Being Friendly Goes a Long Way

Though we live in a world where everyone wants everything yesterday, keep in mind that being patient and polite when it comes to handling a reporter still goes a long way.

When you call the newsroom, a simple "hello" is a good thing to say before you start rattling off how someone can help you. You don't have to engage them in a full-on conversation -- after all, they are busy -- but you can at least give a friendly greeting. Say "thank you" when they give you the information you need.

The moral of the story: reporters and editors are more likely to want to deal with you again if their memories of you are tainted with rudeness. And no one wants to reunite with a nasty attitude.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

How to Decide Where to Pitch

I once said that to figure out what reporters want, you should watch the news.

In a similar fashion, you should also do research when deciding where to pitch to media outlets other than general news.

What does that mean? We're talking about your industry magazines, your trade publications or whatever else you read, watch or click where you see a story and you say to yourself, "I can talk about that" or "I can do/have done that."

The moral of the story? No random pitching. Each press release and contact you send it to should have a purpose.

Are Reporters Looking for You on Facebook?

Sometimes reporters request submissions via Facebook.

The answer is...maybe.

There are several media outlets that have Facebook pages now, including the Associated Press (AP), Good Morning America and my former newspaper, The Springfield News-Sun. Ditto for Twitter feeds, if you care to do a search for your favorite media outlets and/or programs.

There are instances where outlets look for sources and stories via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. As an example, if someone dies and a Facebook group springs up in their memory, reporters have been known to go there for quotes or to find people who knew the person to interview.

Reporters will also post questions about certain subjects if they want feedback for their story. "Have you been affected by high gas prices and  you're unemployed? Email us at reporter@yournews.com." Or something similar on Twitter, in 140 characters of course.

The answer to the question is that yes, you could use Facebook, Twitter and other social media to get your story out there -- If you have what they're looking for.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

By the Numbers...Reporters Love Statistics

You're pitching a story about...some amazing phenomenon.

BE SURE you have some statistics, facts or figures to back up the claim.

Read, listen to or watch any news story about a trend and just about every time you will hear something about how many people affected, how much it costs, how this number or that number of whatever grew or shrunk, etc.

Reporters love numbers. We love cold, hard visuals of data that we can spout off -- or even better -- stick in colorful graphic charts.

The moral of the story? Find some cold hard (relevant) data to support your story. It will make your pitch that much better.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.