Get Involved
News Conference
Tips and Tools: Getting Started
This page describes how community members can plan and hold news conferences in their area. We invite you to use our guidelines and documents in your planning.
Try thinking like a television journalist as you plan your news conference. Make sure you have an interesting visual, good sound, and a compelling story. Consider these factors with each of the following elements and how each component enhances your main message. Radio, newspaper and magazine reporters will also appreciate your attention to these details. When you make their work easier and more interesting, your reward is valuable news coverage!
The chronology and tools are presented in three pages. The first page has three sections:
First decide what the purpose of your news conference will be. Here are some possible ideas:
- To announce an event you want others in the community to join,
- To award a local civil liberties hero,
- To announce the start of a community-wide campaign, such as Patriot Days of Action or a community ordinance, or
- To inform the community of the arrival of a celebrity or noted official who's coming out to join or endorse your campaign.
Try to think like the media. What's the hook? What's the local angle? Can you link your story to something that's already gained attention in the news?
Invite a locally well known "name" to be the key speaker. A good way to make sure the media turns out for your news conference is to make sure the media recognizes the name of at least one of your presenters. Asking the mayor or a sympathetic public official to make a statement on behalf of your group can give your news conference a boost it might otherwise lack.
The date and time of your news conference are extremely important. It is your job to pick a date and time that will allow the media time to cover your event and your supporters time to attend.
Is there a significant date in your community?
- Anniversary of your resolution?
- A locally designated "Freddom Day," "Bill of Rights Day," or "Civil Liberties Day"?
- Some other local anniversary that coincides with Civil Liberties?
What is the best timing for a news conference?
- 10 a.m. - noon; Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
- Schedule to fit news deadlines. You want to schedule the news conference so that a reporter or videographer has time to attend and time to edit their coverage before their deadline (i.e. 2 p.m. is the latest you hold your conference for a broadcast at 5 p.m., or 10 a.m. is the latest for a noon broadcast). See also combinations.
- Scheduling a morning news conference enables you to possibly get coverage on noon and afternoon radio or television news.
- Consider holding a news conference a day or two before your main event, so you can alert people about an upcoming picnic, parade, or commemoration.
News conferences can be held in a multitude of places. Try asking an ally group to use their office or meeting place, looking for a free or low-cost meeting room through the city, county, library, religious center, community college or university, or using an oustide public space (city hall, county building, federal building) with relevance to the Bill of Rights.
When looking for a location keep in mind the audience that you are expecting as well as how the location can be beneficial to your conference, and even how the location could be harmful.
- Consider the site's visual and sound attributes. Do not hold a news conference in a noisy place, such as with a fountain, traffic, or a playground in the background, unless that noise emphasizes the points you will make at your news conference.
- Find a way to provide a visual background to enhace your message. For instance, use a BORDC banner if you have one, make a banner from a sheet, or create your own Bill of Rights posters or signs. Ask people from your group to hold the signs behind the presenters at the news conference. Make use of the U.S. flag and other symbols of Independence Day.
- Provide directions for the media, especially if it's not a typical news conference location. The location should be easily accesible with convenient parking.
- If the location is not obvious, such as a hotel conference room or an office building, be sure to display signs directing people to the designated area.
Some locations will not be as adaptable to a news conference as others. Make sure to arrange for the following as needed: a microphone, a podium, access to electricity, news conference table and chairs for presenters and for the media.
Always get permission to hold the news conference in your choosen location and arrange a fallback plan, in case of inclement weather (if the news conference is held outdoors).
