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Getting your local press to cover your event is a powerful way to spread the word in your community.
Your local paper is read by:
Your neighbours, who might learn about your event and decide to get involved
Your MP, who will understand that this is an issue important to constituents
Refugees in your area, who will feel the welcome of the community and potentially learn about helpful pro-refugee organisations
While working with the media might feel challenging at first if you haven't done it before, it's usually just a matter of persistence, the right tools and finding the right people to contact.
Use the tips on this page to get started.
Contents:
How to pitch
How to pitch
There are several different ways to get coverage, depending on the outlet, type of media and time you're able to spend. Below is an overview of some different types you can consider.
Media invite: If you want to invite a journalist and/or photographer to come along to the event send an invitation up to a week in advance. Make sure they only interview and photograph people who are happy to be included.
News: As soon as the event has happened send a pre-prepared press release with photos of the event (and video if you have it) to the contacts you have found. Do this as quickly as possible. You can draft quotes in advance and ask anyone there to agree them or re-write on the day.
Radio: Follow the same approach with radio – but make sure you can offer somebody interesting for interview. This could be an organiser or perhaps somebody with lived experience who is happy to take part. Make sure you talk about why you had the event – and the importance of welcome.
Letter to editor: You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or online news site about the event and why you had it. Have a look on the website to see if they publish these.
Comment piece: You can write a first person piece about the event and why you had it. Before you take the time to write it, email the best contact you can find to ask if they would like it, including a line or two about what you plan to write about.
Materials to send
Materials to send
Media invite: Use the press release template below to create the invitation with bullets at the top setting out the below, in one line each:
When (date and time).
Where (specific location and meeting point).
What (what will be happening, what they can photograph, who they can interview).
Why (why you’re doing the event and why it is important).
Who to contact to arrange to meet someone when they get there.
Press release: Use the template press release and send it as soon as the event is finished, with quotes from key attendees and photos of the event.
Letter to the editor: You can use the template press release to create a letter to send to the editor of your local paper/online news site. They should be between 150-200 words and make a clear point – this could be related to a current news story highlighting why the welcome event is important or simply celebrating local people and the coming together of the community to welcome local refugees.
Comment piece: You can offer to write a comment or opinion piece for your local newspaper or online news site – lots of these outlets have a ‘voices’, ‘opinion’ or ‘comment’ section. They are usually 600-700 words and make a clear point or set out an opinion. You can use the press release as a starting point and focus on why you held the Welcome Weekend in your area. You can include the call for a fair new plan for refugees too - for copy to include visit the Fair Begins Here page of our website.
Finding the best journalist contacts
Finding the best journalist contacts
Try searching on the website for other stories about similar issues to find the names of any journalists who have written positive or supportive stories before.
Most media outlets have contacts and email addresses on their website. Have a good dig around as editorial contacts sometimes aren’t as easy to find as other email addresses. They are often in the ‘contact us’ section at the footer of the website.
If you have a specific person you would like to contact but can’t find their email some journalists include their email address on their Twitter, BlueSky or LinkedIn, or you could message them there.
If you are sending a press release you will want news contacts such as ‘news desk’, ‘news editor’, ‘head of news’, 'reporter' or ‘home affairs correspondent’. If you plan to pitch a comment piece they sometimes have a comment, opinion or voices editor. If you are sending a letter to the editor, occasionally they will have an address for letters to editors otherwise you can try one of the news contacts.
You can also phone an outlet and ask for the best person to send your story, letter or comment piece to and their email address.
If you get stuck, please get in touch with hannah@brightfoxcommunications.com who has access to a media database.
Template press release
Template press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: [DATE]
[LOCATION] COMMUNITY [ACTIVITY E.G. PICNIC] TO CELEBRATE REFUGEE WELCOME WEEKEND
Local people came together on/today [day and date] to celebrate love and solidarity for refugees across [location] at a community [activity e.g. picnic, street party, rally, bake off, welcome lunch etc]. The event is part of the Together With Refugees Welcome Weekend – a national moment uniting communities in local gatherings to mark one year since people across the country showed compassion and solidarity in response to far-right riots.
[If there is anything specific to your location to include from that time, please feel free to add one or two lines here.]
Together With Refugees, the largest pro-refugee coalition in British history, is holding the Welcome Weekend between 7-10 August to send a message to politicians that people across the country want a fairer, kinder and more effective system for refugees.
