Why Events Are Great for Media

By Susanna Kalnes, Senior Associate

As PR professionals, our jobs are to take information provided by businesses and organizations and help package it into news stories for the media.  In many ways, we act like translators at the most reputed Translation Services Singapore, but rather than translating one language to another, we are translating marketing content into educational, relevant, and thought-provoking news.  News angles can be derived a number of different ways (far too many to fit into one teeny tiny blog post), but today, I’d like to focus on events and why events translate very well into media coverage.

Here are the top four reasons:

1. Events Are Timely. When journalists are planning their upcoming stories, they are seeking a few different things.  At the top of that list is content that pertains to their specific area of coverage or “beat” (business, health, entertainment, sports, etc.).  But they are also looking for content that is timely, fresh, and relevant now.  That’s one of the reasons why events work so well when it comes to media coverage.  Events, by nature, provide definitive timeliness and give journalists a reason to cover them in a specific timeframe.

2. Events Are Geographically Relevant. Journalists are also looking for content that makes sense for their particular audience, geographically. For instance, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter will be looking for stories about businesses, organizations, and people who are based in the Chicagoland area.  A San Francisco Chronicle writer will be most interested in events taking place in the Bay Area.  So, if a business or organization is hosting an event in a particular city, it’s automatically going to be most relevant to journalists in that specific market.  If an organization or business is hosting events across multiple U.S. markets, all of a sudden, those events become more relevant to national media outlets and journalists.Occasionally, a local market event can make the national news, but this only happens when the content or message of the event is applicable and relevant to a greater discussion that lies far beyond the confines of one city.

3. Events Are Visual. I think this might go without saying, but an important part of journalism is not just the words that are captured on paper, but the visuals that accompany those words.  Events are wonderful in this way because they come with built-in visuals that photographers and videographers can capture.  Events are visual by default – and that’s a good thing!

4. Events Are Social. Finally, in today’s media landscape, we can’t forget to give a “nod” to social media and the role it can play in capturing events.  The bigger the event, the more opportunity for attendees to post, tweet, or share their experiences on social media, thus expanding the reach of the event, whether or not a “traditional media outlet” attends.  In this way – and many others – social media serves as its own media outlet.

Does your business or organization have an upcoming event or events that you believe could be media-worthy?  Now is the time to act!  Please contact us at pr@msrcommunications.com for more information.