1. JOHN CALLOW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR MURFREESBORO, TN Working with the Press

2. Fifteen Suggestions

3. Suggestion 1 Promote, promote, promote

4. Suggestion 2 Build a relationship with your reporter and your reporter’s editor This is me getting some tips from my old boss.

5. Suggestion 3 Establish the ground rules

6. Suggestion 4 You can’t have it both ways

7. Suggestion 5 Reporters are busy people: Make it easy on them - give them the hook

8. Suggestion 6 Walk a mile in your reporter’s shoes

9. Suggestion 7 Put faces on your story - Be prepared to be the facilitator

10. Suggestion 8 Help with photo suggestions – the ‘grip and grin’ doesn’t cut it Would this picture get you fired up?

11. Suggestion 9 Press releases – keep them short Even though this one is only one page, it may be too long to attract attention.

12. Suggestion 10 Not all days are equal – there really are slow news days. Be ready to help.

13. Suggestion 11 Make yourself an expert Who knows more about what you know about than you?

14. Suggestion 12 Suggest editorial ideas – better yet contribute a guest column This could be you – make them take a good picture.

15. Suggestion 13 Use your city’s assets to tell the story http://www.murfreesborotn.gov

16. Suggestion 14 The Emil Brown Theorem

17. Suggestion 14 The Emil Brown Theorem “Big-league the people you need working for you and they won’t.”

18. Suggestion 15 The Wayne Gretsky Principle

19. Suggestion 15 The Wayne Gretsky Principle “Thanks for being here.”