To Figure Out What Reporters Want...Watch the News

If nothing else, I have stressed in my semi-monthly messages that research is key when it comes to figuring out what should be in your press release and how it would pique a reporter's interest.

With that said, you will have no idea what makes the news in your coverage area if you don't watch, read, listen or click on the news in your coverage area.

I've been a reporter in Houston, Marshall (Texas), Springfield (Ohio) and the surrounding suburbs of Chicago and no market was the same when it came to what stories got coverage.

Things to remember as you check out the news in your area:

• Who? Who is more likely to get coverage? Businesses, organizations, individuals? Is there a common element you see?
• When? Is there a season or time of year where reporters are more likely to cover a certain subject?
• What? A smaller market is more likely to cover a grand opening of a business. But a larger market will need a few more reasons to give that story air time.

Once you have a grasp on what your coverage area highlights, you can tailor your press release to include those same elements. You also know that if you don't have some of those same elements, you may not have a viable story.

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 they can get media attention for their programs and efforts. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

If Your Topic Doesn't Interest YOU, It Won't Interest A Reporter

Think about what you want to pitch to a reporter.

Now take yourself out of the equation. This means the story is no longer about YOUR cause, YOUR event or YOU.

Does it catch your attention? Are you still interested?

If not, a reporter won't be either.

I have met many people who thought they had a story because they were so taken with their own accomplishments -- which, while they were great on a personal note -- did not make a good or intriguing news story.

Gauge the newsworthiness of your story like this: If it were something that had nothing to do with you that came on television, the radio, was featured in the newspaper or online, would you change the channel, turn the knob, turn the page or click away?

If the answer is yes, do not expect a reporter to be interested in a topic that even you don't care about.

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

Five Things You Should Never Say to a Reporter

By now, we all know that pitching to a reporter can be something of an art. You have to strike the right tone with the right information to pique the interest.

But there are also some thing you can say to strike exactly the wrong tone. I huddled with a few reporter friends of mine to determine what they have heard over the years that was a total turn-off when it came to covering a story.

Here's what we came up with:

• "You guys NEVER cover good news, so...you should do a story on this." - Asking for something on the tail end of an insult is probably not a good strategy, especially when it's most likely not true. The sad fact of it is, though most outlets do have some feel-good stories, people don't remember them. They remember the murders, the shootings, the scandals. This is something I hear constantly and as a media person, it is really frustrating to know that yes, I wrote about the scandal but I also wrote the story about the cancer patients in remission -- but you didn't read that one.
• "The last story written about me was wrong, so you can make up for it by doing this one." - There's a protocol to follow when reporters make mistakes, which may happen. That doesn't mean they owe you a completely different story. You can get a correction and an apology, but don't demand another story.
• "I want to sell XYZ, so this will be great advertising for me." - We've talked about this several times before. Typically, the media won't cover your business to give you free publicity unless you're Apple status, of course. A reporter's stance on this is that if you want publicity, you should purchase an ad so don't try to sell them a commercial as a story.
• Presenting anything to a reporter without proof, i.e. "So-and-so has been stealing money for years..." - We can not report on a story without some semblance of fact to back it up. Media outlets are not in the business of getting sued for libel or slander based on a hunch.
• "But you did on a story on them..." - We may have done a story on your competition or someone with a similar story because it was news at the time. That doesn't mean we will cover every similar business or initiative. Remember, a story should be unique and we're sorry that the other group got to us before you did. Covering your group after we already did a story on the similar one cancels out the uniqueness factor, doesn't it?

If you're guilty of saying any of these statements to a reporter, all is not lost. There's always another day -- and another reporter -- to present your story in the best way possible. Special thanks to my good buddy and fellow reporter Natalie Driscoll, who helped me out with this list.

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

Help Us Help You: Ways to Head Off Reporter Mistakes

This may come as a surprise.

But, reporters are only human. And...we make mistakes.

Shocking, I know. However, it's true and it's possible that mistakes may wind up in your story.

I have printed some inaccurate information in my time -- in some instances, it was my fault and in others, I was given bad information.

At any rate, I believe most of the subjects of my stories were very gracious in pointing out errors and didn't make me feel too badly about the mistakes. If there were any real rabble-rousers, I think I have blocked them from memory.

Still, there are some things that you, as the subject of a story, can do to help a reporter out. Being proactive with giving facts and background information may go a long way in ensuring the accuracy of your story.

