You want to keep up with the newest
developments in areas that affect peoples lives - health, children,
homes, diets, finances. How do you get up-to-the-minute news?
You're working on a story about a
government program or issue, or you want to interview a government
spokesperson. How do you find the right place to call?
You've got very limited space, but you
want to give your readers a source for more information. Where can you direct
them?
The answer to all of these questions is to call the
Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) Media Hotline
at (202) 501-1794. We're available between 7:30 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. If we cant answer your questions immediately,
we'll research them and call back promptly with your answers. And we'll
do everything we can to meet your deadline!
FCIC also offers the following free
media services:
What Is the Federal Citizen
Information Center?
Since 1970, the Federal Citizen Information Center
(FCIC) has been a trusted one-stop source for answers to questions about
consumer problems and government services. Consumers can get the information
they need through printed publications, by calling toll-free 1
(800) FED-INFO, and through information posted on FCIC’s
family of websites including: www.firstgov.gov,
www.pueblo.gsa.gov,
www.kids.gov, and www.consumeraction.gov.
FCIC maintains close ties with more than 100 different
federal offices, agencies and departments, as well as many consumer and
trade organizations. Call the FCIC media staff at (202) 501-1794
and we can help you find the right contacts at these agencies and organizations
quickly.
1 (800) FED-INFO
FCIC manages a toll-free national
contact center with specially trained staff to answer questions in English
and Spanish about all aspects of the Federal government. Your audience
can get help by calling toll-free 1 (800) FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636)
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
FirstGov.gov
As the “Front Door”
to government information, services, and transactions, FirstGov.gov
is a great resource for you and your readers. This site pulls together
more than 26 million federal web pages in addition to 16 million state
and local government pages. Here, citizens can get easy-to-understand
information and services from the government 24 hours a day, seven days
a week.
Pueblo.gsa.gov
A great way to keep up-to-date on the latest consumer
news is through FCIC's web site, www.pueblo.gsa.gov.
The site features a library of "New
for Consumers" press releases, which are discussed below.
You can find all of the latest consumer information you need in our online
press room. Additional features including the latest product
recalls
and scams,
updates of consumer
news from various Federal agencies, and a calendar
of consumer-related events are also available. On FCIC's site, visitors
can read, print out, or save the current Catalog and the full text of
all the publications listed.
Kids.gov
Kids.gov
is the official interagency children’s portal to the U.S. government.
The site features more than 400 kid-friendly links in one easy-to-find
place.
ConsumerAction.gov
ConsumerAction.gov
features the full text of the Consumer Action Handbook. The Handbook offers
tips on topics such as buying
and leasing cars, protecting
your privacy, and shopping
from home. It also includes links to hundreds of Better
Business Bureaus, corporate
consumer contacts, and state,
local and county consumer agencies.
Consumer Information
Catalog
The Consumer Information Catalog is the way
that many people learn about booklets available from Pueblo, Colorado
81009. The free Catalog is published quarterly, and it lists more
than 200 free and low-cost federal booklets on everything from employment
to health, money management to housing, food to childcare. Your audience
can get a free copy by calling toll free 1 (888) 8 PUEBLO
(that's 1-888-878-3256) or by visiting www.pueblo.gsa.gov.
Or, send their names and addresses to: Consumer Information
Catalog, Pueblo, Colorado 81009.
Resources in Spanish
FCIC also publishes the Lista
de publicaciones federales en español para el consumidor,
which gives ordering information for nearly 200 free federal publications
available in Spanish. Your audience can get a free copy by writing to
Lista, Pueblo, Colorado 81009, or calling 1 (888)
8 PUEBLO (that’s 1-888-878-3256).
Complimentary Review Copies of
Booklets
Members of the media can order complimentary review
copies of both free and sales publications. To request copies of specific
publications, call the Media Hotline at (202)
501-1794 or fax (202) 501-4281.
New for Consumers
Releases
FCIC regularly sends New
for Consumers news releases to print, web and broadcast
outlets. The releases highlight the great information available from FirstGov.gov,
1 (800) FED INFO, and pueblo.gsa.gov as
well as give tips from publications listed in the quarterly Catalog.
A "New for Consumers" release can be used to offer a publication
to your audience, or the substantive information in the release can be
incorporated into a column or feature story. Many Action Line columnists
use these releases to answer readers’ questions. For selected major
articles in large circulation newspapers or magazines, FCIC can give your
promotion a unique address and count the number of orders your story generates.
You can choose to have paper copies of our "New for Consumers"
releases mailed to you, or you can receive them electronically via FCIC's
Media E-mail List.
Public Service Advertisements
The Federal Citizen Information
Center produces public service advertising for television,
radio
and print media.
The PSAs motivate consumers to visit FCIC’s family of web sites,
including FirstGov.gov and pueblo.gsa.gov,
or call 1 (800) FED INFO. The TV and radio campaigns are
professionally produced to be entertaining as well as informative, usually
with a humorous theme. The TV spots are available in 60, 30, 20, 15, and
10 second lengths and on ¾", 1", Beta SP and DVC Pro
tapes. Radio spots are available on CDs in 60, 30, 10 second lengths.
The eye-catching print ads come in 20 different sizes, ranging from one-half
column inch to a full page as well as digest sizes. FCIC can satisfy any
special printing or electronic requirements for print ads.
Special Addresses for the
Media
The Federal Citizen Information Center
maintains a variety of special addresses to help speed the processing of orders
received in Pueblo. The addresses given in the New for Consumers
releases and in the Federal Consumer Focus scripts are set up
especially for media-generated orders.
The addresses listed in the Consumer Information
Catalog are for booklets ordered on the Catalog order blank
only. If you plan to list one or more booklets from the Catalog,
please call the Media Hotline at (202) 501-1794
to get the correct address and to make sure FCIC's distribution facility
in Pueblo has enough copies of the publication to meet your audience's
needs. |