How to Share Your Pre-K Week Story with the Media
Note: Collect signed photo release forms (see Appendix 1) from parents before your Pre-K
Week event. This is a very important step: Media cannot cover an event at your center without
photo releases.
On-site Media Coverage:
Invite media to your Pre-K Week event (especially if you expect a local legislator and/or
prominent community members to attend):
1. A week before your Pre-K Week event, call your local newspaper and/or TV station and ask
for the news desk. Ask the person at the news desk for the best email address to send your
“news pitch” (i.e. press release/event information).
2. Send an email to the news desk and copy and paste the press release into the text of the
email since attachments to emails don’t always get opened. A template for the press release
is available on our Pre-K Week webpage: http://georgiavoices.org/pre-k-week
3. Two days before your Pre-K Week event, follow up with your local newspaper and/or news
station with an email and a phone call. Politely and concisely, ask if they received your
“news pitch” and if they plan to attend your event.
a. Remind them of the details and tell them if anything has changed, especially if a
legislator or community leader has confirmed that he will be at the event.
b. If a newspaper can’t send a reporter, ask if they can send a photographer
i. If they can’t send a reporter or photographer, ask if you can submit a
photo with caption for inclusion in their newspaper and website. Ask for
the name and contact information for the person responsible for receiving
this information.
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Submitting News to Media:
If media cannot attend your event, send photographs to the media, complete with captions from
your Pre-K Week event.
1. On the day of the event or no later than the next day, e-mail a high-resolution photograph
with a caption to the appropriate media contact. You will need to provide the full names of
adults, especially legislators or community leaders, who are clearly identifiable in the photos.
Here are two examples of photo captions:
“(Name of legislator or community leader) visited children at (Center Name) on (day of
the week) as part of Georgia’s Pre-K Week, a statewide initiative Sept. 30-Oct. 4 hosted
by Voices for Georgia’s Children and its partners to celebrate quality early education and
the Georgia Pre-K Program.”
“Children at (Center Name) participated in (type of activity) on (day of the week) as part
of Georgia’s Pre-K Week on Sept 30.-October 4, a statewide initiative hosted by Voices
for Georgia’s Children and its partners to celebrate quality early education and the
Georgia Pre-K Program.”
Social Media:
There are several ways you can use social media to promote Pre-K Week events at your center:
 Use the posts available on our Pre-K Week webpage: http://www.gaprekweek.com
 Upload photos and posts in real-time from your event to your own social media sites.
 Send photos to your legislator for sharing on his or her social media sites. You can find
contact information for your legislators at the corresponding legislative websites. Go to
this website for the Senate: http://1.usa.gov/fPSKPF, and go to this website for the
House: http://1.usa.gov/xQe5kw
 Upload photos to the Voices for Georgia’s Children photo-sharing site for use on the
Voice’s social media sites, by clicking here.
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Appendix 1: Photo release template for parents to sign before Pre-K Week event
(Center Logo)
Pre-K Week Promotional Photos Release
Production Entity: (Center Name)
Pre-K Event Date:
Today’s Date:
Child’s Name:
Guardian’s Name:
Guardian’s Address:
Guardian’s Phone:
Guardian’s Email:
I hereby consent that (Center Name) and Voices for Georgia’s Children may use my
child’s photograph for internet/print, including any respectfully edited, revised, or
modified versions thereof and/or likeness in perpetuity. There has been and will be no
payment for such usage. (Center Name) and Voices for Georgia’s Children will, in return,
preserve the dignity, essence and context of the material in such display.
I am the [ ] parent/ [ ] guardian of the child named above and hereby consent on
his/her behalf to the terms of this release.
__________________________________
Signature of parent/guardian
__________________________________
Printed name of parent/guardian
__________________________________
Signature of center representative
__________________________________
Printed name of center representative
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