If you are trying to get a newspaper, magazine, radio station,
or television station to publicize your event at no cost to you,
you owe it to journalists to respect their deadlines. Below is a
rough estimate of when you need to have accurate information about
your event submitted to the Public Relations Office so that we can
help your event get all the attention it deserves.
- Daily newspapers - 1 month prior to the event. So much
of the news business is a harried gathering operation that journalists
would rather not compound the problem with unnecessarily late
news offerings (particularly with calendar events, which are often
planned well in advance). As well, if your event merits a special
story or extra media attention, a month of lead time gives the
Public Relations Office time to coordinate additional publicity
efforts.
- Weekly newspapers - 1 month prior to the event. For all
the same reasons daily papers want advance notice, so do weekly
papers. Additionally, because weeklies print only once a week,
they are organized and put together even earlier than the dailies.
- Monthly publications - 1 to 3 months prior to the event.
Monthly publications are planned months prior to their printing
and distribution. (For example, most magazines plan their holiday
issues in late July and early August.)
- Radio and television - At least 1 week prior to the event.
Because printing is not involved, broadcast media has a flexibility
in timing that can work in your favor. However, that does not
mean you can notify them of an event today and expect to hear
your event being promoted on the air tomorrow. Many variables
determine whether a news station will cover a story or not; present
accurate, engaging information about the event and hope for the
best.
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