5 BEST TIPS:

Tools of the Press Office • Have as much written material as possible to distribute — not so much that the press is overwhelmed, but enough that your story will not be misinterpreted. • Use visuals. • Use video, audio, and satellites whenever possible so as to enhance the telling of your message. • Initiate. Don't wait for the press to come to you. Get your message out by writing op-eds, doing editorial boards with newspapers and television systems, and getting the story also told in a newspaper's feature section. • Use the Internet.

TOOLS OF THE PRESS OFFICE

"We handed out papers on everything," says former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers. During President Bill Clinton's first term, she says, the White House press office distributed to reporters not only texts of speeches, proclamations, and press conferences, but also press releases, fact sheets, background information on policies, media advisories of upcoming events, summaries of points made in speeches and policy documents, analyses of the most important points in a document, and so forth.

"Reporters are busy, especially those covering heads of state and other government leaders," she says. "The breadth of material they are expected to cover is daunting." Putting material in writing for the media helps.

Summarizing the material and distributing it in written form or on-line means not having to rely on someone's hearing it correctly in a speech or statement. It also allows a press spokesperson another chance at restating the major points, Myers says.

In the United States, as much as possible, press offices write and distribute to the press, on paper and on the Internet, statements, policies, actions, and plans. Writing them and distributing them in written form achieves several goals:

• It helps government officials and press officers clearly think out what they want to say and to refine their message.
  
• It increases the odds that the media will understand the information correctly and cuts down on misinterpretation.
  
• It provides something reporters can refer back to when writing their stories.
  
• It obviates having to answer the same questions over and over because the basic information has been provided.
  
• It stimulates more thoughtful, fact-based questions from the media.
  
• It increases the chances the story will come out with the emphasis you want.

Handing out summaries and analyses with a statement or speech also enables the press office to restate its interpretation of the news.

In the United States, written communications take many forms. Additionally, press offices have a number of other tools — visual and oral — to communicate with the public through the press. Among the common communication tools are:

Press release, which is written like a news article and is sometimes used as the text of news articles by some publications. A press release is an account of your story told in one or two pages. It should tell who, what, where, when, why, and how in the first paragraph, just as in a news story. The press release should follow an inverted pyramid style, with information appearing in its order of importance so that editors can easily identify key facts. The key information is presented at the top, and the pyramid declines to a point at the bottom with the least important news.

Media advisory, which is similar to a press release, but is prepared to announce an upcoming event so that the media can quickly assess the event and decide whether or not to report on it. A media advisory should also include who, what, when, where, why, and how. It should be only one page in length.

Fact sheet or backgrounder, which is an expanded press release that provides detailed information on a subject. It uses facts and statistics, but usually not quotations, and typically is distributed with a press release. Running up to four or five pages, the fact sheet or backgrounder should be in easily readable form, using techniques such as bullets or bold type for each new fact.

Visuals, such as pictures, graphs, charts, and maps that accompany press releases.

Biography, which is given out with a press release. A biography briefly provides the professional record and accomplishments of a person being appointed to a new job, giving a speech, or participating in an event.

A list of experts who will reinforce your message. The list should include names and telephone numbers.

Other texts, which can include all kinds of material. At the White House, for example, transcripts of the president's remarks and of the daily press briefing by the press secretary and other officials are given out to the media soon after the events. Proclamations, statements, announcements of personnel appointments and nominations, letters supporting proposed legislation by experts or professional associations, and other correspondence to and from the president are also distributed to the press daily.

Clippings, which show primarily "good" stories that have been printed. Officials often make attractive copies of news articles that are favorable to them and put them into media kits or press packets with other materials.

Questions, which are sometimes given by officials to reporters to spark their interest in a topic. In some instances, you might write up questions that interviewers could ask an official. Imaginative questions create curiosity.

Press packets or media kits, which contain several items on a single topic. The items are inserted into a folder with two internal pockets to hold them. For the dedication of a new school, for example, a media packet might include:

• A folder bearing the logo of the featured school on the cover, with inside flaps holding press materials.
  
• A media advisory that gives details on the dedication time, site, and significance.
  