In [location] [add a description of what you did to mark the Welcome Weekend – add in details and colour to help bring the activity alive and demonstrate the positive feeling and celebratory atmosphere. If anybody with lived experience of being a refugee or the asylum system spoke or led some activities you could include that. Don’t forget to include the name of any organisations who helped organise the event. Include quotes from an organiser, somebody with lived experience if involved/attended and happy to be in the media, and anyone else of note – particularly if an MP attends or is supporting. There are some options below for you to amend and make relevant for your activity and community.]
[Name], from [organisation] who helped organise the event, said: “Local people have been opening their homes, volunteering, speaking up and donating to show their support to refugees for years here in [location]. They are not strangers, they are our friends, neighbours and colleagues and we hope refugees feel wanted and welcome in our community. Today we stand against those who seek to create fear, hate and division and come together in celebration of love and solidarity.”
[Name], [explanation of who they are], said: “Last summer’s outbreak of violent, anti-migrant and racist riots was horrifying. But seeing communities across the country rallying against those who tried to stir fear and hostility in our neighbourhoods was incredibly powerful. Time and time again, compassionate people and organisations throughout this country have acted in solidarity with those seeking safety here. That’s why we came together for the Welcome Weekend - to show that welcome still defines our story here in [location].”
[Name], [explanation of who they are], said: “When confronted by the politics of division, we come together. Today demonstrates the power in our community to seek understanding in place of fear and choose welcome in the face of hate. Today we show politicians that our support for refugees remains unshakeable. For every person who supports division, I know there are many more who want the UK to be a fair, compassionate and welcoming country. Now politicians need to listen to us, the majority.”
With 80% of the British public wanting an approach to the asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate, the Welcome Weekend was an opportunity for communities to celebrate their commitment to kindness, cohesion and safety.
Together With Refugees has more than 600 member organisations including grassroots, community and refugee-led groups, international development charities, LGBTQ+ groups, trade unions, and faith groups. It also has a network of passionate local volunteer campaign organisers across the country working with others in their communities to take action for a fair new plan for refugees.
Anyone wanting to get involved in activities to show support for refugees can find out more at togetherwithrefugees.org.uk or [please add information to contact your organisation if you would like to include].
ENDS
Notes to editors
For more information, interviews, photos or video please contact [name] on [email] or [mobile].
About [organisation name]
[You can add a boilerplate for each of the organisations who helped to organise the event in this section. You can include their websites and any social media handles here too.]
About Together With Refugees
Together With Refugees is the largest pro-refugee coalition in British history with more than 600 member organisations, from grassroots and refugee-led groups to international development charities and trade unions. With 80% of the British public wanting an approach to the asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate, the coalition also has a growing network of committed people getting organised and taking action to influence their MPs in constituencies across the country.
The coalition is calling for a fair new plan for refugees that upholds the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum, provides a proper strategy for welcoming refugees, and forges stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection. Find out more at togetherwithrefugees.org.uk and @RefugeeTogether on X and @RefugeesTogether on Instagram and BlueSky.
Tips for taking photos
Tips for taking photos
Take photos that tell the story of the event – and communicate what was happening.
Photos are vital to make a good story for print and online media, as well as your own social media posts.
Permissions: It's important to make sure you have all the appropriate permissions to include people’s images and quotes in the material you supply to the media or post online. You might find this document helpful when involving people with lived experience.
People: Media love interesting people for photos, quotes and interviews – this could be dignitaries such as an MP, faith leader or business leader. They are also likely to be particularly interested in people who have lived experience of being a refugee. Groups of local children work well for media photos too.
Visually engaging: Get creative and make the activity visually interesting and colourful. Giant orange hearts with ‘welcome’ or other messages work well for photographs. Try to recreate the feeling of positivity and celebration.
Composition: Ideally the photo would be a set up arrangement of people looking at the camera whilst involved in an activity such as crafting, sharing a meal or playing a game. People standing together holding hearts, plates of food, musical instruments or sporting equipment (whatever is relevant to your activity) also make engaging pictures. Make sure you include anyone of note, such as your MP, and they are in a key position.
People looking at the camera and smiling works best. Photos are all about the people - make sure they are really clear and easy to see and have as little space around them as possible
Light: Get the best light you can (behind the camera and facing the people in the photo) - ideally take the photo outside.
Information: If possible, say who is in the picture (e.g. from left to right) and ask them to credit your organisation (or the photographer if they request it).
Video: If you can also make a very short video clip (no more than 60 seconds), that works well for social media and media outlets too (but it’s not as important as photos!).
Emailing: You can email your photos or video to the local media - but only send two or three of the best. Also bear in mind the size of the files - to avoid your email getting blocked because it's too big you can upload the files to a google drive and send as links in the email, with an explanation of what they are.
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