Media Relations Handbook

This Media Relations Handbook was prepared for the AGO International Year of the Organ, 2008-09, by the Phelps Group, and edited by the AGO Professional Networking and Public Relations Committee. We've tried to make it as useful as possible for AGO members. If you've handled publicity for your chapter before, many of the items will be reviews. However, some of the new media will probably be new to you. If you've never done publicity before, we hope that everything will be clear, so that you will feel confident in proceeding.

How much publicity you do will depend on the size of your chapter and the size of your town or city. In larger cities, you will need to do more in order to get as good coverage as possible. In smaller towns, writing a press release might be sufficient to get local newspaper coverage. Remember that you need to plan ahead. Most media have deadlines weeks or even months ahead of the event. The first thing you might want to do is contact the media in your area to find out what their deadlines are.

We hope you find this material helpful. Please let us know if you see errors or have comments. Thanks for using this handbook.

The AGO Professional Networking and Public Relations Committee

Margaret Evans, Director
Sondra Proctor
Larry Schou
Lois Toeppner

5 July 2008

		Table of Contents Introduction Elements of a Press Kit Writing a Press Release Press Release Samples Writing a Media Alert Media Alert Samples Elements of Writing a Pitch Letter Pitching Your Stories Suggested Story Ideas Sample Pitches How to Write a Fact Sheet Fact Sheet Samples How to Write a Chapter Backgrounder The American Guild of Organists Corporate Backgrounder The American Guil of Organists Offical Guild Documents 5 Important Points about Writing a Professional Bio Sample Bios Generating Exposure Dealing with the Media New Media Articles AGO Press Materials Clip Art Logo Media Contacts