• A press release that specifies the details of the dedication service, contains general information about the school, and includes quotes from top officials about the school.
  
• A media backgrounder that presents detailed facts and statistics, such as specifics on construction, how many students will attend the school, and so forth.
  
• Biographies of the speakers at the event.
  
• Visuals such as pictures of the school.

"Pitch letter" or telephone call, which summarizes a story idea in one paragraph and explains why readers - or viewers — will be attracted to it. The pitch letter or phone call provides details, gives names, describes photo opportunities, and summarizes the story concept.

Video and audio news releases, which have the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a written press release but are presented as a radio or television story. Broadcasters may use all or part of the material in a radio or television news story and identify the material as coming from a public relations source. The video news release should be presented on split audio tracks, with the narrator on one track and sound bites and natural sounds on another. This makes it easier for the sound to be rearranged in editing.

Satellite technology, which allows newsmakers to hold a meeting or do an interview and then transmit the feed or news to television stations across country. It offers a media tour without the investment of travel and time. Typically, public information specialists tape an event and then purchase satellite time to transmit it via satellite feed. To do this properly, you need a studio that can transmit live pictures and sound and can give television reporters the opportunity to ask questions over the phone while taping the official answering the questions. Stations need to be notified when the satellite feed will be available and how to access it.

Radio actuality, which is an audio recording of the government official making a short statement as if it were an actual interview. Some U.S. politicians do radio actualities every day at regular times. Either they transmit them directly to reporters or give them a phone number to an answering machine that contains the statement. To do this properly, a high-quality tape recorder is needed with an attachment that connects a telephone to the tape recorder. The material also can be posted on the World Wide Web for downloading.

Separate phone line, which can be used to record the government official's daily schedule for media reference.

Press conferences, at which officials announce news on an issue. To be effective and credible, the news should be timely and substantive.

Interviews, which give officials a chance to talk, usually one on one, with a reporter and get their ideas across in a more in-depth manner than at a press conference.

Editorial boards, which are meetings between the newsmaker and the editor of a newspaper's editorial page, editorial and opinion writers, and reporters from the news sections to discuss a topic. Major television and cable networks also have similar meetings. The editorial board can give a government official an opportunity to explain his or her ideas in depth, which can lead the media to a deeper understanding of the government's policies and often results in news stories and editorials.

Off-the-record meetings, at which officials meet with reporters to provide background or context on topics of news interest.

Op-eds, opinion pieces, and columns, which are used by newsmakers to express opinions. Some politicians write a weekly column in an effort to get their opinions directly to the people.

Speeches, which are used to promote policies, unveil new programs, explain positions, and build consensus. Advance copies of speeches are often given to the press, and copies are sent to interested journalists who cannot attend a media event. Putting speeches on the Internet is also effective. If possible, when distributing a speech, begin with a summary of the material to give reporters a synopsis of the main theme. Always keep a list of the media to whom material was sent.

Media tours, which move beyond the capital city and reach out to the media regionally. Media tours should give regional press news targeted to their regions and explain how their citizens will be affected by government policies.

Features, which tell a story in a non-hard-news fashion. Public information specialists don't rely only on hard-news sections of print publications when telling their stories, but use feature and other sections, too.

The Internet, which provides a venue to communicate directly with the public without the filter of the media. It also provides for quick communication with reporters. Additionally, the Internet offers the capability for back-and-forth communication between government officials and the public. Press offices can establish their own local electronic bulletin boards. The Internet has it all: text, pictures, video, and sound. Government press offices also use the Internet to direct users to vast amounts of original documents on line. To be effective, the Web site needs to be updated frequently.

E-mail, which includes group e-mail addresses so that with one keyboard command, information can be transmitted easily to numerous interested people.

Photo opportunities, or "photo ops," which allow an official to have his/her picture taken with constituents, such as award recipients, to be sent to the recipients' hometown newspapers for publicity. When a photograph is taken and then mailed, be sure to identify the people in the photo and the meeting.

News materials might be of interest to only some reporters. In the White House press room, for example, a journalist often will pick up a press release, read it, and put it back because it does not pertain to what he covers. But it is important that it's available to those who do want and need it.