To-dos:

• Assemble a press kit (see sample Press Kit Index below) for your partners.

• Approach local media outlets to sponsor or cover your event.

Keys to Success:

• Know your local press - asking somebody you know makes it harder for them to say no.  Don't know anyone in the press? Get to know them.  Ask them to lunch or a cup of coffee.
  

• Do your homework. Which reporter covers health care or children/family issues?  Is there a reporter with a history of covering health insurance? Or major community events?

• What's your hook? Catch the interest of the reporter to whom you are pitching the story.

• Make it real.  Include the story of a real family.

• Ask legislators and community leaders to write op-eds and letters to the editor.

• Pull out the big guns.  Ask a newspaper, radio station or television station to sponsor your event.  This will make your event more visible and trusted.  However, this may make other media outlets hesitant to provide coverage because they may not want to give visibility to their competitor's event.  You should decide which is a better strategy for your community. 

Tools:

• 1,000 Healthy Kids Campaign - Press Kit Index

• PSA and Letter to the Editor
  

• 1,000 Healthy Kids Campaign - Press Release
  

• Cover the Uninsured  - Write a news release

• Cover the Uninsured  - Write a news advisory
  

What the Experts Say:

• National Women’s Law Center – Tips for Effectively Using the Media

•  InsureKidsNow.gov - Working with the Media and Integrating Social Media

• Cover the Uninsured - Guide to Working with the Media 

• Cover the Uninsured - Working With and Selecting Families to Speak with the Media
  

• Cover the Uninsured - News Conference Planning Guide

• CoveringKidsandFamilies.org - PSA How tos

• Cover the Uninsured - Guides to Op-ed Placement, Letters to the Editor and Editorial Board Meetings