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For a number of years, the League's Public Relations Committee has organized and put on a PR forum at the Dayton Hamvention. The program is always fun and informative, and this year was no exception. On May 16, several PR Committee members shared a number of useful tips to help clubs and individuals promote Amateur Radio in their communities. Here are the first 10 tips, with more to come in future issues of Contact!
Promote it: Explain that hams have awards for contacting faraway places and that sometimes, for places that have few or no active hams living there, other hams will organize a trip specifically to set up a station and go on the air, giving hams around the world the opportunity to add one more remote location to their list of places that they've contacted. ("Why do they do it? For the same reason you climb a mountain: because it's there!)
Promote it (you can only get away with this once!): The flip side of promoting a local ham participating in a DXpedition you might, on a very slow news day, be able to successfully promote the fact that a local ham has made contact with a DXpedition, especially if it's been on all bands or something else to set this guy apart from others.
Promote it: Contacts with world trouble-spots are of interest beyond ham radio, especially if a contact goes beyond "5-9, 73." There's got to be a story as well.
Promote it: This is real news, especially if the ham communication resulted in saving a life or getting someone prompt medical attention. This can often be a "local angle" follow-up to a larger story. Even if the main story was already covered but didn't include ham radio, a quick call to an editor may produce a follow-up story on the role played by hams.
Promote it and try to get the group to promote it, too: If the topic was interesting enough to appeal to a non-ham community group, it should also be interesting enough to appeal to a non-ham community newspaper or broadcast/cable outlet.
Promote it: Local weeklies in particular love this kind of stuff. It brings some recognition to your community that someone who lives here was published in a national circulation magazine.
Promote it: This may get no more than a line in a "community members honored" listing, but it keeps ham radio and your club in the public eye, in a positive sense.
Promote it: Can the member (with your help) provide a plain-language summary of what was learned, and what new stuff is being developed in the field that might be of interest outside of ham radio?
Promote it: This helps maintain a positive public image of your club, its members and Amateur Radio in general.
Amateur Radio Week, June 20-27, provides an excellent opportunity to garner positive press for ham radio. Some PR volunteers use the designated week to promote ham radio in general, and others use the "Amateur Radio Week" banner to gain added attention for their upcoming Field Day activities.
Here are some public relations tips to help you promote Amateur Radio Week and Field Day, and many of them can be used at any time during the year.
Filling in the necessary information below, and sending the release off to your local media outlets is a quick and easy way to score some publicity points for your club this year.
You may wish to modify this release by adding more local information--recent examples of hams helping out during emergencies, for example.
(PUT THIS RELEASE ON YOUR CLUB LETTERHEAD)
For
More Information:
(Name of your local contact)
(Day and evening phone numbers)
(E-mail address)
AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS PRACTICE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DURING ANNUAL "FIELD DAY"
(TOWN, State, date of release) -- Members of the (club name) will be putting their emergency communications skills to the test during "Field Day," Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27, at (site location). The annual preparedness exercise helps ensure that Amateur Radio (or "ham radio") volunteers are ready to assist their communities in the event of emergencies or disasters. Field Day is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)--the national association for Amateur Radio.
"During the event, we set up and operate our equipment much as we would during emergency conditions, such as the loss of commercial power," says (your club spokesperson.) "When the community needs us, we'll be ready."
Field Day is a serious test of skill, but it's also a time for fun and fellowship. During the weekend, radio operators try to contact as many other participating Field Day stations as possible, simulating the sort of speedy on-air skills needed to assist town officials and served agencies during an emergency. Approximately 35,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year's event. The first Field Day was held in 1933.
"We're inviting the public to come out and see firsthand what this event--and Amateur Radio--is all about," says (last name of club spokesperson). Field Day at (site location) will run from (date/time to date time).
Today there are nearly 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. Information on how to become involved in Amateur Radio is available from ARRL--the national association for Amateur Radio, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 or by calling 1-800-32-NEW HAM. Visit ARRL on the Web at www.arrl.org.
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Amateur Radio Week and Field Day aren't the only ARRL-sponsored events coming up in June. On June 19, young people around the country will be getting on the air for Kid's Day!
If any young people you know will be participating in Kid's Day, be sure to alert the media. The following ARRL press release can be used as a guide to publicize participation by young people in your community, or in your home.
Allen Pitts, W1AGP
American Radio Relay League
860-594-0328
apitts@arrl.org
AMATEUR RADIO BRINGS YOUNG PEOPLE TOGETHER ON "KID'S DAY"
Newington, Conn., June XX, 2004 -- On June 19, hundreds of young people throughout the country will be chatting with other kids, not via the Internet, but over the airwaves using Amateur Radio (or "ham radio") technology during Kid's Day. Now in it's tenth year, Kid's Day is sponsored by ARRL -- the national association for Amateur Radio.
Many of today's Amateur Radio enthusiasts got involved with the technology in their youth, sometimes through a relative or a neighbor in town. During the event, licensed Amateur Radio operators will encourage their children, young people from the neighborhood or even a local scout troop to experience the enjoyment of ham radio firsthand.
"We've seen that ham radio technology is popular with young people, and getting involved may spark not only a lifelong interest, but also may lead to future educational or career choices in technology and communications fields," says ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer.
Today there are nearly 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. Information on how to become involved in Amateur Radio is available from ARRL--the national association for Amateur Radio, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 or by calling 1-800-32-NEW HAM. Visit ARRL on the Web at www.arrl.org.
Editor's note: ARRL can put you in touch with Kid's Day participants or young people in your area who are involved in Amateur Radio.
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PR volunteers who enjoy writing or want to improve their skills can find some great tools and tips at Newswriting.com. PR Committee Chairman Sherri Brower, W4STB, included this link in her "PR Tools for Busy People" article, which appeared in the December 2003 issue of Contact!
