Guidelines to Request Press Release Distribution in the Diocese of Saint Petersburg

The Office of Information and Communications can create and distribute news releases about your event or activity in hopes of generating interest for good news stories about the Catholic Church. To do this, we need to find the most interesting “hook” that will attract positive media attention.

Please submit the information below to Teresa Peterson at tlp@dosp.org to start the process at least four weeks before your event/activity to ensure that we have adequate time to compose your release and distribute it to media outlets. Media outlets prefer advance notice of special events and activities.

• Contact Information
  • Your Name (first and last)
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address
  • Parish, School or Ministry Name
• Event or Activity Information
  • Name of Event or Activity
  • Description of Event or Activity
  • Date(s) and Time of Event (start/end time)
  • Location of Event/Activity
  • Why is it important for the public to know about this event or activity?
  • Is there a specific audience/demographic that would be most interested in this event/activity?
  • How does the public benefit from this event/activity?
  • Why should the public be interested?
  • Is this part of a national/international/local trend, national/local holiday? If so, please explain.
  • Do you have promotional text about the event/activity you can share? If so, please provide.
  • Do you have approval from your pastor, principal or ministry leader to submit this information for news release distribution?
  • Is there any additional information that the public may need to know such as cost, what’s included, whether they need to rsvp, deadline to RSVP, contact information, etc.

After this information is submitted, Teresa Peterson will review your request and follow up with any additional questions. Then, you will receive the first draft of a news release to review within three days of your submission.

Once approved, we would request coverage of an event or activity. It’s also good to know that sometimes media outlets cannot send personnel to cover events but are open to sharing videos or photos they receive from a newsworthy event/activity. This might be an option for obtaining coverage.

If you have any questions, please contact Teresa Peterson, tlp@dosp.org, 727-374-0217.