You Shouldn't Try to Get Your Story in the News If...

Sometimes, it just has to be said: everybody doesn't have a newsworthy story.

What's good news for you doesn't meant that it will draw the attention of the masses that reporters are tasked with educating, informing or entertaining every day.

Here are three simple reasons why you should NOT be pitching your story because chances are, you don't have a story that's ready for media attention.

• You just want to sell something. If the only thing you can come up with about your organization or company is what's on sale, you are not ready to start pitching. If you can only offer a reporter coupons for background information, don't bother pitching, just buy an ad.
• You can't explain exactly what you do. If you aren't able to give a clear, concise sentence about why the masses would care about your story, you need to head back to the drawing board until you can figure that out. If you can't explain it to a reporter, a reporter can't explain it to their audience...and nobody gets it.
• Your story has nothing unique about it. I run into organizations all the time that want coverage for a fundraiser. Well, thousands of organizations have fundraisers. What makes yours different and what do you have to offer people if they donate or attend?

The moral of the story? To appeal to a reporter, your story has to have elements that appeals to a mass audience.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and publicity strategist 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.

3 Tips to Get the Right Beat

Just so you know, this post is not about music.

I've already talked about how reporters typically have beats, meaning they all have different topics of interest that they regularly report on.

Now let's figure out how we can determine who is who to ensure you are pitching to the right person.

• Categorize your story. Health? Sports? Business? You need to figure out where your story falls.
• Do the research. Is there a specific reporter that covers that category? Contact them.
• Take a look at the trends. How does the outlet you're contacting normally handle this particular category? Does it air once a week on Saturdays? Does it appear in the B section of the paper? This will help you decide when to pitch.

The moral of the story? It's better to have one or two targeted pitches than sending out 10 pitches randomly and hoping one will stick.

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.

Where You Are Determines Where You Pitch

It's a simple enough concept: where your story is taking place determines where you should be pitching that story.

Yet, again and again, I hear reporters say they get press releases from someone in Houston -- when they're in New York. And I can't figure out why because doing so only shows that you didn't research anything before you started to pitch and that can get annoying very quickly to a reporter.

Here are three easy ways to determine where -- demographically -- you should be pitching your story.

1. Determine where the story is taking place. If it is an event, protest, demonstration, campaign...anything that is happening...what is the address? Wherever the event is happening is a pretty good indication that you should be pitching to reporters in that vicinity.
2. Determine who will be affected. The event can technically be happening in another area if it will somehow have an affect on people near where you are pitching.
3. Determine where the people are who will care. You job is to a convince a reporter that their audience will care about the story you have...part of that process is picking the correct location.

The moral of the story? Your credibility takes a hit when you don't do the simple research of scouting of where the people are who would be most interested in your story.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and publicity strategist 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 Comment' At Your Own Risk

When journalists ask you a question, it's typically because they need a comment.

It's not necessarily that they just want to take to you or think you're so awesome. They need information from you for their story. Depending on the degree of seriousness, sometimes a "no comment" is necessarily BUT you don't have to be rude.

I can admit that they way reporters ask for that comment can sometimes be a bit obnoxious -- and the more reporters there are, the worse it can get.

However, their motivation and even the way they ask you the question should not be your immediate concern. Your concern is: how can I make a comment that is safe and doesn't reveal too much without looking as if I've done something wrong?

If a story that you're involved in heats up, some comment is better than no comment. When you don't say anything, reporters can fill those holes with all types of other information. Here are some tips to keep in mind when you're forming a comment when you really just want to say "no comment."

• Have a "safe" statement. This statement isn't defensive and you don't necessarily directly combat what is being said about you. This is where you say something like, "We are using all of our resources to make sure this issue is resolved quickly and fairly. But Organization XYZ will remain dedicated to saving the lives of starving children..." or whatever it is that you do.
• Don't get backed into a legal corner. If you know you can't comment on an issue because of the legality of it or because your attorney told you not to, say that. "Unfortunately, our legal counsel has advised us against giving certain information to the press at this time. We'll let you know when we can release that information.
• Don't let reporters get you angry. They are going to shout questions at you. They may ask you some very personal things. If you need to, get yourself together before you answer and stay calm.