Wednesday, June 06, 2007
One question I get asked most often by event organizers and PR representatives is what can we do to get the media to cover more of our stories. So, today I will give you some tips that may help.
The most important thing we look for is visuals. As a television station, we work in a business driven by pictures. We have to think about what video we are going to use to tell each story. Chances are we will be more apt to cover a story with strong visuals than a story with little to no visuals. I always ask people to tell me what visuals are available as early on in their press release or story pitch, as possible.
Another important factor when it comes to covering a story is the time of the event. Events that start late in the afternoon are usually difficult to cover because many of the news crews are already out working on stories…preparing for the news broadcasts at 5, 6 and (in our case) 7pm. The best time to schedule events is for the morning hours. This means 9am-2pm is a good time to schedule your event.
In order for us to cover the story, we have to know about it. This seems so obvious but I can’t even begin to tell you how many emails I get from viewers asking why we were not at a particular event and than having to explain that it was because we did not know about it. Even if your event is six months away, send the press release now. We will put your event information into our “futures” system… which keeps track of all potential future stories. Be sure to include the entire time of the event. If it lasts from 9am until 2pm, make sure you say that…don’t just say the event starts at 9am.
If there is a local angle, human angle or impact, make sure it’s prominently stated in your release. As a local news organization, nothing is more important than to be able to tell stories that have local people and local impact. Of course, unique and quirky stories are always fun.
A final tip for the day…include your contact information. If you have a cell phone or pager, please make sure to include it. We may have questions on the days leading up to and including the day of the event. Being able to reach you, as the contact person, will enhance the chances of story coverage. If the content coordinators don’t have all the information they need (and can’t reach you) to get enough information needed in order to make a decision, they may opt to send that crew elsewhere. This is especially true for events that occur after hours.
Here’s how to submit a press release or story idea:
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 919-835-6397
Fax: 919-836-1687
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/06 at 12:35 PM
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
On any given day, we receive hundreds of emails vying for our attention…hoping we’ll cover their particular event or story.
Covering everything is not an option. We simply can not be every where, all the time. So we have to pick and choose not only what we cover but how we cover it.
The first thing we have to decide is if we want to cover the story. Honestly, some stories are simply passed over. Let me also just say, news judgment is an art. It’s beauty is in the eyes of its beholder. Not everyone agrees. Once that is decided, the next question is whether or not the story requires a reporter.
Stories that require an extensive amount of digging for information are almost always assigned to reporters. This allows one person to focus on the story rather than a content coordinator who may be working a dozen or more stories on any one particular day.
Other stories can be told without a reporter. This means we send a photographer to the event, maybe grab an interview or two, and that’s it. And, some stories we just simply can’t get to because other things were going on at the same time.
So what happens to those stories that we don’t cover? We look for opportunities to tell the story on a future day. Some stories are what we call “evergreens”. These are stories that can be told at any time. They are stories that don’t have a definitive event, date or time attached to them.
Fear not! There are some things you can do to help get your story covered by the media. Coming up Wednesday, I’ll give you some tips to getting your story covered!
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-Jason
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/05 at 03:44 PM
Monday, June 04, 2007
When I said I wanted to be a journalist I thought about all the great stories I would get to cover…the Olympics, the circus animals and any other fun story you can think of. I never really thought about the sad days in news.
As journalists we have interviewed those who have lost a friend, family member or neighbor. How to report on stories like this is often the topic of discussion. The answer is never the same and must always be discussed. For some they want to talk about a person they loved and lost while others want privacy.
Compassion, experience and normal human emotion helps each of us during times of tragedy and loss. Talking to or interviewing someone while they are grieving is very difficult and as journalists we put these skills to good use.
The goal is not to sensationalize but to explain how a community has changed. People are part of the community…and telling real life stories and experiences is the goal.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/04 at 09:26 PM
Friday, June 01, 2007
Where there are big stories, there are rumors. Where there are rumors, there are content coordinators working to try to confirm or deny them.
Yesterday, we began to hear rumblings that the Durham District Attorney, Michael Nifong, was expected to resign.
I can recount so many stories that started with a tip or rumbling. Some ended up being correct. Some ended up being wrong. Some ended up being a mixture of both. As content coordinators, our goal is to seek out and report on the facts and only the facts.
Today, we had a plan in place should Mr. Nifong have resigned. Earlier today, we were faced with deciding whether or not we should report on this rumor of a resignation.
In our morning news meeting, we had a discussion amongst the content coordinators, producers, managers and web staff. Since there was no confirmation of Mr. Nifong resigning, we decided to send a reporter to durham and ask him about the rumors, directly. He denied them. At the end of the day, there was no resignation. So we decided that it seemed the rumors were false and opted to not air or publish a report on them. Why? because that’s all it was…speculation.
As journalists, you welcome us into your homes each night and trust us to provide you with the news…not the rumors. We’ll leave the rumors and speculation for the blogosphere.
In the end, we took the high road. Today ended….no announcement of a resignation.
(BTW: Have you heard…..)
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Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/01 at 05:48 PM
