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Press conference or one-to-one
Press conferences are usually the wrong format and are held anyway. Individual briefings produce better coverage in almost every case.
Key points
- A press conference needs a story big enough that journalists compete for it.
- One-to-one briefings produce longer, better and more differentiated coverage.
- An empty press conference is worse than no press conference.
The press conference is the default format for anything considered important, and it is usually the wrong choice.
Why it usually fails
Journalists attend press conferences reluctantly. They receive the same information as their competitors, cannot ask a distinctive question without giving away their angle, and spend two hours for material that could have arrived by email.
The result is short, identical coverage in every outlet, or no coverage at all.
A press conference with four attendees produces a photograph of empty chairs and a story about a company that overestimated its own importance.
When it is justified
| Situation | Format |
|---|---|
| Genuine breaking news of wide interest | conference |
| A crisis requiring one statement to all | conference |
| An opening or event with something to see | conference or visit |
| A product launch of general interest | usually individual |
| Results, appointments, partnerships | individual or release |
| Technical or trade news | individual briefings |
| Local business news | individual, always |
The dividing line is whether journalists would compete to be there. If they would not, they are doing you a favour by attending, and favours run out.
The individual briefing
Contact three to six journalists separately. Offer each a conversation, some access, and where possible a distinct angle.
The result: longer articles, differentiated coverage across outlets, and a relationship with each journalist rather than a room full of people receiving a statement.
It takes more time and produces considerably more.
If you do hold a conference
- Timing. Mid-morning Tuesday to Thursday. Never Monday, never Friday afternoon, never during a major news event.
- Duration. Forty-five minutes maximum, including questions.
- Location. Somewhere with something to see, or somewhere convenient. Not a hotel meeting room.
- Material ready. Release, figures, photographs, biographies, all available immediately and digitally.
- Someone who can answer. The person with the knowledge and the authority, not only a spokesperson.
- Individual time afterwards. Fifteen minutes each with anyone who wants it, which is where the differentiated coverage comes from.
The site visit alternative
For anything with a physical dimension, so a factory, a construction project, a new facility, an invitation to visit outperforms both formats.
Journalists get photographs, atmosphere and detail they cannot obtain from a statement. Coverage is longer and more favourable, because the visit produces material.
The follow-up
Whichever format, send the material to everyone who could not attend, on the same day, with an offer of a conversation.
Journalists who could not come often produce the coverage, because the story reaches them without competition for their attention.
Frequently asked questions
When is a press conference justified?
Genuine breaking news, a crisis requiring one statement to everyone, or an event with something to see. Rarely otherwise.
How many journalists make it worthwhile?
If fewer than six will attend, hold individual briefings instead.
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