Getting Good Press - Christianity Today

During the Christmas holiday, our church was featured on the front page of Philadelphia’s leading daily newspaper and two suburban papers. We also appeared on two network television stations’ newscasts in the fourth largest media market in the country.

What’s more, it took me less than 30 minutes to write and send a fax to nine local newsrooms to get the coverage.

“That must be a mega-church,” you’re thinking. Hardly. Our average attendance is under 200. What helps is knowing how news media work and how to get them to notice what you’re doing. Here’s what I’ve learned through my own educational background in broadcasting and from some media professionals.

What will not get coverage is sending a letter written in extended paragraph form two to four weeks prior to an event. This might get your event announced—in the newspaper’s religion section or radio’s community bulletin board—but it won’t get your event covered.

To have your story reported, you need to understand how a newsroom works.

The inside story

With both TV and newspapers, the first person who decides what gets covered is the assignment editor. This person is the gatekeeper who determines where reporters and camera crews are sent. Then a producer or editor decides from these stories which will actually appear.

Whether they cover your church depends on many factors. Religion is low on the priority list of most newsrooms. Crime, fires, politics, international news, sports, and weather get top consideration. You have to know how to get your event noticed, or it will not stand a chance. This means:

1. Contact the assignment editor, by name if possible.

2. Keep it short. This individual has a demanding and stressful job. A TV newsroom will receive more than 40 phone calls and over 30 faxes an hour. An editor has 30 seconds or less to decide on your request for coverage. That’s why a two-page letter in paragraph form “goes right into the trash,” according to one assignment editor. “I just don’t have time to read it.”

3. Send it a day or two before assignments are made. If you send something two weeks in advance, even if it’s concise, it may be forgotten by the time assignments for that day are given out.

4. A fax or e-mail is better than regular mail. I once sent out a letter two weeks in advance of an event. The day before the event, I called to see if it was being considered. The newsroom staffer finally found my letter buried under a pile of faxes. He mentioned that faxes always are at the top of the pile, and the snail mail is always on the bottom. And some editors prefer e-mail.

Faxes that get noticed

The format of the fax is important. Make it concise. Give the editor something official from you.

Send your fax on church letterhead.
Lay out the most important information—who, what, when, where, why—in an uncluttered way.
Direct your fax to the assignment editor. That tells the newsroom you want coverage, not just an announcement. Call, if necessary, to get the name of the assignment editor. This will get your fax more notice.
Include a single paragraph describing the event. Don’t get too wordy. Tell the editor why your event should be covered.
Finally, provide the name and phone numbers of one or two contact people. Include day, evening, and beeper numbers. Reporters may need to contact someone at a moment’s notice. If the location is hard to find, include directions or a map.

What’s the visual or news angle?

To think like a newsperson, ask yourself, “What is the visual appeal of our program?” This, of course, is why TV news includes so many fires and car crashes. Newspapers prefer items that produce good photographs, but the editor needs to know if your event merits sending a photographer.

sample FAX

December 23, 1999 TO: John Smith, assignment editor FROM: Rev. Dr. Paul E. Randolph RE: Christmas Eve Service DATE: Friday, December 24, 1999 TIME: 7 to 8 p.m.

Our Christmas Eve candlelight service will feature our children providing special music, congregational singing, and the lighting of candles throughout the congregation. The pastor will tell the Christmas story from the Bible as the children in costume perform the various roles in our beautifully decorated sanctuary.

CONTACT PERSON: Rev. Dr. Paul E. Randolph Office: (#) Home: (#) Beeper: (#)

In your fax, suggest how the event will come across visually. For our Christmas Eve service, I mentioned the children would be dressed in costume to re-enact the Christmas story among the beautiful decorations in the sanctuary. This gives an assignment editor a stimulating visual scene, action, and children. That, for TV news, is a three-run homer! Most news broadcasts need one or two “feel good” stories to contrast with the murders and fires. Stories with children always have a better chance.

Ask yourself whether your event relates to something current in the news. Holidays are a natural opportunity for churches to get press coverage. One station showed scenes from our Good Friday service.

The press is also interested in religious events involving cooperation among several churches or denominations. Our church participates in a joint service for Thanksgiving and I always mention this prominently in the press release. Cross-cultural angles also have a strong appeal.

Programs that address current hot topics often get reported. My children’s school arranged to have the Philadelphia police bomb squad demonstrate safety with guns and firecrackers. In my description, I mentioned the police equipment (visual) and the dangers of explosives for kids (news). Two TV crews showed up.

Never promise what you can’t deliver. Don’t inflate anticipated attendance. Integrity is vital.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t succeed with every event. Just because they send out a reporter doesn’t guarantee coverage. When a TV station sends a camera crew, I’ve found the story makes it to air two-thirds of the time. When a newspaper reporter comes, the likelihood of publication is greater.

When the crew arrives

I tell the head usher that someone from the paper or TV news may be coming (often you won’t know until they show up). He knows to welcome them politely without acting starstruck, and to inform me of their arrival.

I try to greet them, thank them for coming, and offer my help. I have found reporters and photographers to be polite, professional, and sensitive to being at a church, especially if it is a worship service.

This is the time to inform them of any restrictions you have on how the camera crew does their work. Television is by nature intrusive, so expect bright lights and a little noise. The crew will probably need to move close to the action to get good video.

We often put together a simple press kit: a bulletin or order of service, a church business card, and a sheet with pertinent background information. The ushers have this to hand to the reporters immediately upon their arrival.

Be ready for a brief interview. In this day of the 10-second sound bite, prepare a single sentence that gets to the heart of what you want to say about your event.

Say thanks

Finally, send a thank-you.

One crew covering our Christmas Eve service spent time getting extra shots of the church involving creative camera work. The reporter gave an excellent summary of the service and its spiritual signifi-cance. So I wrote her a letter of thanks.

Since the media often is criticized for poor or biased coverage, a letter of appreciation really stands out, as a friend who works in TV news told me later. It also helps you to establish a relationship.

Media coverage has increased community awareness of our church in a way that religion-page announcements never accomplished. It’s a great way to reach out.

Paul Randolph is pastor of Memorial Baptist Church 2680 Huntingdon Huntingdon Valley PA 19006