• Give a fact sheet. Have a story with lots of numbers or details? Perhaps a budget? Here's a tip: give the reporter something written with those details on it. We love figures and trends and we love quoting them. You can leave it to the reporter to figure out the percentage increase of your revenues or you can issue a fact sheet with the numbers already there. 
• Be available for follow-up. You had the interview and it went well, but the reporter wants to clarify something and can't reach you. You want to make sure the reporter has all the contact information he or she needs to ask you that question that inevitably pops up as we are going over our notes or putting together the story.
• Make sure they understand. Don't be condescending about it, but if you know your organization has had three names changes in the past five years, plus five elections (with one that didn't count because of that whole missing ballot thing) don't hesitate to go over every thing step by step with the reporter. You can say things like, "Now, just so you know, I want to clarify that Sally Bee was the president when we changed our mascot for the eighth time, not Sally Zee." You can do this for confusing information or just basic background.
• Spell out names, give titles and/or rank when applicable. Nine times out of ten, reporters will ask you how to spell your name and your title, but if they don't, gently say, "That's John Smythe, S-M-Y-T-H-E, first lieutenant of XYZ organization."
• Be sure your own information is accurate. Don't blame the reporter if you accidentally told them you raised $55 when you actually raised $5,500. Make sure all of your own information is in order before you present it.

The moral of the story? Make sure you present the most accurate information possible to avoid published (or aired!) mistakes.

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

If You Paid For It, It's Not News

The Internet has made it easier than ever for just about anyone to have his or her own show -- streaming radio, YouTube, live chats and the like. Couple that with the traditional cable access networks and you have a lot of people on the air, in some form or another.

This is actually a great thing because it allows more access for anyone to broadcast their message.

But here comes the caveat: some of these producers or hosts charge for appearances on their shows. However, if you paid to have your business or organization featured on a broadcast or in a publication, it is not a news organization. The hosts/writers/etc. are not journalists -- and what you paid for was a commercial.

Several weeks ago, we talked about the benefits of publicity over advertising. The very first benefit -- and a really great one -- is that publicity is free. Good Morning America? Doesn't cost a dime. The Today Show?  You don't pay a cent. The list goes on.

These are news programs and journalists don't pay for news. We see or hear about a story, decide it will appeal to our viewers/listeners/readers on some level and we cover it. What we don't do is accept payment for featuring a story because one of the principal elements of journalism -- objectivity -- goes out the window once money changes hands.

It is actually unethical for journalists to accept any type of payment for a story and most -- actually I can venture to say, all -- news organizations have some sort of ethics code of conduct. The New York Times has  an entire section on protecting neutrality in its company ethics policy that states:



35. Staff members and those on assignment for us may not accept anything that could be construed as a payment for favorable coverage or for avoiding unfavorable coverage. They may not accept gifts, tickets, discounts, reimbursements or other benefits from individuals or organizations covered (or likely to be covered) by their newsroom. Gifts should be returned with a polite explanation; perishable gifts may instead be given to charity, also with a note to the donor. In either case the objective of the note is, in all politeness, to discourage future gifts.


So there you have it. What does this mean for you and your organization if you are considering or have paid to be featured in print or broadcast? Well, for one thing, it should be disclosed that guests pay to be spotlighted so the audience is aware.  


Any organization that pays it guests or accepts payments from its guests should not be billed as a news show or publication -- because being on the news is free.

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.

Do Your Homework When It Comes to Giving

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan
Friday, March 11.

For most of us, disasters like the devastating tsunami in Japan stir compassion and an impulse to help -- and give -- in any way we can.

But there are others who use tragedies to spur the latest scams. While plenty of legitimate nonprofit organizations are collecting donations, beware of fraudulent ones out to steal your money instead of using it to aid victims.

In my home state of Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan released several tips to verify if an entity is legitimately collecting money.

• Ask how much of your donation will go to the charity and how much will be used to pay fund-raising costs. 
• Pay close attention to the name of the charity (or misspelled words in the name).
• Ask questions about the charity. 
• Take caution when giving online. 
• Do not pay in cash. For security and tax record purposes, pay by check. Be sure to write the full official name of the charity on your check—do not abbreviate.
• Request written information.
• Do not donate if the solicitor uses high-pressure tactics, asks for cash payment or insists on sending someone to pick up your donation. 

Another good resources is http://www.charitynavigator.org/, where you can search for an organization if you question its legitimacy.

If you believe you have been a victim of a scam or want to report a suspicious solicitation, log on to your state attorney general's website or contact the office directly.

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

Where is Your Media Plan?

When you start a business or nonprofit organization, typically your business plan is in place -- the mission statement, the goals you want to accomplish and how you plan to do it.

Is there a media plan included?

If there answer is no, then you should get to work on one. Here's why: If you randomly pitch random things to random media outlets, believe me, you will get equally random results.

Last week, we talked about why you should consider publicity for your business or organization and how it can help you. Once you decide publicity is something you want to pursue, you should have a map to get there, much like your business plan, marketing strategy or any other plan.

What is it you want to accomplish through the media -- social and traditional? How will you get it accomplished? What are the costs? What are the benefits?

If you have no idea what the answers to these questions are, you should get the help of someone who does. I'm not talking about someone who took a random journalism or marketing class in college, either, but someone who really understands the field and how to work in it.

Remember the old adage: failure to plan is a plan to fail. This also applies when it comes to media.

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