This guest post is by my partner and regular MediaStyle collaborator, Shawn Dearn.

When planning any event you want the media to attend and cover, it’s important to remember reporters, photographers, and the all-important camera and sound professionals, likely have a very limited amount of time to spend with you; don’t waste it.

You’ve planned a great event.  The location is perfect.  The visuals are spot-on and your messages clear.  However, it’s now 20-minutes past show-time and the vibe of your room is being sucked dry by the increasingly cranky media which hate showing up on-time and then having to wait around.

Starting on time can be crucial to your event’s effectiveness and success.  Well-run events can reinforce an organization’s or event’s image or professionalism and ultimately contribute to better coverage.

With that said, there are going to be times when things go wrong no matter how much you plan:  Travel or traffic woes delay a principal speaker, a technical hiccup holds you up, etc.  Whatever the case, be open and communicative about the delay.  Let the media know about the delay, be casual about it, be sincere in your apology for delay, and then get things moving again as quickly as possible once the delay is corrected.

Good timing, in combination with your detailed event plan, will help keep the media focused on your message; where you want it in the first place.