This is so amazing and capturing and interesting. It should
be no problem getting the media on this, right?
Not always.
I think this is how most feel about their event after laying
blood sweat and tears into preparation for it. As amazing and capturing and
interesting it is, it’s hard to get the maximum interest without support from
the media.
These are some busy people, so how do we get a moment of
their time? Well, chapter 4 gives us some good insight into drawing the media’s
big spotlight of 15-minute fame into our direction.
The fact of the matter is we have to get our information in
front of them by working it around their deadline. That’s why we need to be
BFFFFFFFs with these people! Okay maybe not that close, but to have a direct
e-mail and cell phone number to a journalist at each news station is a fast
track to getting your story out.
Understanding the journalist’s deadline will help you get
your own timing down. If you issue your news story in the morning, noon and
evening news will be the ones to get ahold and report it. Sending out your
story in the afternoon favors the morning news and gives the evening news a
shorter deadline to feature.
When it comes to the media you have to keep in mind what
runs them. So when in doubt just remember PSSBT.
Profit, Speed, Space,
Bias, and Time, these are the 5 factors that motivates any newsroom decision. Keep
these in mind when reaching out to the media with your story.
Profit, who doesn’t want to make a profit? In the media,
profit results from having the widest-possible audience. So to catch the
media’s eye you need to have the excitement and sensations that will attract a
large and wide spread audience.
Speed speed speed, hurry hurry hurry, vroom vroom vroom! The
newsroom has turned into a race to get the news out there before competitors
do. This means your information and stories have to be ready to go right
away.
Space, we can’t have all of it! Journalists are granted
limited space, sometimes down to 500 words or to a 2-minute airtime, so be
brief but informative. It is essential that you get all the important
information out there in an interesting and condensed way.
Bias, can’t we just love everything? No! Especially when it comes to the media.
You have to keep in mind any ideological bias when it comes to leaning to a
conservative or liberal side. And all media is more prone and biased to easy,
cheap, and visually appeasing. If you are able to make it as easy and
inexpensive for the media they are more likely to cover your story.
Time, who has it? Not me, and especially not journalists. Journalists
are on such a short deadline that allows them no time to do extra research. So
if your story requires it, you can forget about it. Make sure you have done all
the necessary research and al is 100% accurate.
By keeping these factors in mind you’ll be able to attract
the attention of the media to your company or event without all the kicking and
screaming. By being considerate of their job you will be able to build
relationships with the media that will favor you.
B. Phillips (2012). 5 factors that will determine whether a
journalist will cover your story. Retrieved from http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10531.aspx
Carole M. Howard, W. K. (2013). On Deadline: Managing
Media Relations. (5th, Ed.) Waveland Press, Inc.
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ReplyDeleteI am going to respond to this... Margaret! I love how organized your blog is and how split up! It's easy to read. Maybe use headlines next time? My question for you is, from your experience which of the five factors is most essential and why?
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra. I definitely think the most important thing to keep in mind when working with journalists is their deadline and what is going to make them a profit. If you can market your organization or story in a way that will draw in the maximum audience it in turn will bring them more advertisers.The bottom line for everyone is the dollar amount and the media is no different, they want something that will draw in viewers. But on top of being able to market your event in a profitable way you also need to know deadlines and respect the fast pace hustle of media by having your information ready to go.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that our relationship with journalists are essential to our survival ar public relations practitioners. I also think it goes beyond just the journalists; I think we need to know and be "BFFFFFF's" with the editor in chief's, bloggers, and big decision makers. Even though the journalists write the stories, they don't have the final say of what goes into the paper. Blogger's on the other hand, can write anything they want because they are the journalist and the editor in chief. Also, with the way society is evolving into a digital society, more people are opt to read blogs over other types of media. What do you think about the digital change and the idea some have (not me) that news papers are becoming obsolete and irrelevant?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, the blogosphere has become very powerful indeed. With everything and everyone going on the internet anyone has the power to be a reporter through public blogs and discussion. Anyone has the power to publicly state their opinion and promote their cause through the internet reaching millions. That is why it is just as important to have a working relationship with bloggers just as it is with reporters.
DeleteI do believe that the traditional style of the newppaer is being obsolete. There are so many faster, cheaper, and easier, ways of getting the news out there then through the tradition newspaper. However with that said I feel that newspapers have a done a good job of converting everything they have to online.
I love the blog and info you gave out, I had that same idea of how we as PR peeps need to be BFFFFFF's with editors and journalists, but to what extent? I do agree with Nate that we are switching to a digital age and that blogs are becoming the norm, but maintaining a relationship with traditional media sources is essential.
ReplyDelete