Synagogue Publicity: The Press Release

Generally, local newspapers want information from local organizations, and they are always interested in a good story. However, you can't try their patience by sending them too many articles, or pieces that are much too long. Anything that needs substantial work is just as likely to be thrown out. In fact, any release should be able to be sliced to its first few paragraphs and still tell the story.

There are some good rules of thumb for preparing press releases. First, it is important to remember that all publicity should conform to the rules of good taste as well as reflect the dignified and religious role the synagogue plays in the community. Second, before you set out to saturate every corner of your community with information about your activities, remember to give first consideration and special attention to the most important asset you have: your own membership.

Note: Your synagogue activities are "news," and generally, your local press is interested in reporting this news to its readers. Newspaper editors welcome information about substantive community events. Further, publicity adds prestige to your congregation, and your members will take pride in reading and hearing about their congregation.

Basic Rules

Be sure the releases you send to newspapers contain legitimate news. Editors are always happy to cooperate when possible, but if they find you requesting space for too many insignificant items, they may be skeptical when you do have a real story. An article announcing a guest speaker or special program or honoree dinner will be more readily accepted than an after-the-fact account of a limited event at which "a good time was had by all." Here the word "announce" is important. Newspapers look good when they can inform their readers of what's ahead. If you can't get a full article in, you might try for an entry in the Community Calendar. Just keep your submission short and to the point. You might also consider targeting your social announcements to the social page, rather than directing it to the editor. Something sent to the correct department in the first place is more likely to be used. One more note: If your synagogue membership has a point of view -- let's say you have a social action committee that is collecting food for a shelter and would like to speak out on the issue -- have the chairperson of the relevant committee write a letter to your local papers. As mentioned previously, this will both give you publicity and help shape your image. In this regard, always be sure to indicate your affiliation (Conservative) in your letter and -- in order to further the goal of attaining a unified image -- ensure that the letter has been seen by the synagogue leadership and accurately reflects the synagogue's point of view.
In determining what and how much publicity to send to various publications, try to establish the share of coverage to which your synagogue is entitled in comparison with other organizations in your community. Obviously, if yours is the only synagogue in the community, more of your activities will receive coverage than if you are just one of several. After objectively determining your fair share of newspaper space, plan to supply roughly twice that amount of news. This will enable the newspaper editor to select what he or she feels is most newsworthy.
Try to give a balanced picture of your activities. Guest lectures, sermons, adult education series, your activities, dramatic presentations and other cultural, social and educational activities, as well as fundraising events, should be brought to the attention of the community. As we discussed above, this effort will be greatly enhanced if there is a central coordinating body (or person) supervising the distribution of publicity material.
Every effort should be made to establish and maintain good press relations. Get to know the editors and reporters personally. Find out what kind of material they want and when they want it. If you are scheduling important events during the year, plan your story at the same time you are planning the event, not when you are ready to release it. If the story merits attention, and you cooperate with your publicity outlets, the chances are favorable that you will receive coverage. Provide editors -- the earlier the better -- accurate, reliable, well-written information. Establish a reputation for being reasonable in your requests. This will increase your chances of getting releases published. If the newspaper voices interest in a particular story and is looking for a "wider" angle as well, be sure to put the reporter in touch with the regional and/or central office of the United Synagogue. Our numerous staff members have expertise in a wide range of areas -- from synagogue administration to education to social action to Jewish continuity efforts. Your story is likely to receive more attention if your efforts are viewed as part of a wider program, affecting a larger number of people. Thus, you will want to submit news stories or photos of your synagogue participating in a regional or national conference or receiving an award from a larger entity. Remember: An event announced through the local paper automatically makes it a public meeting unless you specify otherwise in your story. For example, you may say: "open to members of the congregation and their friends"; or "admission by ticket only." Omission of these or similar phrases, giving the impression that it is a public meeting, may lead to embarrassing situations. Members of the community or a newspaper representative may wish to attend, and your speaker may wish to make off-the-record remarks.

