What to Do When the Media Calls
Anytime someone wants to tell our story, we are grateful. But please be careful! What you say does matter and can easily be taken out of context. For example, there is a tendency for the uninformed journalist to refer to us as “performers” or even “entertainers.” Or the worst, “deathbed choir.” Not accurate! While each chapter has its own personality, there are some common themes and messages we prefer to convey so there is no confusion about who we are as an organization and what our mission includes.
There are two documents below to use when receiving inquiries from local media. They are intended to be generic in message so as to be applicable in any format. It is our intention to support you in telling your own story by using common language and messaging that will get the conversation started. Review before they are needed! These are not press releases. A press release is written for a specific purpose or event. These documents are support for messaging.
It can be very exciting to get “the call” from the local PBS affiliate or newspaper. But remain calm and stay on point. Craft your story carefully ahead of time so you don’t get too distracted by the spotlight! It’s fun to be on TV or in the paper or on the radio. Make the most of it by being prepared. Don’t forget to check with songwriters if you will be singing their song, get names spelled correctly, and get our basic info correct, especially our website address. Thresholdchoir.org. No www. The old adage in public relations is it doesn’t matter what they say as long as they spell your name right. Nowadays, it’s get the website address right!
When your story is told, let the office know so we can put the info on our Facebook page (and in the newsletter). Over 3,000 Facebook followers want to know how we are being of service.