Are You Made for TV?

A few years ago, I was part of an investigative team looking into inconsistencies in property values in Clark County, Ohio.

What that means in English is that some homes in the area were way overvalued -- leading to huge increases in property taxes -- and some homes were not valued as high as they should have been.

The culprit, according to one whistleblower, was shoddy reappraisal work done by a company hired by a shoddy county auditor. For this reporter, it was investigative heaven. And it was work that yours truly and a colleague of mine won an award for Community Reporting from the Ohio Associated Press.

But, oddly enough, this huge story that was in our newspaper constantly over more than six months made barely a blip in broadcast news.

Was it it because it wasn't important? Not at all. It was because, as broadcast is largely driven by audio and visual, this story was hard to show and explain.

Each time I wrote a follow-up to that story, I had to carefully craft it so that people could follow along and not get blogged down by numbers, factors and something one source called " economic obsolescence."

It was tough to do -- and would have been even tougher if I only had 1 minute and 15 seconds of broadcast time -- at the most -- to explain, including any interviews.

You need to ask yourself: is your story made for TV? Can you:

• Readily explain it in two or three sentences?
• Provide several interesting visuals to explain it?
• Offer simple statistics to prove your point?

The moral of the story? These are key points you need to address with any story, but especially with broadcast media. They rely on sight and sound to get your story told, so if your story consists of mostly paper, perhaps a newspaper would be a better fit.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations 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.

Don't Say Too Much

As a reporter, I've often gone to interviews where I arrived with one story and left with a completely different one.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Usually, this is how it happened: after digging around a little in an interview, I found some tidbit or aspect that was a little more interesting than what I was originally asking about. This made for a better story -- and more attention to that person or organization's cause.

However, if you don't stay on track during your interview, you could end up with a piece you didn't envision. The best ways to make sure that you deliver the message you intended -- and, no, telling the reporters what questions to ask will not help you; it mostly only annoys the reporter --  include:

• Create three bullet points about what you want the reporter to know.
• Expand on those points with anecdotes, facts, figures and statistics.
• Don't be afraid to elaborate, but don't stray too far from the topic at hand, especially into controversial territory or subjects that you don't know much about.

The moral of the story? Reporters are there to dig out what's interesting, fresh and exciting about your story. Make sure you deliver your story in a package that satisfies those elements -- but don't say anything that causes your story to become unrecognizable.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations 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.

You're a Speaker, Author...How Do You Get in the News?

In this digital age, it's easier than ever to share information with the masses. It's a great thing because you have the platform to share your experiences and expertise.

So you've written a book and you're also a speaker. Naturally, you want to speak about your book. And just as naturally, you want a reporter to cover it.

Here are some things you should keep in mind when you're contacting reporters to cover your story:

• It's not enough that you've written a book. Millions of people have written books. What is the book about and why should people care?
• Don't harp on how much your book costs. Reporters are not there to help you sell them. They want your story.
• Reporters get lots of books to review. You may want to try a less traditional way of getting attention for your book.

The moral of the story? Just like with anything else, getting in the news takes a little work on your part. To get publicity for your book, you have to consider what sets you apart from the other authors and speakers out there.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations 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.

You Can't Get in the News EVERY Time

You've cracked the code. You know what makes the news, why and how.

Congratulations.

So now I'm going to share some advice with you, now that you have the power: don't abuse it.

The best way to tire a reporter out completely is to call/email/text/come by the office every time you *think* you have a new story.

No one person gets news coverage all the time -- at least not constantly from the same media outlet. Unless you're a celebrity who everyone loves to hate.

The moral of the story: If you're not such a celebrity, please understand that the same reporter will not cover you all the time. Instead, contact the reporter when you REALLY believe that you have something worthy of coverage.

And here's another tip. You don't have to contact the same media outlet every time. Switch it up; you'll increase your chances of getting coverage and diversify your media mentions a bit. Good luck.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations 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.

No Publicity Stunts Required

I like to browse online to check out what kinds of publicity strategies people are using.

I approach pitching and PR from a journalist's point of view and I certainly don't claim to know it all, but one suggestion did surprise me.

An article said you don't need a public relations person to get in the news and proceeded to give a few pieces of sound advice. It went on to suggest that you jump off a roof -- with a parachute, of course -- to get a reporter's attention.

Well.

That would certainly do it. But as I have mentioned before publicity stunts take work -- and while they may certainly get you the attention you're seeking, can completely backfire or cause the media to treat you as a joke.

The moral of the story? Be wary of publicity stunts. Instead, seek out what authentically makes your story unique or different enough to grab a reporter's interest.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations 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.