Publicizing Events and Initiatives

The Office of Communications assists students, faculty and staff with publicity of events and newsworthy initiatives. The most common way to gain publicity is through the HLS website, which features the latest news and events on the homepage. The Office will also provide guidance on working with campus and mainstream news media.

Event listings on the HLS homepage

To have your event featured in the Selected Events section of the HLS homepage, the event must already be approved in the HLS Publicity Calendar.  

Announcements must be submitted a week in advance, and given the high volume of material, not all can be featured on the homepage. 

To submit your event to the HLS Publicity Calendar, please fill out the Event Publicity Form. All submissions should contain a brief description that clearly explains your event or initiative. Proper submission to the Calendar will also ensure that the event is included in the daily HLS e-newsletter, News@Law.

Media relations

1) It is important to keep in mind that the Northeast media market is highly competitive. Only events or initiatives that are truly unique or pathbreaking will warrant coverage. There are typically dozens of interesting events at Harvard University every day, and Harvard is only one of approximately 100 colleges in universities in the greater Boston area.

2) If you are hoping to get journalists to attend your event, try to schedule it on a weekday after 10 a.m. and before 3 p.m. Anything later than 3 p.m. begins to push up against daily newspaper and TV broadcast deadlines.

3) A "media advisory," not a press release, is the best thing to send to journalists prior to an event. Shorter than a press release, a media advisory provides the most basic facts: the who, what, when and where associated with your event.

4) The Office of Communications does not have the resources to pitch individual news stories for student groups, except in unique cases involving a major campus-wide event or initiative. We will assist you by providing the relevant guidance and media contact information that suits your needs.