Programming Tips-What Makes News

For your activities and programs to be newsworthy, they must have some relevance to the community. How does chemical engineering and your Centennial program, in particular, affect the local economy/culture? Are there prominent individuals involved? Is the event first of its kind? Is the event open to the public and is it visually appealing for television reporters?

When planning your approach to the media, the key is to think through the angles that would be of interest to them. Programming ideas/examples include:

• Centennial Celebration activities involving K-12 or college students. Perhaps a special “Future Focus” Career Fair- new industry jobs/emerging local companies? A centennial themed poster competition for students- what will the next 100 years lof chemical engineering look like?
  
• A keynote speaker on a “hot topic” such as Generating Energy, Sustainability or Saving the Environment.
  See: http://www.ctsc.org/aichecle/news/CentennialCleveland.htm. Or, invite a non-traditional chemical engineer to speak about “Chemical Engineering in Other Pursuits". See http://www.aiche.org/about/centennial/engineers.aspx for more ideas.
  
• Invite local business leaders, executives, and graduate students to participate in a survey, panel discussion or webinar on the future of chemical engineering. For more information about setting up a webinar through AIChE, please contact Dov Harrington at dovh@aiche.org (please note: 100 max participants allowed on the call.)
  
• An interactive event featuring new technologies and R&D—like a science fair or expo.