The best way for your historic preservation group to get public exposure of your message and cause is to invite the media to your events. You can notify the media about your event by sending a press release or press advisory. But your event-related publicity efforts don't stop there. You should also have a media packet ready to share with the members of the media who come to your events.

Assemble a Media Packet

A media packet, sometimes referred to as a press kit, is like a resume or portfolio of information that explains why your event, cause, and preservation group are important. Your packet should be concise but thoroughly sell your issue. It should be easy to scan for relevant information.

Members of the media will likely review your media packet quickly and focus on a few appealing elements. For this reason, you should include only a few short documents and images to draw the reader in quickly. Don't include long text-based documents that require a lot of reading, such as a complete landmark nomination.

To make certain you don't forget any items for your media packet, make a checklist and use it. See the list to the right for items you could include in your media packet.

Include Photos That Tell Your Story

Photographs are an essential part of media relations and storytelling. Your media packet should always include a few photos that tell your story. To ensure that you have photos to share with the media, make a point to document your preservation group's story by taking photographs at all your activities and events. Use the photography tips on the right to help you take great photos at your next event.

It is also important to share your photographs with supporters — and potential supporters — to help tell your group's story. Consider sharing your photos online by placing your best images on an image-hosting site.

Event Photography Tips

Use these tips offered by Wisconsin photographer and teacher Sharon Cooper to get the best photos of your group's events:

• Take pictures that tell a story. Compose your photos so the viewer can understand all or part of the event from one image. Get down on your knees if you need to.
• Set the resolution of your digital camera to 300 dpi or higher. This is generally the minimum resolution for prints. Resolution for web-only photos can be as low as 72 dpi, but it is better to take photos at a higher resolution and reduce them later.
• Watch people, and try to capture their activity around your subject. For example, capture the moments when people interact or react to the event program or the speaker.
• If you are photographing a person speaking, get the best (and most flattering) angle. If you are taking a photo of a lecture or a presentation, compose photos that show a meaningful connection between the speaker and a listener.
• Take closely cropped photos of expressive faces, such as people laughing or engaged in conversation.
• Don't take pictures of scenery unless the context helps tell the story. If you are taking photos of a historic tour, for instance, you should take some photos of key architectural or landscape elements.
• If you are shooting a press conference, take photos of the group of photographers and of the speakers and photographers in the same shot.
• Photograph a few cliché images. Cliché images can be effective at communicating a particular message if they show recognizable gestures, expressions, and body language. Examples include a hand on a shoulder, two people shaking hands, or two people holding hands behind their backs.
• Don't be afraid to contrive your ideal shot. You may have to direct people to look engaged or connect with one another. This is okay. The people at your events will likely be engaged, so you aren't asking them to lie — you are just making sure that your photos capture the scene.
• If the lighting conditions were less than ideal at your event, use a photo editing program to adjust the lighting and tone of your photographs.

Add a Background Memo

In addition to preparing a media packet, your preservation group could prepare a background memo about your event, campaign, or new program. Your background memo should contain factual information and data such as:

• Statistical information
• Professional analyses of issues
• Timelines

Learn More

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