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BGonline.org Forums
News Coverage for BG Tourneys
Posted By: mamabear In Response To: Attendance ... Perhaps it is the Money (Bill Riles)
Date: Friday, 19 June 2009, at 1:28 p.m.
Many of the posts here are insightful and will perhaps lead to actions that will enhance the game and increase attendance at tournaments, which seems to be the main goal--though getting more people to play locally even if they never set foot outside their local club is also being discussed here. I might post again with some thoughts about the other important issues being raised, but first, here here are my thoughts on news coverage. I have a bit of gravitas here because I worked as a reporter and photographer for over two years and won a state journalism award during that time.
First, if a press release in anything resembling proper form arrived at our news office for a major-league backgammon tournament, I can assure you the city paper would have been interested in covering it. (Where I worked, there was a local club but no major tourney.) And a small local paper might even cover an ordinary club meeting if there aren't any hot-tub murders or political scandals to compete for space that week. So why doesn't it happen? I think there are a few reasons:
1. Calcuttas. Even if the rake is given to charity, it's still pretty gray because participants are betting on something external, not themselves. It's not really any different from picking horses, which is often what the participants say they are doing. Unless more enlightened policy begins to prevail (don't hold your breath) the Calcutta may need to be deep-sixed or else held the night before the event, before the reporters arrive, and the pool information not publicly posted.
2. Tax issues. Some consistent winners don't want news of the money they win leaking out into the world outside backgammon's narrow confines, since they don't pay taxes on it. Solution: pay up already. File a Schedule C so you can deduct all your expenses, and when it's all said and done you likely won't have a whole lot to report anyway.
3. Nobody knows how to write a press release, or where to send it. It's not rocket science, or even anything beyond high school English, so here goes on how to do it: Lead off with a "hook", a sentence or two that tells the reader what is going on and why it's exciting and important. After that, get into the "Five Ws"-Who What Where When Why and if needed, How. If the location is obscure, provide brief directions and maybe a computerized map. Finally, provide contact information for anyone who wants to follow up with further questions. Have more than one number to ensure the reporter reaches someone on the first try, since they are busy and may not try again if their first call isn't answered.
Contact information is important, even if the tourney isn't covered. If a reporter has made contact with the director, he or she may be interested in doing a brief follow-up article even if there was no contemporaneous coverage. This would be especially true if a local player won any of the events. If that is the case, send a second press release immediately after the tourney, and don't worry if you can't put it in the right style or form. That is the reporter's job! Be sure to include a good photo of the local winner. The photo need not be black and white--just try to have clean composition (get those pop cans and sandwich wrappers off the table, please), decent lighting and contrast, and have it be in focus. You probably can send it to them electronically, no need for a visit to their office.
Sending it in: Show up in person if possible to deliver the pre-tourney one, or send it both snail mail and email. For the after-tourney one, a simple email is probably best since unless it makes it to the paper immediately following the event, it will be "old news".
People are highly unlikely to attend tournaments they don't know exist. I hope these suggestions will lead to more coverage of backgammon in the general press, and so bring some new players out of the woodwork. Thousands of people, many of them young, play only online now. They are an obvious target audience.
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