When you're trying to persuade a reporter to do a ... you or your ... you're much more likely ... if you know how to "talk the talk"No reporter will expect you to act like an inside
When you're trying to persuade a reporter to do a story
about you or your business, you're much more likely to
succeed if you know how to "talk the talk"
No reporter will expect you to act like an insider, but
you'll get a lot more respect - and attention - if you
can speak the language of the newsroom.
It’s not like learning Mandarin. In fact, all you need
to do is sprinkle your pitch with a couple of
catchwords and phrases. For instance:
Newshook - Connecting a story to something that’s
already in the news makes it more interesting. For
instance: a hot topic right now is airline security. A
story about a company that’s developing a retinal scan
or a handprint identification device would
automatically appeal to news decision-makers.
Local Angle - Events happening on a national or even
international stage still can have local impact. Most
obvious example: when the U.S recently began bombing
Afghanistan, many local reserve units were called up.
That offered a variety of possibilities, including:
Human Interest Stories - We all saw video of the
destruction at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon,
and Somerset, Pennsylvania. Stories that followed about
the impact on families who lost loved ones in the
attacks were human interest stories.
Such stories appeal to everyone because - among other
reasons - we all ask ourselves, "What if it were me?"
Follow-ups - If you’re disappointed because a reporter
talked to your competitor about something, but not to
you, you can probably get your turn by offering a
follow up.
Future File - Generic name for any system that collects
news releases, notes, or any information related to
future events.
Evergreen - A story that isn’t necessarily tied to a
newshook. Evergreens are stories the media pull "out of
the can" to use on slow news days when there’s not much
going on and they have a lot of time to fill.
Kicker - This one relates TV only. The "kicker" is a
short, generally amusing story just before the end of a
newscast. It’s supposed to leave you smiling even if
you’ve just watched nearly thirty minutes of mayhem.
If you want to portray yourself as knowledgeable and
savvy, just tell an assignment editor you’ve got
something you think will make a good kicker. They’ll
pay attention, since good local kickers aren’t always
easy to find. Plus, if you’ve got interesting video,
they’ll "tease" the kicker all the way through the
newscast - which means you get even more exposure.
Sprinkling your pitch to the media with these words and
phrases will greatly improve your chances of getting
free publicity.
And that reminds me of one last thing.
Never use the word "publicity" when pitching a
reporter. Always call it "coverage."
When you "talk the talk" of the newsroom, "publicity"
is one word you never want to say.
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