Pitching the Media Story Ideas

Identify the Best News Outlet for your Story

One size does not fit all when it comes to pitching a story. You will have more success managing the message by targeting the proper medium and reporter. In many ways, newspapers are a microcosm for this analysis. It’s obvious you wouldn’t pitch the sports section a story involving women’s fashion just like you wouldn’t pitch the business section a profile on a high school football coach. But what if that high school coach had leadership rules that applied to business? Or what if the women’s fashion was geared towards female athletes? Concentrate your pitch on the desired audience, but make sure you look beyond the stereotype. A story on a high school football coach with leadership principles could run in many different sections of the local newspaper-sports, business, metro and even the leisure sections. The better you identify your target, the more success you will have getting coverage.

You should apply this same-targeted approach when choosing which news outlet to pitch. If your story idea involves a niche, focus your time and energy on pitching the news outlet that reaches those targeted viewers and readers. Many people make the mistake of pitching to the largest pie (the local television station or newspaper) rather than focusing on a news outlet that reaches their desired demographics. You can better shape the public’s opinion if you are reaching your specific customer. For example, let’s say you have a product that appeals to housewives. You may not be able to pitch Oprah, but you can pitch the local newscast that airs at noon. Housewives are the majority of viewers watching newscasts that air during the workday. If you are trying to get exposure for a new nightclub opening in your area, target the alternative weekly as opposed to the entertainment TV reporter. The more you understand your targeted audience, the easier it will be to identify the best news outlet to pitch.

Writing an Effective Press Release

Newspaper and television reporters should not be approached the same way when it comes to writing email press releases. The two mediums face different time constraints with their stories, and that will dictate how long or short you should make your pitch.

Let’s begin with television where white is always good. The more white space on the email news release the better. No one wants to open an email and see eight, long, single-spaced paragraphs. Your initial pitch should never have more than four paragraphs. This is a stereotype but television moves so quickly that no desk assistant, reporter, producer or news manager will take the time to read a release that resembles a novel. They might make it to the second or third paragraph, but they are not going to read three pages of single-spaced sentences.

Here is a formula that seems to work with my peers and me. Try to think of a catchy headline to put at the top of the release, then follow-up your pitch with one paragraph explaining the story. The second paragraph should tell the reporter why viewers would be interested in your idea. This might seem like a challenging task for the rookie publicist, but by applying the five W’s you will be able to narrow down the focus of the story. The third paragraph should be devoted to explaining what you bring to the table or why you are the person to tell this story. If you have more statistics, articles or research for the reporter, tell him in the email you can provide it upon request.

Why not give the reporter all of the research at once or send it as an attachment? It can be intimidating for any reporter to open an email and see several attachments because he won’t know which one to open. When time is of the essence, no one wants to waste time opening useless attachments. However, if a reporter asks for a specific request, you will know which attachment to send.

Many publicists make the mistake of trying to cram everything into one press release. The purpose of a release is to get the reporter or producer interested in the story. You are only trying to make them aware of the idea, and pique their interest. Don’t worry if the release doesn’t answer all of the questions. If it is a good story, the reporter will give you a chance to answer those questions later.

Your approach should change when pitching newspapers but you should still start with the same principles cited for pitching television: begin with a catchy headline, apply the five W’s to narrow the focus of the story, and explain why you are the person to tell the story. Your email release should be more in-depth, depending on the topic and news outlet you are pitching, but it should not exceed one page. You can add credibility to your idea by attaching recent journals or studies that support your idea, along with a paragraph that explains what knowledge the attachments will provide.

For more tips on how to pitch stories to the media, go to www.BeatthePressBook.com