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About Media Relations

Media relations refers to the relationship that an organization develops with journalists. See our media advisories and press releases.

A strong media relations program yields several advantages:

• Credibility: When a story about your organization appears in the newspaper, it appears endorsed by a trusted third party, the news media, which raises your credibility.
  
• Name Recognition: People may be more likely to remember your organization’s name if they see it frequently in the news.
  
• Cost-effectiveness: Media coverage is free and stretches your marketing budget.

The central concept in media relations is this:

• You make it easy for journalists to do their jobs.

Because journalists are often on deadline and pressed for time, the more of their work you can do for them, the more likely they are to pick up your story idea.

So help them out—give them story ideas, background material, access to experts who can comment on the news, and graphics. Then follow up diligently.

However, as you begin to prepare your materials, remember that no reporter worth his or her salt will run a story just because it’s easy to write. To put your organization in the news, you must also supply a key ingredient: a newsworthy idea.

Also, remember to always contact your public affairs officer so that he or she can approve content before you release it.

Next, read more about marketing your ideas.