Media Kits & Lists
PR 305 Dr. Kelly Winfrey
Media Kit
• Collection of communication tactics used to generate
news stories
• Provides media practitioners with facts, research,
perspectives, and context that would be needed to
understand and write about your client/issue
• It’s a reference guide for potential story ideas aimed at
media practitioners
Media Kit
• What do they do?
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Generate news coverage
Answer potential questions before they are asked
Provide new perspectives
Frame the issue
Help reach your target audience
What to Include
• Anything and everything that you think a journalist
would need to write a story about your client/issue
• The easier it is for the journalist, the more likely
he/she will consider your client/issue
• But..
• Don’t waste their time with too much
• Identify what the journalists will want and have it ready
without making them search
What to Include
Depends on…
• Media channel
• (print, broadcast, online)
• Media outlet
• (Des Moines Register, New York Times, KCCI, CNN)
• Individual Journalist
• (their focus: business, health, politics)
Media List
• A compilation of data about the news media that cover
certain issues and topics
• Used to identify the audience of your media kit and
shape the form and content of the kit
• Important because sending your finished media kit to
the wrong people is the same as never even making it
Types of Media Kits
• Promotional Media Kits
• Brochures, quotes, reviews about the organization/person
• Special Event Media Kits
• Explicit details, logistics and backgrounds about the
events, but not as much about the organization
• Apple likely has a media kit for announcement events
• Crisis Media Kits
• Provides up-to-date info as available. Focus on key
figures, facilities, visuals as it pertains to a specific crisis
Delivery
• Handed out at a news conference
• Timely info, such as during an event or crisis
• Handed out at special events, trade shows, conferences
• Mailed/faxed/emailed/posted on sites to and for
journalists, consumers and audience
• Targeted
• Shotgun approach
Contents
• News releases
• Fact sheets
• Backgrounders
• Biographies
• Visuals
(Note: These are our assignments)
Contents
• Shell (folder for hard copy or home page for online)
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Holds all of the items
First thing the journalist sees
Presentation is key
Must express style and overall message
Contents
• Cover Letter
• Letter to recipient of the media kit
• Identifies content of the media kit
• States why the issue deserves coverage and why it fits
with their audience
• Explains why they specifically were sent the media kit
• Gives names and contacts for more information
Contents
• News release
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Content written in the form of a news story
Likely the most important part of the kit
Allows PR practitioners to convey a particular message
Frames the issue
Aimed to arouse the curiosity of the journalists
One event or announcement per news release
Contents
• Fact Sheet
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Information broken down into bulleted form
Purpose is to ease comprehension
Each news release should have a fact sheet
Many different styles of fact sheets
Depends on the strategy and issue
Must be intentional and serve a need
Contents
• Visual Materials
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Purpose is to amplify news element
Headshots
Product stills
Consumers
Graphics
All visuals need captions
Should all be publication quality
Contents
• Biographical Information
• Develop for officers, founders, celebrities, experts, or
other key players
• Straight Bio
• factual info in descending order of importance
• Narrative Bio
• Written in descriptive fashion, pay more attention to
personal details
• Micro Bio
• Short, highlight only info relevant to the kit
• Keep bios updated, especially when related to crisis
communication
Contents
• Backgrounder
• Expanded version of history, mission, goals and purpose
of client
• Should fully define what the organization does
• Provides more depth than fact sheets
Contents
• Position Paper
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Describes client’s stance on some issue
Justification of their opinion
Must be based on facts to support position
Include opposing points of view to maintain credibility
Contents
• Feature Story
• Human interest story related to the news of the media kit
• Organizational Publications
• Magazines, brochures or newsletters distributed by the
organization
• Invitation
• Personal invitation to the journalist to attend an event
Contents
• News Briefs
• Summarize past 24 hours of breaking news, fact based,
important for crisis communication
• Statement from Spokesperson
• Important during crisis
• Supplies quotes for reporters to incorporate into their
stories
Challenges
• Anyone can make a media kit, so journalists get a lot
of them
• Yours has to cut through the clutter- give them what
they want
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Newsworthiness
Timely issues
Clear writing
Concise writing
Accurate facts
Unbiased information*
Examples
• http://www.weeklystandard.com/advertising/pdf/T
WS-media-kit-2013.pdf
• https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/thechiv
e_mediakit-4-16-12.pdf
• http://mediakit.fastcompany.com/resources/FC_Med
iaKit.pdf
• http://www.ellemediakit.com/r5/home.asp