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 updated news on the HLS homepage. The Office will also provide guidance on working with campus and mainstream news media.
News listings on the HLS homepage
To have your event featured in the News column of the HLS homepage, the event must be free and open to the public. Three components are required to submit an event for consideration:
- A brief announcement (three to four paragraphs) that clearly explains your event or initiative to an external audience.
- A two- or three-sentence quotation from an organizer, speaker or professor about the importance or timeliness of the event.
- A digital image.
Announcements must be submitted a week in advance, and given the high volume of material, not all can be featured on the homepage. Please review current News announcements to ensure that your write-up is consistent with others postings. Announcements, quotations and digital images should be sumbitted to the school's News Coordinator, Emily Dupraz.
NOTE: Events must already be approved in the HLS Community Calendar.
To list your event in the Community Calendar, please fill out the Events Submission Page (login required). Proper submission into the Calendar will also include the event in the daily HLS email, News@Law, in the home page's "Selected Events" list, and on event boards around campus.
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.