Guide to Media Calendar Listings

There are several major calendar listing sections in the San Diego area that San Diego Unified schools can use to publicize events. These include the online and print editions of the San Diego Reader, San Diego Union-Tribune Night & Day Section, the San Diego Union-Tribune news staff, Citybeat, and the Preview section of the North County Times.

Calendar listings are the best way to get information out to your community and publicize your events. Calendar listings are reserved for events open to the general public. If your event is not open to the public, don’t send it to the calendar listings.

Keep the information concise. Your description should be no longer than 35 words. Add the contact information, time and address and you’ll have about 60 words. Any longer and the publications may edit – or leave out – your listing. Publications may edit your information and it may be left out since this is not a paid advertisement. If you can submit items several weeks in advance, it will help. See individual publications’ deadlines as they vary. Please let the Communications Department know about your listings. You can e-mail a copy to the communications department or send via school mail. Contact Jack Brandais or (619) 725-5570 if you have any questions.

How Events Are Listed

Each calendar has a slightly different way of listing events. What they have in common is their brevity. Keep it short, keep it simple. Below is a recent district event, translated into “calendarese.”

Event Title: Honor Chorus Concert

Description: Concert of 120 elementary, 60 middle school and 80 high school students from throughout the San Diego Unified School District. Elementary school dancers and musicians from a variety of grades will be accompanying the chorus.

Time, date, place: 7 p.m., Saturday, March 24, Pt. Loma Nazarene College, Brown Chapel, 3900 Lomaland Drive.

Admission charge: Free.

Telephone number for public contact: Information: (858) 539-5352. (Note: This is a phone number that will be printed in the newspaper and put on the publication’s web site. Make sure it’s a number that can take lots of calls. Using cell phone numbers should be avoided.)

This is how the information was published in the newspaper:

Honor Chorus Concert: Concert of 120 elementary, 60 middle school and 80 high school students from throughout the San Diego Unified School District. Elementary school dancers and musicians from a variety of grades will be accompanying the chorus. 7 p.m., Saturday, March 24, Pt. Loma Nazarene College, Brown Chapel, 3900 Lomaland Drive. Free. (858) 539-5352.

Publications also generally want a contact name, e-mail and phone number to call if they need any further information. This is a nonpublic number.