Send news releases to them and the assignment editor. Make phone calls to media in the morning. Reporters and editors get more frantic as deadline draws near. Remember, this is a relationship you're building. The best times to hold them are between 9 and 11 a.m.
Late afternoon is almost always bad.
Whenever possible, do a news event rather than a news conference. Have wranglers to keep an eye out for the press so they can be hooked up with the spokespeople. If you do news conferences, keep them brief. Figure out the message you are trying to convey. Be able to say it in a sentence or two - it should be that clear.