Use our sample media alerts (also known as media/news advisories) to inform reporters about your upcoming Lights On Afterschool event and convince them that it's a genuine news story worthy of coverage.

Media alerts are one-page announcements of an upcoming event intended for journalists, not the public. Send your alert to all journalists in your media market who might be interested in covering your event, and don't forget wire services (like the Associated Press), which frequently produce "daybooks" of newsworthy events. Find some inspiration from this media alert from a local Lights On Afterschool event.

Media alerts are excellent tools to use to attract media attention to your afterschool events. If a newsmaker like your mayor, governor, state or federal senator, or Member of Congress is attending, make sure to emphasize it.
Media alerts can be written in narrative form, like the example that follows. Or they can be written in bullet form, answering the questions: What, When, Where, Who, and Why. Regardless of the format, a media alert must announce an upcoming event or press availability.
A media alert should say when an event is, where it is, and what and whom reporters will find there. It should also offer a compelling reason for the media to attend.
Send your media alert a week in advance of the event. Then update it with any new speakers and re-send it a few days before the event. Then make a round of phone calls to reporters on your list, including assignment desks, to make sure they've seen it and to encourage them to attend.

Media Alert

Media Advisory
[DATE]
Contact: [name, email, and phone number]

[Program Name] to Hold Lights On Afterschool Rally October [#]

Thousands of Events Nationwide Underscore Benefits Afterschool Programs Provide

[Students will display their art and do science experiments], [Mayor Doe will speak], and families will enjoy [a light dinner] when the [program name] afterschool program holds a Lights On Afterschool rally on [date] at [time]. The event will be one of thousands taking place across the country this month as part of Lights On Afterschool, the nationwide rally for afterschool programs organized each year by the Afterschool Alliance. This year, Lights On Afterschool is highlighting the vital work that afterschool programs do to support students and families. The October [#] rally is open to media.

In the United States today, for every child in an afterschool program, four more are waiting to get in. Speakers at the [city/town] rally will call for expanding afterschool opportunities so every child who needs a program has access to one. They will discuss the benefits of afterschool programs, which include keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn, and giving working parents peace of mind that their child and supervised after the school day end. The event, which will include students, parents, educators, and other afterschool supporters, will spotlight the range of programming available at the [name of program]. It will be:

What: [your program or city name] Lights On Afterschool Rally
When: [date and time]
Where: [location, virtual or physical, address]
Who: [noteworthy guests and speakers], parents, and supporters of afterschool

The [program] serves [#] students at [#] sites, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, recreation, mathematics, chess, and dozens of other subjects. It is a collaboration between the school system and [list partners].

This is the 24th year for Lights On Afterschool, which is expected to include 8,000 events involving a million people. Again this year, the Empire State Building will be lit in yellow and blue the evening of October 26 as part of the national rally.

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Sample Media Alert

Some tips about media alerts:

[Program Name] to Hold Lights On Afterschool Rally October [#]

Thousands of Events Nationwide Underscore Benefits Afterschool Programs Provide