When preparing your publicity efforts, consider to whom you are directing your news and when that audience needs to receive it. All media deadlines are not the same. Once you’ve decided what media you would like to include in your news loop, check their particulars, such as when and how they would like to receive the news and what you can expect from your efforts in terms of their delivery of your news. Following are some suggestions on who should receive your news: • Contact local media such as print (newspapers and magazines), television stations and radio stations. • Release your news to your local chamber of commerce. • Post your news at your newly built and existing boat launching facilities. • Announce your accomplishment to local community organizations, such as boating and angling associations. • Post your news in local government offices, including your own. • Post your news in other public places, such as libraries. • Ask local marine retail stores to post your news. • Send your news to your local politicians and other elected officials. • Post the news online. • Send your news to SOBA. Regarding press releases, distribute them two weeks before your event (most monthly magazines often need press releases at least 90 days prior to your event). If you don’t have a planned event and the press release is announcing general news, release it in a timely manner. Call all the contacts to whom you’ve sent the release, letting them know the news is on the way. Call them again to ensure the release arrived; take the opportunity to answer any questions the media personnel may have and to schedule any interviews. Remind media personnel of artwork or photo opportunities. You will want to call your media contacts the day before your event to remind them of the event and to invite them to attend. You also may want to send out a media alert the day before or morning of the event; you can do this via e-mail or fax. This serves as a final reminder and invitation to the press, and it contains just the bare facts. Press releases that are distributed before an event often carry more news impact than those that are released after the event. The latter do serve a purpose if you want to increase coverage of the event, if something extraordinary occurred at your event, and if you are submitting news to media that releases its news on a schedule other than daily. It is best to have the media at the event to do its own reporting.