The ABC's of Writing a Press Release

First create a "lead" (first paragraph of a news story). The lead must answer these questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? The most important part of the story must come in the lead so that the story can be cut anywhere after the first paragraph and still be a complete story. Pick up a newspaper and read a variety of stories to determine how this is accomplished.
Names make the news. Be certain that the names are correct. Use the first and middle name if any, together with the last name and the person's title.
Keep your story simple. Good newspaper publicity is written in factual, straightforward style, with sentences neither too long nor too short.

How to Prepare the Release

Releases should be typed on standard 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Use your congregational letterhead if possible. Type on one side of the sheet only.
Leave ample margins, both right and left.
Double space throughout. Triple space paragraphs.
In the upper left-hand corner, type your name and phone number so that the editor may contact you if he or she needs further information or clarification of the story.
In the upper right-hand corner of the sheet, give information such as RELEASE AT WILL or FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or RELEASE (date).
If the release is longer than one sheet, the word "more" should be at the bottom of each page, as appropriate. The final paragraph should be followed by an end mark such as "30" or **** or ####, to make it clear to the reading editor that the story terminates at this point.

Every day, hundreds of pieces of copy come to the office of the average newspaper -- whetheras hard copy, faxes, or e-mail transmissions. The business of sorting this copy and putting it in the proper shape is a tremendous job. Working against deadlines, a newspaper will give preference to copy that is immediately ready for editing. If the copy is not well prepared, it stands little chance of surviving the process of elimination. Copy that is difficult to edit and not readily understandable soon finds its way into the first convenient wastepaper basket.

More Helpful Hints

Conform as closely as possible to the style requirements of the particular newspaper for which the release is being prepared. It might be helpful in the beginning to clip out examples of various types of stories run by the newspaper and follow their pattern when a similar situation arises for which you must prepare a story.

Also, you should learn the names of the persons at your local newspaper handling the religious news and try to meet and establish a relationship with them. Find out on which days they prefer to receive your news. Material left for publication in the name of a specific person will receive a great deal more attention than copy addressed to no one in particular. If you do not know the name of the person, address the envelope to the "Religion Editor."

Please remember that, for the most part, getting publicity for your congregation into major dailies such as the New York Times is all but impossible unless you have an item of major importance. The above suggestions apply primarily to smaller local publications.

What about Photos?

One picture may not always be worth a thousand words, but it certainly helps considerably. Being able to visualize an event through a photo makes it that much more interesting for the reader. Unless you have a competent photographer in your congregation, it is wiser to hire a professional photographer than to rely on an amateur. Picture opportunities present themselves only once, so you must depend on someone who will get it right the first time.

If your congregation is involved in an unusually important community event, the photo editor of your newspaper may be willing to send his or her own photographer to the scene. Be sure that there is something worth photographing when the photographer shows up.

Here are some general hints in planning successful pictures:

Avoid static poses; have the subject do something.
Group poses should ideally include no more than 3 or 4 persons.
Keep the group as close together as possible.
Submit glossy prints which measure (ideally) 5" x 7".
In mailing photos, place a piece of cardboard in the envelope and mark the outside of the envelope "PHOTOS: DO NOT BEND!"
If you are sending in an advance story and wish to have a photographer cover the story, mark the top of the release "PHOTO EDITOR PLEASE NOTE" and then follow this up with a phone call to appropriate editor.

Captions should never be written on the back of a photograph, since this may damage it and result in poor reproduction. Instead, type the caption on a separate sheet of paper leaving about two inches of space at the top. Paste it on the bottom of the back of the photo. Names, addresses and titles should be accurate whether used in the body of a release or in a caption. Also, be sure the "left to right" order of appearance indicated in the caption is correct. Finally, paste an identification tag on the back of your photo, citing the synagogue as the source of the information.

Note: Many newspapers are now able to receive releases via e-mail. Some papers prefer to receive the material this way since it means they do not have to re-type the copy. Other papers, even those with e-mail capability, still prefer to receive such material as hard copy. Call the papers you are targeting and ask them how they would prefer to receive your releases. Also, be sure to confirm their e-mail addresses on a regular basis. It is not uncommon to change one¦s Internet service provider from time to time.

