Used sparingly and for the right reasons, such as the opening of a new treatment plant or throwing the switch that will bring water from your new 50-million gallon reservoir for the first time, press conferences can be very effective.
To the extent possible, give the media as much advance notice as possible - at least a week is preferable. It is generally a good idea to send a media advisory at least a week a head of time, with a follow-up reminder the day before.
The optimal days for a news conference are Tuesday through Thursday. It can be hard to capture media interest on Mondays when people are trying to catch up from the weekend. Scheduling a news conference on Friday and there's a good chance your message will get lost over the weekend.
The optimal time for a news conference is 10 a.m. This gives you the best chance for the most coverage - the afternoon and evening news on television and radio, as well as the afternoon dailies.
Prepare press kits to give to each attendee. It is also a good idea to send press kits to those reporters who are unable to attend.Press kit components: