4.03
Publicity
How Media Relations Work
Term
 media relations: cultivating positive relationships
with media personalities that facilitate an
organization in getting favorable and widespread
news coverage
Importance of Media Relations in SEM
 Maximize favorable publicity
 Encourage media to cover team
 More media coverage = greater brand equity
Media Relations Approaches
 Reactive: when responding to events
 Proactive: planning ahead of events
 Interactive: ongoing and mutually favorable
communications with media
 Always be honest and professional
Cultivating Relationship with Media

Make media’s job easier
 Provide information
 Provide resources (space, WiFi)
 Feed them
 Allow them to cover preparations of event
Techniques to Work With Media
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Get to know the media
Write clear, concise press releases
Be prepared when talking to media
Be honest and professional
Don't antagonize
Media Representatives in SEM
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beat writers: cover team on daily basis
Columnists: write opinions on variety of subjects
wire service reporters: write stories that are
shared nationally
television news crews
television game broadcasters
Radio/game broadcasters
Photographers
Tools to Communicate With
Media
Face-to-face
E-mail
Fax
Phone
Social media
Media Relations Challenges in SEM
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Media has increased options in what
to cover
Increased number of media outlets
Terms:
 hard news: stories that deal with formal, serious
information
 soft news: stories that are informal, lighthearted
 press releases: factual information provided to
news media
 captioned photograph: information below a
photo that describes action, identifies people
Purposes of Press Releases
 To
 To
 To
 To
 To
introduce new products
keep the business in the public eye
position the business’s image
support good employee relations
create good community relations
Press Releases Used in SEM
 game advance: preview of upcoming game
 hometown release: highlight of player that is sent
to his/her local media outlets
 news release: information about team (scores,
schedule, ticket information)
Guidelines for Writing a Press
Release
 Post contact information
 Keep it short
 Be attenion-getting
 Avoid giving opinions
 Meet media deadlines
 Call media if mistakes are sent in release
 Remember, the editor decides to publish the
story
Getting a News Editor's Attention
Include a captioned photograph.
Meet media deadlines.
Write an appropriate number of releases.
Direct the release to a specific person.
Avoid pressuring the editor.
Avoid playing favorites.
Newsletters
 Provide information to public/fans
Develop an Effective Newsletter
 Written for the audience
 Provides relevant information
 Visually appealing
 Regularly published
Media Guide
 publication that provides information and
statistics to media covering the team
 Encourages media coverage
Components of Media Guide
 Information about organization
 Information about coaches
 Information about players
 Photos
 Statistics