How to get Capitol reporters to pay attention to you

Albany can be a tough place to get coverage. Here are some best practices.

Good morning — this is a special Monday AM send.

In today’s CapCon:

• Are you someone who wants reporters at the state Capitol to attend a press event or write about an issue?

• This is what you can do to increase your chances of coverage and build relationships with members of the press.

• That includes best practices for press conferences and rallies at the state Capitol.

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(Will Waldron/Times Union)

📝 Read this for tips and best practices for getting coverage at the state Capitol

I have seen and attended events at the state Capitol that draw the entire Legislative Correspondents Association.

But more often I walk by rallies and press events with no reporters in attendance. I often find myself as the only reporter at certain events or on the receiving end of phone calls from flaks trying to wrangle reporters.

Sometimes that’s because of how saturated the Capitol is with news. If there are a dozen press conferences scheduled for the same day, most won’t get coverage.

But it often occurs to me that people don’t know what reporters want and don’t want.

For this special CapCon, I’m going to tell you what I view as best practices for getting in touch with reporters and holding a press event.

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(Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

🗣️ How reporters want you to contact them