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Getting Good Press

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 ...

March
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