News alert is a Google service that monitors the web for new content such as news articles, blog posts and updates to scientific research that contain your chosen keywords. You’ll then receive an email when relevant results are published. Typically you’ll be notified of local news items, such as TV and newspaper stories, but it’s also possible to monitor specific social media platforms.
A well-crafted news alert can be a powerful tool for afterschool programs to gain the attention of journalists and the media. It’s important to continually monitor news developments and reevaluate your alerts to ensure they’re working. This may involve tweaking the format, visuals or story angle to better align with journalist and viewer preferences.
The most effective news alerts are short and attention-grabbing, answering what reporters refer to as the “five Ws”: who, what, when, where and why. They should also include evidence that the announcement is worthy of a newsworthy story. This can be in the form of quotes from people involved, data and statistics, and/or expert opinions.
Alerts and releases should always be sent to as many media outlets as possible, and it’s helpful to provide contact information for one person in your organization who can be reached for questions. This is especially important if you want to encourage follow-up coverage, and it’s often more convenient for reporters when they have a single point of contact that they can call or e-mail with questions.
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