Ski areas are increasingly putting their media kits on the web. The reasons range from economics (no printing, collating, stuffing or mailing costs) to environmental concerns (less paper, less waste) and timeliness (no time lost for printing and mailing, and the ability to update information as the season progresses). Online kits are popular with many journalists, too, but few websites use the medium to best advantage. And even the best don’t meet the needs of those journalists who still prefer the old-fashioned paper product.
Those who like to get their information online have their own reasons. “I get dozens of printed press kits a year, and most of them get tossed almost immediately, because I simply don’t have the room to store them, and if I did, I don’t have the time to sort through a three-foot high stack,” says freelancer Allen St. John. “Online press info is much more useful. It’s available 24/7, and it doesn’t kill trees.”
Press Preferences
Winter Park, Colorado, communications director Joan Christensen recently emailed her media list, asking about press kit preferences. “I found that most people are preferring to get information online,” she notes.
“But I definitely feel mixed messages out there. In general, [newspaper] travel editors and newsroom reporters prefer online press kits by far. They don’t have room to stack all those press kits.
“Freelancers who work from home offices are much more of a mixed bag. Many don’t have speedy Internet access, and as a result, it can be a real pain in the neck trying to find out one or two simple bits of information in an online media center, especially when they know that they used to be right there at the fingertips in a printed press kit.”
And there are times when nothing beats personal contact. For anything beyond the most nitty-gritty factual material, St. John says, “Actually, I prefer human beings. I usually have very specific questions, which often a) aren’t answered in the press kit, or b) are buried in 25 pages of info.” For St. John and others like him, websites that bury press contact information are frustrating.
Still, online kits have their tactical advantages. Many writers say they like the option of copying information from releases or fact sheets directly into their own copy. For the PR department, it doesn’t get any better than that.
“Even so,” adds Christensen, “I am still loathe to give up the hard copy of the press kit entirely. Lots of very thorough, very productive, very methodical journalists and reporters still like to get the press kit and then deconstruct it into a filing system that suits their purposes. So I am printing 250 summer press kits this year and sending them to those who request them, as well as to a few people I’m sure will want them. From there, we’ll see what happens for the winter kit.”
Christensen also notes that of her respondents, “Almost to a person, those who said they prefer website press kits said they would appreciate or need a reminder that the press kits were now posted and give its URL.”
Press Kit Peeves
For St. John, “one pet peeve is that sometimes the hardest piece of info to find on a website is the resort’s phone number.”
Colorado-based freelancer Lois Friedland and Vermont’s Jules Older, editor of Ski Press magazine, both like a table of contents to help navigate the kit.
Friedland, however, prefers CD-ROMS, which she finds easy to use. “I like CD-ROMs, but with a note that includes a table of contents so I can do a quick review and decide if there’s anything that I want to print out and keep in my files for easy access,” she says.
“I also like to have copies of a current trail map and brochure. Thumbnail sketches of the images, as well as the megabyte versions, are helpful.”
Older also prefers online kits—along with an e-note “telling me where to find it online. I’m one who likes the idea of a paperless office. Save a tree, save space, and most important, save me time.”
Some ski areas add flashy graphics to the media kit, substituting action for information. That raises some writers’ hackles. Says Maine-based freelance ski and travel writer Hilary Nangle, “There’s too much flash and pizzazz. I have a dialup modem, so all those other features waste too much time.”
Nangle is also very concerned with the timeliness and accuracy of undated on-line information. “Experience has taught me that ski area websites are not always updated,” she notes. Often, she (like other writers) must contact the communications department to confirm prices or other data.
As a writer who had done many ski-travel pieces over the years, I am particularly frustrated by the absence of quickly and easily accessible package pricing information on websites. It usually doesn’t appear in the press section at all and is awkward to access on the public section of the site. The simple answer to, “What is your lowest package price for two people or a family of four?” or “What is the price range for a non-holiday package…?” is impossible or, at best, extremely difficult (and therefore frustrating to writers) to obtain via the web. For such information, I far prefer a hardcopy press kit that contains a consumer travel planner that usually provides it.
Navigation: Make It Easy
More than one of my colleagues—even among those who really like electronic press kits—say that the “finding” part of the information-collecting process can be frustrating. Some sites are easy to navigate, but others require Sherlock Holmesian feats of deduction.
The following is a random review of the media information offered by several resorts around the country both large and small:
Aspen and Snowmass, Colorado (www.aspensnowmass.com)
On the home page, click on “Media Room” button, which brings up a page with the names, titles, e-mails and phone numbers of communications department staffers, plus a button inviting journalists to sign up to receive electronic press releases. Also, a click on “2002-2003 Winter Press Kit” for a selection of more than 24 quick-click press releases, divided by topic category. A box on the “Media Room” page offers “Stock Images.” These are thumbnails, accessible on a pulldown menu, but media registration is required for obtaining high-resolution versions. Pro: Media visit guidelines are included on the releases list, and media contacts are up-front and easy to find. Con: Registration to obtain high-resolution images is time-consuming for the first on-deadline use.
Camelback, Pennsylvania (www.skicamelback.com)
From the home page, click on “Press Room,” which offers access to winter releases stacked on the screen in reverse chronological order (recent releases on screen, and scroll down for earlier material). Click buttons for events calendars, fact sheet and story ideas. Pro: It shows that a smaller area can put useful press material on-line. Con: Availability of images is not clear, and media contact person is not featured.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming (www.jacksonhole.com)
From the home page, click on “Press Room” button, which offers Current Releases, Winter News, Summer News, Story Ideas, Mountain Stats, Quick Fun Facts, Events, Film Production Kit, News Archive, Logos, and a public-relations letter including contacts in the communications department with phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Pro: The site is easy to navigate and is one of the few to address the needs of film media. Con: Images not readily accessible.
Killington, Vermont (www.killington.com)
On home page, click on “Search Site,” then type in “Press Kit,” “Media Kit,” or similar. If you type in one of the right phrases, it will open a page telling you that the press kit is available online, plus an invitation for working press to fill in a form to receive a hard copy of the kit. For those who access the online kit, right away are buttons offering the Winter 2002-03 kit, the Summer 2003 kit, or (at this writing) the Golf 2002 kit. Select one of those, and you get a long list of clickable archived releases. On one side of the screen, buttons access information on Killington’s comp policies and a selection of 60 clickable images, available to download. Also easy to find is the contact information for Killington’s News Bureau Director, Kim Jackson. Pro: Most basic, often-used material and a good photo selection is online. Con: You have to search the main consumer site to access any of it. Also, some outdated information should be made current.
Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico (www.skitaos.org)
On the opening page, the “Search” button brings up a page with site maps. Scroll down to “News” and click on “Press Room.” That brings up a list of clickable archived releases. For images, click on the “Thumbnail” page which requires authorization to confirm a user name and password. (When I tested this, between seasons, trying to get this authorization resulted in an error message.) Pro: Good selection of releases and good menu bar. Con: Not at all intuitive, and no media contact name appears readily—if at all.
