Press releases

1. Print the press release on ONE side of ONE sheet of letter-sized paper.

2. Place priority information - who, what, when, where, how much and public contact number at the top of the page, enlarged if possible.

3. All other details or contextual information is optional; please triple-check all facts, especially the spelling of names.

4. Send separate copies to Michael Barnes, Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, XL Listings and Calendars.

5. Send the four press releases the day that you book the hall for the event. If that is months or years before the event, send an update a few weeks out.

6. Deliver all four copies by ONE of four methods: NOTE: WE NOW PREFER E-MAIL TO ALL OTHER MEANS OF TRANSMISSION.

a. By email:
mbarnes@statesman.com, jvanryzin@statesman.com, calendars@statesman.com, xlgrids@statesman.com.

b. Mail: Box 670, Austin, TX 78767

c. Fax: 445-3968; no cover sheets please, put names or desks at the top of each page.

d. In person: 305 S. Congress Ave.; public entrance is on east side of building; give addressed package to security guard; call at 445-3647 to confirm package is downstairs.

Photos:

1. We are primarily a color paper. We want color slides, prints or digital files (at 200 or more DPI).

2. Give us a variety of shots, usually 3 to 6. Not originals, duplicates. No returns.

3. We prefer action shots, close-ups, faces, open eyes.

4. Deliver photos to Barnes or van Ryzin, either by mail or in person.

5. ID each image with name of photographer, event, figures, group or venue and run dates.

6. Put ID directly on the object, meaning slide frame or back of print.No scotch tape, paper clips, rubber bands or loose pieces of paper, please.

Story pitches:

1. Pitch stories to Barnes or van Ryzin, alternatively to other arts writers.

2. Remember that a newspaper story should be newsworthy, meaning "new," timely, significant, interesting to a wide variety of readers and contain the elements of any good story - drama, color, structure, etc.

3. Once your pitch is accepted, make it happen - set up interviews, provide research, facilitate photo shoots. Consider the practical concerns of the newspaper - time, budget, space, writer availability and other resources.

4. Most importantly, read the newspaper regularly so you know what plays on its pages. NOTE: We want to report your arts event. For reasons of organization, time and space, however, we report on more than 1,000 arts events a year in different ways and in different sections of the American-Statesman. For instance, many community, school and church events are listed in the Metro and Life & Arts calendars. Other events of special interest are more appropriate for arts columns, such as Last Word in the Arts, which runs weekly in XL or RSVP, which runs in Sunday Life & Arts. IMPORTANT: We reserve the XL "grid" listings and standard reviews for formal events presented primarily for the public - not the participants in accessible, identifiable arts venues. Further information about the event must be made available by the arts presenter on a business phone line and/or Web site.

- Michael Barnes