A media advisory provides a "heads up" to the press about a future event, press conference, or news item. It provides the what, who, when, and where.

The aim of a media advisory is to give reporters enough information so that they're compelled to mark their calendars and cover the event but not enough to write a story.

The headline, release date, contact information, and dateline should all be in the same style/format as in a press release (see Press Release 101 sheet). The headline should announce the event coming up.

Headline examples:

• ACLU In Court Wednesday To Challenge Patriot Act Surveillance Power
• ACLU To Announce New Challenge To Illegal Rendition Program At Press Conference Wednesday
• Civil Rights Groups to Hold Teleconference Tuesday On "No Match" Immigration Rule; Subheadline: Toll-Free Dial-In For Reporters: (800) xxx-xxxx

The Body: A media advisory is much shorter than a press release. It is usually necessary to include only a few introductory paragraphs explaining the event being announced. Again, there should be just enough detail for reporters to understand what's happening and the context, but not enough so that everything is given away in advance. How much background is provided obviously depends on how familiar reporters are with the subject, whether there's a reason to hold back certain information before the event, etc.

After the introductory paragraphs come the WHAT/WHO/WHEN/WHERE (in that order) sections. The following example (referring to the first headline example above) illustrates the format:

• WHAT:
  Hearing in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, regarding controversial national security letter provision of the Patriot Act
• WHO:
  Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project, will argue before Judge Victor Marrero
• WHEN:
  Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 2:00 p.m. EST
• WHERE:
  Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, Room 20B
  500 Pearl Street
  New York, NY 10007

When To Send:
If possible, send the advisory out two days before the event, and then again on the morning of (unless the event starts first thing in the morning preventing reporters from receiving the advisory in advance). The accompanying press release should usually go out around the time the event begins.

Using this strategy (which isn't always possible, of course), it is often helpful to make follow-up calls on the day before the event, in between receipt of the two advisories.

Having said that, varying circumstances will obviously weigh into the decision about when to send the advisory.