Press & PR Catrin Taylor, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Press & PR Catrin Taylor, Amgueddfa Cymru –

National Museum Wales

Today’s session

• What is news?

• Media & contacts

• Is the press release dead?

• Selling in

• PR & Social Media

• Tips

• Please ask questions…

What’s ‘new’s?

A dog biting a man is NOT news

A man biting a dog IS news

What is news?• Largest• Smallest• Unusual/quirky object• Good photograph• Rare object found• Object relating to a topical issue• Human interest story/profile• National days/weeks• Exhibitions and events

Some examples£100,000 from players of People’s Postcode Lottery

Some examples

Unseasonal wild flowers Winter 2012

Media• Print

- Local weekly papers (Tivyside Advertiser, Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald)

- Local daily papers (Wrexham Leader, South Wales Argus)

- Wales national papers (Western Mail, Daily Post)- UK national (Guardian, Times)- Magazines (Golwg, Buzz Magazine, Cardiff Life)- Specialist publications (Museums Journal, Art

Newspaper)

Media• Broadcast

- Radio (BBC Radio Wales, Real Radio, Heart FM)- Television (Heno, BBC Wales Today, Newyddion)

• Online- BBC Online, Wales Online, ITV, Culture 24

• Social Media- Facebook, Twitter, Flickr

How to make contacts?

• Read, listen and watch

• Network

• Research online

• Work in partnership

Is the press release dead?

PRESS RELEASE

•A summary of facts about an event,

exhibition, programme or issue on which

you want media attention

•It must contain news

How to write a press release

• Inverted pyramid style

• First paragraph is "lead" and contains the most important information

• Subsequent paragraphs expand

on information and give

more detail

A good press release

• Who, what, when, where, why,

and how

• Who is the subject of the story?

• What is the story about?

• When is, or was, the event?

• Where is, or was, it happening?

• Why is the information important?

Selling in• Journalists receive hundreds of press

releases a day• Your journalist contact has to sell your

story to the editor• Journalists can switch off after the first

paragraph• Work to the journalist’s deadline -

always ask when their deadline is

Selling in• Preparation is key

• Know the publications/outlets you’re calling

• Be enthusiastic

• End by asking ‘Is this of interest?

• Any examples?

PR & Social Media• Website – update regularly

• Social Media

- Blogs

- Twitter

- Vimeo

- Flickr

- Facebook

This is news

• There’s no point selling in a story if the

journalist’s going to ask ‘so what?’

• Something that’s relevant to the

current news cycle

• Is it a story that you’d want

to read?

Making an impact

• 55% judge you on how you say

things

• 38% judge you by what you look

like

• 7% judge you by what you say

Any questions?