If you send releases in this way, be sure to create a header including the name and address of the synagogue as well as the contact person and phone number. If you save this as a separate file, you can simply insert it every time you send a release. Also, some newspapers have the capacity to receive digital photos through the computer as well. If you are able to send your photos in this format, you might ask if they would prefer this mode of transmission.

Touching All the Bases

Congregational Bulletin: Be sure to submit your press releases to the editor of your own synagogue bulletin. Find out how the bulletin is prepared and if the editor would prefer to receive the material as hard copy, via e-mail, or on computer disk.
The Pulpit: Don't overlook the pulpit as a means of notifying your members of forthcoming and past events of importance. Be sure to discuss your news items with the rabbi.
Posters: Put up attractively designed posters in locations that will be easily seen by many people. Store windows are a good spot for posters which serve to inform and stimulate interest.
Direct Mail: Make your direct mail attractive and colorful. Space it strategically so that it does not lose its impact through overuse.
Radio and Television: In most communities, the local radio, TV, and cable stations keep up with local events. Introduce yourself to the news editor or public information director of your local station and find out how best to supply him or her with information about your congregation.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: Make sure that the United Synagogue is on your mailing list for all press releases. Copies should be sent to your regional office.
Telephone Squads: Don't forget. Some occasions call for the personal touch. In such cases, you will want to pull together a group of enthusiastic volunteers.
One more note: If you are located near a college or university, you may want to publicize some of your activities in the college newspaper for the benefit of Jewish students and faculty.

Mailing Lists

After surveying the possible publicity outlets in your community, compile a comprehensive file which will include all media to which releases and/or photos should be sent. Be sure all individual names are kept up-to-date. Some publications may have special column headings such as "Events of the Week" or "Religious News," etc. Include all of this information on your card file since some releases may be of interest to the sports editor, others to the school editor, etc.

Your file should include daily newspapers, weekly newspapers as well as publications of social and fraternal organizations, Anglo-Jewish publications, P.T.A. bulletins, news editors and special events editors of radio and TV stations, neighborhood publications, and The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Remember, find out if any of these media outlets have e-mail addresses and create a media distribution list in your computer address book.

Take advantage of every source. Never assume that this newspaper or that radio station will not use your material. Maybe they will not, but you will never be sure unless you try. Do not think that because past material was ignored, your current news items will not be used. Be sure to follow through with phone calls -- you will besurprised at how many times you will hear "yes" to your request for coverage.

Using the Internet

Today we have a unique opportunity to reach people more quickly while saving the rainforest! We can send messages -- to both members and media -- over the World Wide Web. We discussed above the option of sending press releases via e-mail. But there is so much more you can do.

Create a synagogue home page. A website allows your congregation to show off a bit -- including not only vital statistics but a list of the synagogue¦s best features (whether it¦s your nursery school or your rabbi or your synagogue library). A website allows you to be proactive and to impress visitors with your "hospitality." You might even provide guests with information about places of Jewish interest in your area -- or even kosher restaurants. Maybe you could generate a list of upcoming events (be sure to update!), including such items as special exhibits at a local Jewish museum, cantorial concerts at a local synagogue, or some other cultural events. Keep in mind that many young people today are both computer and Internet literate and may well look to the Web to help them find a synagogue either when visiting a community or planning a move. Websites also can provide links to other Jewish sites and help "alumni," such as college students, stay in touch. Remember: The United Synagogue will provide you with space on our own system free of charge. Call our Department of Information Services at 212-533-7800, ext. 2402, or e-mail kunoff@uscj.org.
Use your home page, or a distribution network including members e-mail addresses, to reach members with important information. Highlight congregational life-cycle events such as weddings and b'nai mitzvah. Generate an internal newsletter to supplement regular printed pieces. Advertise upcoming programs. Supplement congregational education programs. The possibilities are endless!