidarity and instill values in their children.
   
   
2. Listen to local radio talk shows to become familiar with the format and type of subjects aired.
   
   
3. Present your idea for a feature or talk show subject in a letter of no more than one page. Address it to a named person, never to a position or title. And be sure to get the spelling of the name and the title exact.
   
   
4. In your letter, state that in a few days, you will call to see if the person is interested in the story. This makes it less likely that your letter will be put aside and forgotten.
   
   
5. Have local Church experts or spokespersons in mind to be interviewed if your story idea is accepted. Many local Church members qualify as experts on subjects such as family history, emergency preparedness, and parenting. Be sure that people who represent the Church on talk shows or in other interviews are trained and thoroughly prepared.

Invitations

You might sometimes want to invite journalists to open houses for the media, press receptions, or tours of Church facilities. It is better to invite one or two journalists for lunch and a look around and then invite a few more later rather than to host a large group at a time.

You might want to invite reporters who deal regularly with the Church, such as religion editors, to have lunch with the local priesthood leader and a member of the public affairs council. You should usually not invite more than two Church representatives. The purpose of such meetings is to help the journalist understand Church beliefs and practices. Always have one or two story ideas in mind so if the opportunity arrives, you can plant one or two possibilities.

Press Briefings

Most DPAs will rarely, if ever, hold press briefings. These should be reserved for major events such as a temple open house, in which case either the area public affairs office or your liaison in the Public Affairs Department will help.

Promotions

Although there is no requirement that they provide such air time, radio stations can be asked to help publicize an event that serves the public, such as an emergency preparedness seminar or family history conference. Contact the station's community affairs director. If this position doesn't exist, contact a senior manager or program director.