JOHN CALLOW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR MURFREESBORO, TN Working with the Press Fifteen Suggestions Suggestion 1 Promote, promote, promote Suggestion 2 Build a relationship with your reporter and your reporters editor This is me getting some tips from my old boss. Suggestion 3 Establish the ground rules Suggestion 4 You cant have it both ways Suggestion 5 Reporters are busy people: Make it easy on them - give them the hook Suggestion 6 Walk a mile in your reporters shoes Suggestion 7 Put faces on your story - Be prepared to be the facilitator Suggestion 8 Help with photo suggestions the grip and grin doesnt cut it Would this picture get you fired up? Suggestion 9 Press releases keep them short Even though this one is only one page, it may be too long to attract attention. Suggestion 10 Not all days are equal there really are slow news days. Be ready to help. Suggestion 11 Make yourself an expert Who knows more about what you know about than you? Suggestion 12 Suggest editorial ideas better yet contribute a guest column This could be you make them take a good picture. Suggestion 13 Use your citys assets to tell the story Suggestion 14 The Emil Brown Theorem Suggestion 14 The Emil Brown Theorem Big-league the people you need working for you and they wont. Suggestion 15 The Wayne Gretsky Principle Suggestion 15 The Wayne Gretsky Principle Thanks for being here.
