Want to Get Covered on the News? This TV Reporter Shares the Secrets

Do you have a great idea for a story but no clue how to
get it in the news? Are you tired of pitching press
releases the news media simply ignores?

by Jeff Crilley

After 20 years of beating the street as a TV reporter,
I have a scoop for you: the media needs good stories.
But most stories are pitched so poorly, they are lost
in the blizzard of faxes that blanket every newsroom.

Here are five steps to increase your chances of
getting covered that even some public relations
professionals don’t know.

1. Be unusual. The old adage about "man bites dog"
still holds true. The news doesn’t cover what’s normal.
We cover the abnormal.

PR whiz Carolyn Alvey knew this when she was trying to
raise money for a charity several years ago. Instead of
holding a garage sale, she sent out a press release
announcing a "Celebrity Garage Sale." Everything from
Bob Hope’s old golf clubs to Roger Staubach’s
long-neglected neckties were for sale. By making an
ordinary garage sale extraordinary, the media was
instantly sold on the story.

2. Be visual. Reporters tell stories with pictures. If
the pictures aren’t there, chances are the reporters
won’t be either.

Even the most non-visual story can be made visual if
you’re creative. A dog-biscuit business? Boring. A dog
birthday party complete with doggie guests and party
hats? Now you’re barking up the right tree.

That’s what Michelle Lamont did to boost her dog-
biscuit bakery. She began baking huge dog-biscuit
birthday cakes and inviting the media to cover the
parties. She’s had reporters hounding her for stories
ever since.

3. Choose the right reporter. Perhaps the most common
mistake even some PR pros make is trying to sell a good
story to the wrong person. Most reporters have a
specialty, like crime or business.

So, seek out the reporter who will have the most to
benefit from your story. Start studying the news.
Before you call a TV station or try to pitch the
paper, become familiar with a reporter’s work. Don’t
try to sell an investigative story to a reporter who
covers entertainment.

4. Write like a reporter. If I were going to send a
press release to a reporter, I’d write the kind of
headline that a newspaper would run. And I’d make the
rest of the release so conversational that a TV anchor
could read it right on the air.

Why is this so important? A major market newsroom gets
hundreds of press releases every day. Often the
decision on whether to cover your story is made in a
matter of seconds. Many times that well-crafted
sentence in the third paragraph of your press release
is never read.

5. Wait for a slow news day. The holidays are the
slowest news times of the year. When government
offices are closed, so are most of our sources. Take
advantage of it.

In fact, take out your calendar and begin circling
government holidays. If the government isn’t making
news, reporters are scrambling to find something to
cover. Pitch even an average story on a day when the
media is starving for news, and you’re much more likely
to get coverage.

There you go. Now you’re armed with knowledge that even
some well-paid public relations professions don’t
practice. If your idea is unique, visual and pitched to
the right person when the supply of news is running
thin, you’re in!

Jeff Crilley is an Emmy Award-Winning Reporter and
author of Free Publicity-A TV Reporter Shares the
Secrets for Getting Covered on the News. It’s available
at bookstores everywhere or online at
http://www.jeffcrilley.com

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