1. Welcome to PRSSA Feb. 20, 2008 E-mail: umnprssa@gmail.com Web site: www.tc.umn.edu/~mnprssawww.tc.umn.edu/~mnprssa

2. Agenda Eat, sign-in Haberman & Associates internship, Jeremey Baier Announcements Media relations workshop

3. Announcements PRSSA Internship/Job Event, registration forms Sign-up for trip to Madison next meeting: Signing-up implies commitment to attending Approximate cost: $80 McNamara Alumni Etiquette Dinner on April 8 th Next meeting: Agency and non- profit presentations Guest speaker, Curtis Smith

4. Media relations workshop Media Relations PR writing Media lists Press releases/media alerts Media kits Send release (E-mail etiquette) Follow-up (day of, next day) Editorial calendars

5. PR writing AP style Inverted pyramid: important information first Interesting lead: statistic, industry trend Short paragraphs Eliminate unnecessary words

6. Media lists Cision, Weber Works Search by: geographic, beats, title, type of publication Title: Consumer: managing editor, editorial assistant (TV=producer) Trade: editor E-mail, phone number, address

7. Press releases/media alerts Press release: Information about the announcement, facts, a quote from spokesperson Media alert: Who, what, where, when, Why

8. Media kits Contain: Recent news releases, images, company backgrounder, spokesperson bios, product information, product Unnecessary? Consumer: Fun and creative Flip books, colorful boxes, baskets Trade shows: useful for editors CD, flash drive

9. Media kits (Images courtesy of Risdall McKinney Public Relations)

10. Send release: (E-mail, fax etiquette) Send document in a PDF format E-mail: personalize name publication, use ‘BCC’ instead of ‘TO’ for mass mailings Paste document in the e-mail Example: Please review for your editorial purposes. If you have any questions, would like to learn more about X, or would like to schedule an interview with Y, please contact me at sarah@ryder.com or at 651.286.6713.sarah@ryder.com Best regards, Sarah Ryder

11. Follow-up to media alert (day of, next day) Research the news media Find a specific person, place in the publication Script : “Hello Katie, my name is Sarah Ryder and I’m calling on behalf of the Minnesota Children’s Museum. How are you doing?” (…)“I’m calling to follow-up with you regarding the media alert I sent today for the MCM’s Curious George exhibit opening on Friday. Is this something KARE 11 is interested in?” (..why?...) “The event will showcase the museum’s vision to learn through play and will have great visual and audio appeal (fire trucks, kids playing). I can offer you an exclusive first-look on Friday morning. Alert MCM about 4:30 a.m. taping, receive and provide cell phone numbers of reporter (I.C.E) Example: Good vs. bad pitching/Follow up

12. Follow-up to news release, exclusive (next day, two days) Research the news media –Find a specific place in the publication –Ask if interested, want more info, would like to arrange meeting with X to discuss further details about the trend/study/announcement.

13. Follow-up to media invite (3-4 days) Trade shows: goal to stop-by the booth for mtg. Research the news media –Have dates, times availalbe

14. Editorial calendars (2-3 months in advance) Research the news media Goal is to find out the angle of the article, who is writing it Provide experts, new products, case history for the article

15. Additional notes: Be confident in yourself Know your material Media relations depends on audience, topic, supervisor Additional info: http://www.mediarelationsblog.com/ Questions??

16. Firm/Committee Time Firm (front) Activities (Hagen Library) Philanthropy (far back) Link (far back)