Offer Helpful Handouts

The issue of how much printed material to provide, and where and when to distribute it, is always a complex one. If you pass out transcripts of the presentation and plenty of background data, the press will be pleased— but they may also disrupt the proceedings with their paper-shuffling, or, worse, they may determine that they can get a story from the handouts and decide to leave early. On the other hand, they may be irked when they realize they have taken copious notes throughout the presentation, only to be presented with a transcript immediately afterward. The an­swer may be a combination of techniques: a one-page outline of material to be covered (placed on every chair), a selection of fact sheets (placed on the press table), and a text of the main speaker's prepared statement (passed out at the door as reporters leave).

In addition to smoothing the way for reporters, you must keep your own selfish interests in mind: Did everyone attend, and did they get all of the information? By stationing a member of the PR staff at the door with a checklist of invitees and an envelope of prepared material, it should be possible to keep track of which media received the material. An important part of the press conference plan should be to assure that, as soon as possible, all printed materials get in the hands of invited re­porters who did not attend—by courier delivery, if necessary.

CHECKLIST • News Conference / Press Event

• Does the invitation list include the people we want to target for this info? General reporters, or specialized reporters such as those from trade media? All media⁷ Different setups or meetings for print and broadcast media? Separate event for financial and business reporters?

• Has a kit been prepared for those who attend the event? Will same kit be delivered subsequently to those who cannot attend?

• Has the best spokesperson been selected for the conference or the event? Will there be adequate training and practice sessions? Are there audience members who will get and keep the momentum going?

• Are the room facilities adequate for the technical needs of the press? Lighting? Ability to jack tape recorders and microphones into the main microphone? Good sight lines? Post-meeting access to the speak­ers? Telephones nearby? Copy machines? Fax? Computer modems?

• Have the ethical concerns of the press been considered? Opportunity to pay for lunch or services?

• Have transportation needs been arranged for remote locations? Bus or cabs to site of special event, plant tour, etc.

• Have the basic amenities been provided? Water and drinking glasses? Paper and pencils?

• Is there adequate signage to prevent confusion?

• Are all speakers and participants adequately identified with panel signs, nametags, listing of participants on handout, projection of IDs on slides?

• Are staff members present and identified to assist reporters in finding information, sources, or services they need to report the story?

• Is there a press room for longer events? Resource materials: handouts, directories, staff members, computers, typewriters, phone lines, paper and pencils? Don't forget refreshments.

• Has a single spokesperson been assigned for complex situations?

• Has follow-up been arranged to take care of the needs of the media after the news conference or special event is over?

We would be remiss if we failed to mention that something called the "hospitality room" frequently is set up in a suite adjacent to the area where the press is covering a conference, convention, or the proceed­ings of an organization. Typically, such a room is well stocked with ice and a variety of beverages. It is "the American way of doing business," and the custom wouldn't be continued if all parties didn't find it advantageous Reporters enjoy talking informally with sources and other journalists in such an atmosphere. The result frequently is a frankness that can't be found on a convention floor or in the formal atmosphere of a press conference. From the PR practitioner's point of view, the value of the social situation cannot be discounted, but it is generally useful to follow up any discussions in the hospitality room with a more busi­nesslike contact.

Whenever journalists are required to spend a prolonged period far from home base, they need the services of a temporary press facility— the working press room. Of course, at large political conventions the major media set up their own operations, with direct electronic links to home base. But for other events, including trade shows or expositions, professional or union conventions, and natural disasters or calamities such as Mount St. Helens and Three Mile Island, the press expects the sponsor of the event, or the organization most closely involved with it, to set up a press room—sometimes on the spur of the moment.

Organizations such as the military, public utilities, and large corpo­rations that routinely hold events far afield find it advantageous to equip a trailer or bus with phones, typewriters, water cooler, and per­haps even bunks for quick naps. Typically, though, space is rented from a hotel. Or arrangements may be made to use a public facility in order to set up a temporary news operation with links to the wire services and major media.