This page contains advice on media relations and sample press materials from Alliance member organizations.
Table of contents:
- General media relations advice
- Op eds and letters to the editor
- Press release tips
- Sample press releases
- Press primers
- Crisis communications
General media relations advice
Tips on Collecting Media Coverage (America Bikes)
Careful planning to attract members of the press to your event can make a big difference in drawing attention to your efforts. There are several simple steps you can take to successfully document the day for yourself, too, even if there are no reporters present. After the event, tracking media coverage and reporting back about the event will help biking and walking advocacy on both a local and national level.
Guide to getting media (PDF, Dropbox)
Working with the Media (Alliance for Biking & Walking)
Knowing how to access and inform the media can mean the difference between failure and success in a campaign. Learn how to get your name out, develop and deliver a message, take advantage of current discussion topics, and become a reliable voice in the press. Presented by Carolyn Szczepanski, former journalist and communications staffer at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. (PDF)
Carolyn- Working with the Media
Media toolkit
Twitter for Media Relations(Alliance for Biking & Walking)
This blog post, based around a webinar jointly hosted by the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists, gives an overview of using Twitter as a media relations tool.
Twitter for Media Relations (URL)
Messaging for Policymakers and the Media—2/27/13
Successful campaigns to affect public policy almost always have compelling messaging to win allies in decision-making bodies and grab media attention. On this call, panelists discussed how biking and walking advocates can harness effective messaging for winning campaigns on the local and state level. (PFD) (MP3)
Call recording (MP3)
Tip sheet from call (PDF)
Seattle Voter Attitudes on Bicycling (PDF)
Cascade Bicycle Club's pro-bike narrative messaging card (PDF)
A BikeTexas primer on Complete Streets (PDF)
BikeTexas' Complete Streets explainer (PDF)
BikeTexas' one-page explainer on specialty license plates (PDF)
Telling your Story
Here are a few resources to help you improve your communications strategy and enhance your storytelling to inspire your constituents to action. (PDF)
Kellogg Foundation Communication Planning Template (Council of Nonprofits)
Tell Your Nonprofit's Story More Effectively (Danny Alpert)
What Story Will You Tell This Summer? (Kivi Leroux Miller)
Op eds and letters to the editor
How to Get an Op Ed (Jessica Roberts)
This article was written by Jessica Roberts. Jessica is a former advocate for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and she is now a planner for Alta Planning and Design. In this article, she offers insights on how to write effective letters-to-the-editor, and more importantly, how get them published; 2 pages
How to Get in Op Ed (PDF, Dropbox)
Press release tips
Breaking News: Press Releases Made Easy (Alliance, Shipley Communications)
This presentation from Carolyn Szczepanski and Sarah Shipley presented at the 2011 Safe Routes to School National Conference addresses what gets a reporter's attention, how to find newsworthy angles, myths about media relations, the anatomy of a press release, example press releases, how to write headlines and leads, search engine optimization, getting your release out to the masses, building relationships with reporters and insight from working journalists.
Breaking News: Press Releases Made Easy (PDF)
Kill the press release (Chris Cassidy, Hustle Labs)
In this Prezi presentation, Chris Cassidy of Hustle Labs argues that the press release is dead. He offers alternative suggestions to progressive changemakers hoping to get their issue in the news.
Coca-Cola digital chief: 'Kill the press release' (Ragan.com)
This article covers the Coca Cola Company's new decision to stop issuing press releases. Learn why.
Coca-Cola digital chief: 'Kill the press release' (URL)
Bare-bones Guide to Writing Press Releases
Some short, simple advice on writing press releases.
Guide to Writing Press Releases (DOC, Dropbox)
Sample press releases
Press Release Samples from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance
This sample press release: Tragic Death Inspires Awareness Campaign - is from Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance in 2007. (PDF) (101KB)
Press Release Sample: Tragic Death Inspires Awareness (BTA)
Press Releases (Transportation Alternatives)
Search the archives of New York City based Transportation Alternative's press releases - by year and by campaign - online here.
T.A.'s Past Press Releases (URL)
Press primers
It's often useful to have a succint cheat sheet to help reporters understand your organization. Here are two such examples from Alliance member organizations.
One-page Press Primer (Bicycle Transportation Alliance)When you have an event or host a ride, it's helpful to have a simple, succinct cheat sheet that gives members of the media the basics about your organization. Here's a sample one-pager from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, OR.
One-page Press Sheet (DOC, Dropbox)
Sample Media Fact Sheet (San Francisco Bicycle Coalition)
This sample fact sheet for media is from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC), 2008. It contains great stats on the SFBC and bicycling in San Francisco.
Sample Media Fact Sheet (PDF, Dropbox)
Crisis Communications
Communcating after Tragedies and Unexpected Moments (Alliance for Biking & Walking)
How should biking and walking advocates communicate after a tragedy? On this webinar, two leading advocates and a public relations expert shared their advice for crisis communications following tragic events. We also discussed rapid response methods to take advantage of unexpected news.
Mutual Aid Webinar: Communicating after Tragedies and Unexpected Moments (PDF, Dropbox)
Recording (URL)
Sample Crisis Communications Worksheets (Shipley Communications)
These worksheets can help you develop a crisis communications plan for your organization.
BikeWalkKC Fatality Crisis Roll Play (DOC, Dropbox)
Sample Scenario Development Worksheets (DOC, Dropbox)
Template crisis communications protocol (PDF, Dropbox)
Sample crisis responses
These blog posts and action alerts from Alliance members serve as examples of how biking and walking advocacy organizations can respond to crises such as traffic deaths.
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
- Immediate response to a cyclist's death (URL). Note that the response is (a) timely (staff wrote it the day of the crash, meaning they kicked into high gear to respond right away); (b) relevant (it connects the single incident to a broader issue -- bike safety on Folsom street -- and to SFBC's work); and (c) action-oriented (readers are invited to do something about the situation by contacting the city).
- Later, the Coalition followed up with an open letter to the mayor. (URL)
- Advocates also conducted on-street outreach. (URL)
- The issue because broader with questions about police conduct in the aftermath of crashes.
Transportation Alternatives
Because New York City is so huge and fatal traffic crashes are, unfortunately, common, Transportation Alternatives tends to draw attention to alarming patterns of crashes.
- Six drivers once struck six pedestrians within a six hour window in the Bronx.
- Three deaths in overnight traffic crashes and ten deaths in one week.
- TA has held in-person events to call for change. They held a rally to demand "our right of way," where the family of a 16-year-old who was struck and killed spoke on the need for the next mayor to prevent traffic deaths.
Active Transportation Alliance
