PRESS CONFERENCE

Press Conference A press conference is held when

someone wants to send something to the media. This is where journalists are free to ask any questions

When someone with something to say

calls reporters together at one time to announce something they believe is newsworthy

PRESS CONFERENCE

• Press conferences tend to move quickly and often do not last very long, so you may have very little time to get the information you need

VARIATIONS IN PRESS CONFERENCE

A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.

A good example is when two people are running for the president post…

PRESS CONFERENCE: NO QUESTIONS?

• In a news conference, one or more speakers may make a statement, which may be followed by questions from reporters. Sometimes only questioning occurs; sometimes there is a statement with no questions permitted.

TIPS FOR COVERING PRESS CONFERENCE

Forget the PR Speak - Focus On The News

• It's the reporter's job to ignore the PR talk and get to the truth of the matter. So if the CEO announces that his company has just suffered its worst losses ever, but in the next breath says he thinks the future is bright, forget about the bright future - the real news is the huge losses, not the PR sugarcoating

SPIN DOCTOR

• Politicians are often accused by their opponents of claiming to be honest and seek the truth while using spin tactics to manipulate public opinion.

• Because of the frequent association between spin and press conferences (especially government press conferences)

PUBLIC RELATIONS: SPIN DOCTOR

• In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure

ADVANTAGES• Person who called the news conference does not

have to do separate interviews with media agencies

• Reduces chance that one news agency misses the information

• News agencies share the questioning so there’s less likelihood that a question will be overlooked

DISADVANTAGES

• Difficult to get an exclusive

• Those calling the news conference sometimes uses this as a way to get publicity for a topic that isn’t “newsworthy”

WHEN COVERING

WHEN COVERING

• Prepare ahead of time• Get background material• Prepare questions ahead• Figure out your angle• Questions may not relate to the news conference

topic• Arrive early• Ask the name & title of person speaking and get

correct spelling at the beginning

WHEN QUESTIONING

WHEN QUESTIONING

• Ask clarifying questions• Ask questions to get new information• If an announcement you expect isn’t made, ask

about it• Don’t be in a hurry to leave unless on a deadline• Sometimes sticking around can get you another

good story or better information

WHEN WRITING

WHEN WRITING

• Be sure to include names and titles Make sure spellings are correct Know how to pronounce the names

• Understand main points raised during the news conference

• Use strong sound bites or strong quotes

WHEN WRITING• Time and place of the press conference can often

be left out

• Don’t include the fact that you attended a news conference unless there was something significant about the news conference itself

Ex) Someone gets shot at the news conferenceEx) An earthquake happens during the news

conferenceEx) The news conference is cancelled due to a reason

WHEN WRITING• Focus on newsworthy items WRONG:• A police chief today told a Press conference about

the theft of a light aircraft from Jacksons Airport.

• The news is not the press conference

• Focus on newsworthy items

• RIGHT:The Foreign Minister today cancelled a Press

conference at which he was expected to announce new sanctions against Pakistan. It is understood that the last-minute cancellation was due to a disagreement in Cabinet over the sanctions.

• Here you mention the news conference because the news is that it was cancelled because of an event

• The cancellation is the news

IF SEVERAL TOPICS ARE COVERED• Three basic ways to write the story

• Write separate stories on each topic

• Write one story with an intro that includes all the topics but one angle

• Write one story with several smaller sub-stories