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The
Secrets for Getting Covered on the News
By
Jeff Crilley,
TV Reporter and Author of Free
Publicity
Many consultants have a great idea for
a story, but no clue how to get it in the news. Are
you tired of pitching press releases the news media
simply ignores?
After twenty years of beating the street
as a TV reporter, I have a scoop for you: media outlets
need good stories. But most stories are pitched
so poorly, they are lost in the blizzard of faxes that
blanket every newsroom.
So, here are five steps to increase your
chances of getting covered that even some PR pros don't
know.
Be Unusual
The old adage about "man bites dog"
still holds true. The news doesn't cover what's normal;
we cover the abnormal. Make a story extraordinary,
and the media will be instantly sold on it.
Be Visual
Reporters tell stories with pictures.
If the pictures aren't there, chances are the reporters
won't be either.
Choose the Right Reporter
Perhaps the most common mistake even some
PR pros make is trying to sell a good story to the wrong
person. Most reporters have a specialty, like "crime"
or "business."
So, seek out the reporter who will have
the most to benefit from your story. Start studying
the news. Before you call a TV station or try your pitch
on a newspaper, become familiar with a reporter's work.
Don't try and sell an investigative story to a reporter
who covers entertainment.
Write Like a Reporter
If I were going to send a press release
to a reporter, I'd write the kind of headline that a
newspaper would run. And I'd make the rest of the release
so conversational that a TV anchor could read it right
on the air.
Why is this so important? A major-market
newsroom gets hundreds of press releases every day.
Often the decision on whether to cover your story is
made in a matter of seconds. Many times that well-crafted
sentence in the third paragraph of your press release
is never read.
Wait for a Slow News Day
The holidays are the slowest "news
times" of the year. When government offices are
closed, so are most of our sources. Take advantage of
it.
In fact, take out your calendar and begin
circling government holidays. If the government isn't
making news, reporters are scrambling to find something
to cover. Pitch even an average story on a day when
the media is starving for news, and you're much more
likely to get coverage.
There you go. Now you're armed with knowledge
that even some well-paid PR pros don't wield. If your
idea is unique, visual, and pitched to the right person
when the supply of news is running thin, you're in!
Jeff Crilley is an Emmy Award winning
reporter and author of Free
Publicity: A TV Reporter Shares the Secrets for Getting
Covered on the News. It's available at bookstores
everywhere or online at www.jeffcrilley.com.
Was this useful? Send a quick e-mail
with your thoughts.
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Do People Trust the Boss?
In a recent survey on workplace issues, 354 people
were asked how much they trusted their boss. The majority
of responses (58%) indicate that workers don't find
their bosses very trustworthy:
29% - I sometimes wonder if I can trust my manager
20% - I usually can't trust my manager
9% - I never trust my manager
When asked how often managers thank people for their
work and publicly acknowledge contributions, 66% of
respondents were less than enthusiastic about how often
their efforts are recognized:
24% - Sometimes Recognized
33% - Rarely Recognized
9% - Never Recognized
And finally, out of the 64% of respondents who believed
their boss had made a very bad decision or mistake that
seriously affected employee morale, almost 70% said
the boss either blamed someone else for the problem
or totally ignored it.
22% - Blamed someone else for the problem
45% - Totally ignored it
Consultants can apply some sound advice from this survey
to their work with clients: Do the easy things with
people, like acknowledging a job well done, accepting
responsibility for your decisions, and not taking trust
for granted. And keep in mind that if people don't trust
the boss who hired you, it's possible that you might
get painted with the same brush.
The survey was conducted by Robert M. Galford and Anne
Seibold Drapeau, authors of The
Trusted Leader, with help from the online
networking organization, WorldWIT™.
For more information on the study, click here
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Market
Watch
China's Newest Imports
Will consulting firms help China's balance of trade
with the world?
According to the top executive at BearingPoint,
Inc., China will become the fastest growing market
in the Asia-Pacific for the US-based consulting firm.
The move follows closely on the heels of the rush by
other consulting firms to China to capture a share of
the services market.
But, in the face of competition from approximately
100 foreign firms, Chinese consulting firms won't sit
still. They'll differentiate themselves by stressing
their deep understanding of the local organizational
culture and management style, enabling them to offer
more realistic solutions. Oh, and they'll probably compete
on price too, as the hefty fees charged by foreign firms
could easily create sticker shock among prospective
clients.
Retail Consultants Take Note: Web Site "Personalization"
is Overrated
Jupiter Research
reports that only 14% of consumers say that personalized
offers or recommendations lead them to buy more often
from shopping Web sites, and just 8% say that personalization
increases their repeat visits to content, news or entertainment
Web sites.
The research finds that building and operating a personalized
Web site can cost four or more times as much as operating
a comparable dynamic site. Most sites that use personalization
have realized inadequate returns on their investments.
Most Web site operators would be better off if they
focused on making key tasks easier for users to accomplish,
like site navigation, usability and faster-loading pages,
rather than personalization.
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Winning
Proposals and Speedy Speech Prep
Writing Proposals that Win
Tom Sant, who has been called America's foremost practitioner
of proposal writing, knows the secrets for creating
winning proposals. He shares those secrets in a thirty-four
page presentation, "How to Write a Winning Proposal."
You can find the presentation by clicking here.
An interview with Sant was featured in a past issue
of MCNews. To read the interview, click here.
Preparing a Speech on the Fly
Author and communications coach, Nick Morgan, knows
that consultants and other professionals are often expected
to speak on public occasions with little preparation
time. For some sure-fire tips for speeding up your speech
preparation, click here.
Morgan was also featured in a recent issue of MCNews.
To read that interview, click here.
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This
Month in History
On November 1, 1884, Greenwich
Mean Time was adopted at a meeting of the International
Meridian Conference. Since then, the Greenwich Meridian,
or Longitude Zero degrees, has marked the starting point
for all twenty-four time zones in the world. Talk about
a real global initiative.
On November 4, 1879, James and John Ritty patented
the first working version of a mechanical
cash register. James Ritty invented "Ritty's
Incorruptible Cashier" to combat stealing by employees
in the brothers' Dayton, Ohio saloon.
On November 17, 1970, the computer mouse
(AKA the X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System)
was patented. The inventor, Doug Engelbart, and his
lab colleagues called it a "mouse" because
of its tail-like cable. The first mouse was a simple
hollowed-out wooden block, with a single push button
on top.
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Coming
Attractions
A Conversation with Tom Peters
In Re-Imagine!,
his first book of the post-Enron, post-boom,
post-9/11 era, Tom
Peters, America's most influential business
thinker, proclaims that the old business playbooks
are useless in a new world that's messy and
chaotic.
In our exclusive interview, Peters shares his views
on what he sees happening in the world of business and
what consultants must do to thrive in this new era.
Look for the next issue of MCNews on December 2,
2003.
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The
End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
- Winston
Churchill
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Michael McLaughlin
Publisher
Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
Washington, DC, USA
Copyright © 2003 Management Consulting
News All rights reserved
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