Stories in this Issue:
HBO's Addiction Documentary Premieres in Raleigh
Thousands at Easter Egg Festival Hear Drug-Free Message
TeenFest 2K7 Draws National Support
Media Tips
by Lisa Crownover
With microphones, video cameras, and trucks that could house a family of four, those pesky people always seem to be skulking nearby when you want to see them least. Yet, like police when a reckless driver has run you off the road, you can never find the media when you want them.
You are not alone. You are among the masses, and that’s part of the challenge for small businesses and non-profit organizations. You are one person in the crowd yammering for the dwindling time local media outlets spend on local news and events.
So how do you make sure your idea gets pitched in an editorial meeting and not pitched into the trash?
Write a release so it gets read. Newsrooms receive several dozen releases a day. Be clear and concise. Apply the “Five W’s” you learned about in elementary school — who, what, when, where, and why. Try including these elements in list form. Vital information should be listed first. And a simple statement immediately shows newsworthiness and catches the editor’s eye: Example: “New study shows 42% of kids under the age of 14 have tried alcohol.”
Find your point. Before you send a release to a newsroom (print or broadcast) find out who the assignment desk or managing editor is. In most cases every newsroom has at least one “editor” who helps organize daily coverage. Zero in on this person. S/he is the gatekeeper to what gets discussed and assigned. Developing a “point person” helps you keep your release from getting lost in the shuffle. Unless you have a personal relationship with a reporter or editor, it is typically unnecessary to send multiple releases.
Don’t call us. We’ll call you. While you may think that you are stressing the importance of your event with multiple phone calls, you are really just annoying the editor answering the phones. That’s not to say you should give your dialing fingers a complete vacation. Newsrooms are notorious for inadvertently losing releases. A call to make sure the appropriate staff member has received the release is a good idea. Keep in mind it is difficult for anyone in the news to guarantee coverage on anything. Decisions are typically made either the afternoon before or the morning of an event, so that’s always a good time to call.
Check your watch. Just because your day might slow down at 4:00 in the afternoon, doesn’t mean that’s a good time to “check in” with media folks. Calling a TV station at noon, 5pm or 6pm is likely only to result in an angry hang up. “Crunch times” also happen around 11:00a.m. and 4:00p.m. Reporters for papers are on tight deadlines in the later afternoon, depending on for which section s/he writes. Late morning or mid afternoons are times during which you’re more likely to get the attention you want.
Don’t think “Primetime” is the only time. Most newspapers and televisions stations have some form of “community calendar.” Before you send off your release, find out if that is a means to your end and how to be included. If you hope for publicity preceding your big event, try a station’s morning show or paper’s features section. Those avenues provide more opportunity for live interviews or details and color. The spots, however, tend to go quickly, so plan ahead. Calling the week of the affair is often too late.
It’s not you. It’s media. The most important thing to remember is that news people are busy people. One goal in the business is to accomplish as much as possible in as little time as possible. Sometimes it’s not possible. Even if you follow every single one of these points, you’re not guaranteed exposure. Whatever happens that day is most important. You have no control over the weather or if a building catches fire. All you can do is send your releases and follow up. If you make it easy for crews to come, chances are, they will. Editors like “easy” because almost everything is complicated.
Lisa Crownover is the Assignment Manager at Winston-Salem NBC affiliate WXII. She has more than ten years of experience in broadcasting and communications. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Crownover has worked at CNN in its Environmental Department, with NBC in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics, at WSB in Atlanta, and helped drive local and national coverage during such events as September 11th, Hurricane Katrina, and, most recently, the shootings at Virginia Tech.