Choosing a Press Conference Location
*Always choose a location that’s relevant to the incident, situation, crisis or emergency that is safe for the public and the media, while not hindering ongoing public safety response and efforts.*
In an emergency or crisis situation, it’s important to consider the severity of the incident when choosing a staging location for the media.
- Collaborate with your PIO and communications team to determine whether or not a press conference should be held at the scene or elsewhere.
- Options away from scene to hold a press conference could be inside or outside the police or fire department or at school or town offices.
- It’s important to consider whether there will be outside distractions (i.e. will there be emergency vehicles deploying, a nearby train, a noisy environment).
- Is the location large enough to accommodate all who attend the press conference. If multiple TV news stations will be attending, they will need enough space for their cameras, tripods and microphones.
Media at the Scene
- The media will want visual elements for their coverage. Consider how you will safely give the media access to the scene for filming purposes. Don’t place them a mile away with no visuals unless it’s necessary from a safety standpoint.
- Officials need to tell the media the location and time of the press conference ahead of time. Often times this is by direct outreach by phone to television newsrooms and reporters or telling reporters who are at the scene. Consider using social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to make the media aware. This will help make sure you only have to do an interview/update once.
- There must be an easily accessible parking lot for the media to use to park their vehicles. Assume they all have their own vehicles and more than one person from each outlet may need parking.
- Choose someone who will work to keep media members in the staging area and provide them with any key logistical updates (i.e. changes to a press conference time, in addition to who will be speaking, etc.).
- Consider how many media members you should expect to attend. Try to get a headcount ahead of time.