The Hazardous Side of Being a Reporter

I've always said that in many ways, reporters have to defy every natural instinct of self-preservation.

We hear gunshots, we head out to the scene. Word gets out of a tornado touching down, we're driving toward it while every other person with an ounce of sense is going the other way on the highway (true story, by the way). And we scramble to get to a car wreck, house fire or other other potentially catastrophic situation.

And we while the adrenaline is pumping, our nerves are singing and many of us love the rush, we primarily do it for you. So that you will have the information you need when you need it.

 Though some questioned whether there was too much coverage, but my answer to that is if the hurricane had been downplayed, there would be criticism, too so >> insert shrug here <<. Meanwhile, as I watched, read about, listened to and clicked on the nearly nonstop coverage of Hurricane Irene this past weekend, I had to hand it to my brethren of the pad, pencil, camera and recorder. Through wind, water and rain, they brought you the story. They even managed to (mostly) stay upright.

There's only one thing left to say: Well done.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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.

Respect the Reporter's Deadline

A reporter calls at 3 p.m. to ask you a question about a story.

"Oh, great, thanks for thinking of me," you respond. "When do you need it?"

"Now."

Pause.

From any other professional, this last-minute call may seem rude and get your mind going into the "how-dare-they" zone.

But consider a reporter's profession -- the very essence of which, it last-minute. Up-to-the-minute updates. Breaking news. You heard it here first.

These aren't just empty promises, they are the ways reporters have to function to stop on top of the news. And the adrenaline is pumping because it's 3 p.m. and they have to write a story and be ready to go to press or go on air at 5 p.m.

So it may be that if you have a business, organization or are otherwise involved in some newsworthy venture, a reporter may call you for a comment on a related story.

If they do, don't panic. They called you because you have somehow established yourself as knowledgeable on the topic. Rely on that knowledge and answer the questions to the best of your ability. And if you don't know about the particular situation or issue, say that you can't comment.

But don't chicken out. Don't tell them you have to call them back so you can give them some prepared, plastic statement.

Believe me, if a reporter knows they can call you in a crunch for a great, concise quote, you have just made a new friend.

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.

Try to Catch the Beat

Let's test your media knowledge a little bit.

Do you know what a beat is?

If, at this moment, you're trying to verbalize a term that has anything to do with music, stop. That's not it.

In the wide world of media, a "beat" is an area or subject that a reporter specifically covers. For example, when I worked at the Springfield News-Sun in Springfield, Ohio, I was on the county government beat. I covered all things related to Clark County, including regularly going to county commission meetings and events of other local governmental agencies. While I was at the Marshall News Messenger in Marshall, Texas, I covered education, but before that, I was the religion reporter.

Now that you have it, let's discuss why this is important. Knowing what beat a reporter covers is good to know because it tells you which reporter to pitch your story to -- directing the flow of information. While there are GA (general assignment) reporters who pretty much cover any and every thing, it's great to know when to contact the business reporter or the education person.

Knowing which beat you want -- and therefore which reporter to contact -- saves you time, as well as the person who would normally have to shuffle your press release off to the right person anyway.

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.