How to Make the News Working with the Media As you know, cannabis is a “hot” topic in the media right now. The media are crucial to our cause. Although the prospect of working with the media may seem daunting at first, you can reach hundreds and even thousands of people with one newspaper article or television clip. Here are some tips for preparing yourself for effective media work in your community. Creating Your Media List A. Categories - Separate your media list into categories: Local print (newspapers, weeklies, magazines); Local TV; Local radio (news stations or those having a particular slant that could be useful); Wire services (Associated Press, Reuters, etc.) B. Contact information Next to each category, include phone numbers, fax numbers, email (if available), and contact names. Your contacts for events during the week may be different than those on weekends. It is always a good idea to make sure that your contact is in their office before you fax, mail or deliver the news release. If you do not have contact names, call the media outlet and find who you should direct the release to. For print media, you should ask for the name of the news editor, assignment editor or even the city desk if it is a local event. For television, ask for the assignment editor. For radio, ask for the news director. Remember to update your list every few months.
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