A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

s to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

, as well as organizers for newsworthy events.

Practice

In a press conference, one or more speakers may make a statement, which may be followed by questions from reporters. Sometimes only questioning occurs; sometimes there is a statement with no questions permitted. A media event at which no statements are made, and no questions allowed, is called a photo op. A government may wish to open their proceedings for the media to witness events, such as the passing of a piece of legislation from the government in parliament to the senate, via a media availability. American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

stations and networks especially value press conferences: because today's TV news programs air for hours at a time, or even continuously, assignment editors have a steady appetite for ever-larger quantities of footage. News conferences are often held by

; by sports teams; by celebrities or film studios; by commercial organizations to promote products; by attorneys to promote

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

s; and by almost anyone who finds benefit in the free publicity afforded by media coverage. Some people, including many police chiefs, hold press conferences reluctantly in order to avoid dealing with reporters individually. A press conference is often announced by sending an advisory or news release to

assignment editor In journalism, an assignment editor is an editor – either at a newspaper or a radio or television station – who selects, develops, and plans reporting assignments, either news events or feature stories, to be covered by reporters. An assignme ...

s, preferably well in advance. Sometimes they are held spontaneously when several reporters gather around a newsmaker. News conferences can be held just about anywhere, in settings as formal as the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

room set aside for the purpose or as informal as the street in front of a crime scene. Hotel conference rooms and courthouses are often used for press conferences. Sometimes such gatherings are recorded for press use and later released on an

interview disc In media terms, an interview disc is a recorded disc with spoken word recordings in an interview style format, with a specific person or group of people, as opposed to the usual music features. The source of the recording can vary. Description S ...

Media day

Media day is a special press conference event where rather than holding a conference after an event to field questions about the event that has recently transpired, a conference is held for the sole purpose of making newsmakers available to the media for general questions and photographs often before an event or series of events (such as an athletic season) occur. In athletics, teams and leagues host media days prior to the season and may host them prior to special events during the season like all-star games and championship games.

Photos

File:天津自贸区新闻发布会2015-04-21.jpg, A press conference of the Tianjin Free-Trade Zone File:Bush Blair press conference.jpg, A joint press conference by

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George W. Bush and British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

at the

(12 November 2004). File:Reporter raising hand at US Army press conference.jpg, Reporters raise their hand to signal that they wish to ask a question. File:Negotiations about Iranian Nuclear Program - EU High Representative Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif Address Reporters in Lausanne.jpg, The press conference of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran following the multilateral

negotiations on Iran nuclear deal framework The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United Stat ...

in Lausanne (2 April 2015). File:Presidente da República Dilma Rousseff concede entrevista (16223147623).jpg, Brazilian President

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...

holds a press conference at the

Planalto Palace Planalto (Portuguese for "plateau") may refer to: Buildings * Palácio do Planalto, Brasília, the official seat of the President of Brazil ** The staff and offices of the executive branch of the Brazilian Government, by metonymy Places *Brazilia ...

(16 March 2015). File:Michael annett (47162477391).jpg,

Michael Annett Michael W. Annett (born June 23, 1986) is an American retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. Racing career Early career Save for a few ...

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

in the media day at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

. File:Cup team owners (40249396115).jpg,

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

team owners (from left-to-right,

Richard Childress Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. As the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), he became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. In 2004, he opene ...

, Chip Ganassi, Rick Hendrick, and

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably ...

) during media day at Daytona International Speedway.

References

{{Authority control Sources (journalism) Public relations techniques Mass media events

Practice

Media day

See also

Photos

References