Below is a sample media advisory template that you can use to announce an event to the media, especially if your aim is to have journalists attend the event itself:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Name
Address 1
Address 2
Phone number
Email address
Date
The Heading or Title of Your Media Advisory Should Go Here
You Can Include a Subheading if You Need to Include More Information
The lead paragraph of your media advisory body should very basically answer the questions of who, what, when, where, and why, similar to that of an opening paragraph of a press release. You’ll expand upon each of those points after the opening. While you don’t need to include every person involved here, if there’s someone of particular local interest to your area media, include their name in addition to the company / organization holding or sponsoring the event.
WHO: Here you can expand upon the “who” aspect of the event. Who’s hosting it? If there are speakers or other important individuals, include their names (and titles if applicable) here.
WHAT: Describe the event itself, providing details if necessary, or just the event title if it’s self-explanatory.
WHEN: Provide the day of the week, date, and start and end time of the event. If there are smaller events (such as different presentations), you can include the start times of each segment as well.
WHERE: Give as much information as possible about the location (city, state, specific address, building name, room name – such as a certain conference room), etc. Also include information about where people will be able to park, especially if there will be an area reserved for the media, and any internal location information specific to where journalists may or may not set up.
WHY: Explain the significance of the event. Why is it being held? (To raise money? To raise awareness for a cause? To educate members of the public or a selective group of individuals?)
ADDITIONAL DETAILS: This section is optional, and can be used for a variety of reasons, such as listing event sponsors, describing the audience the event is expected to reach (ideal if you’re targeting niche media based on who attendees will be), or anything else that may be of interest to the media.For additional information please visit WEBSITE (if event details are there), or contact NAME at PHONE NUMBER or via email at EMAIL ADDRESS.
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Should I email this to my media contacts?
You wouldn’t send them the template, but if you fill it out, and want them to actually attend an event for coverage, you would forward that to your media contacts. 🙂