Even without conclusive results there was a great response from the media, providing a lesson in how timely topics and strong graphics can both excite and inform the public through the mass media. Planning Thorough planning is an essential aspect of publicity. The media blitz is intense and brief and may be a unique chance for promotion. An organized strategy optimizes this opportunity to solidly position one's work, to reach the widest audience possible, and to lay the groundwork for further opportunities after the initial event. A hook should focus on an object or an event rather than an abstract idea.
Local topics revolving around a current policy debate have a strong appeal to local newscasters.
Modern media is a highly visual medium so a hook can be as simple as an arresting graphic to illustrate the results. As well as a hook, a packaged story needs to make sense of the facts by putting them into context, such as the historical significance or an explanation of cause and effect. Part of the hook for the HILT project was that it was a local research team studying a local phenomenon. The research team includes a group from the U.S. Geological Survey who are based at NASA Ames Research Center at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. Since the initial data set used to test the model was for the San Francisco Bay area, the animation of urban growth was pertinent for local residents.