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15 Tactful Media Tips for 2015

2015 In honor of 2015 here are 15 insights about what producers, editors and reporters consider when deciding what stories to cover or experts to interview. Check out this recent ProfNet article, Pitching Resolutions: What Reporters Want in 2015 which highlights key tips from reporters working at ABC, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fox and TIME and our list below for building productive working relationships with the media this year.

Keep it Brief and Targeted – Get to the point up front. Do your research. Become familiar with the news outlets and the journalists’ beats before making a pitch.

Offer Up Interesting, Credible Sources – A guest on a TV or radio program must be articulate, personable and enthusiastic in addition to being knowledgeable about the subject matter.

Recommend the Best Expert for the Interview – Designate different experts as media spokespeople to increase your chances of getting coverage according to their expertise, role at the company or their availability.

Respond Quickly – Once a reporter decides to do the story or interview you’ve pitched, confirm the details and get the reporter what they need as quickly as possible.

Meet Deadlines – Journalists will often use a source who is not only appropriate but meets their deadlines. Make it a habit to be deadline-sensitive so the source will be remembered for the next opportunity when he/she is a good fit.

Be Flexible – Sometimes, a producer/reporter/blogger may have to change the date or time of an interview due to unforseen circumstances or a major news event. Accept changes graciously and be willing to reschedule the interview.

Provide More Information for Follow-ups – The source should be available and able to answer additional questions if necessary as the story is fine-tuned.

Support a Trend, Timely Event or Newsworthy Occurrence – Craft your pitch to align with a popular trend or offer an expert who can weigh-in on a current news event to grab a reporter’s attention.

Send Suggested Interview Questions – Send the reporter a few questions before the interview which the expert can discuss. The reporter is likely to add his or her own questions but it provides a starting point for the discussion. The reporter may also send you the kinds of questions they would like to ask the source in advance.

Prepare for Interviews in Advance – Nothing is worse than a spokesperson who is dull or not prepared. Preparing for and practicing before an interview is very important. Media training can help to prepare guests for interviews.

Make Videos, Photos available – Photos and videos help make interviews or stories more interesting and shareable. Have good quality ones on hand in case they are requested.

Take “Not Interested” as a Legitimate Answer – Accept “no”, don’t nag and try again.

Don’t Harp on The Run Date – Unless it is a LIVE interview (then you know it ran) be patient about the run date. A print publication may have a 6-month lead time. Follow-up if a reasonable amount of time has passed.

Don’t Suggest a Topic Just covered – If a reporter recently covered a particular topic chances are they will not cover it again in the near future so don’t pitch it. Think about another angle or topic that is on target.

Invite Journalists to an Informal “Meet & Greet” – Consider organizing a breakfast, lunch or early evening wine/cheese gathering for reporters to stop by and meet potential sources. Then they may reach out in the future.

Please add any other tips in the comment section and have a Happy New Year!

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MEDIA MIX: THREE NOTABLE TRENDS

Media sources often highlight consumer trends however, here are three trends we’ve observed in the media itself that may influence your PR and marketing communications campaigns this fall.

1) DAYTIME TALK SHOWS KEEP TRYING

Daytime TV audiences are dwindling and the cancellation of shows hosted by Anderson Cooper, Ricki Lake and Marie Osmond are recent proof. It’s also uncertain whether Katie Couric’s talk show show “Katie” on ABC stations will be around for very long. However, CBS and NBC are betting that two seasoned personalities will help them entice viewers this year and next. Time will tell if these new shows will prevail in daytime when others did not.

“The Queen Latifah Show”

This new syndicated one-hour daytime talk show debuts on CBS stations in major markets on September 16 featuring Queen Latifah. She will be hosting a variety of segments including cooking, human-interest, fashion, beauty and celebrities. The website containing sections called “Latifah, Loving, Learning, Laughing and Living,” is up-and-running.

“The Meredith Vieira Show”

The popular former “View,” “Today” and “I Want To Be A Millionaire” host will not be off the airwaves for long. Her new TV talk show launches on NBC stations in 2014 but in the meantime, you can catch her on YouTube in a new online show that says it’s for women of all ages, called “Lives.” Obviously, she’s laying the groundwork to garner an audience before the TV show debuts. That’s a smart move.

2) ENGAGING NICHE AUDIENCES = SUCCESS

Celebrity Gossip Site

A site called Mediatakeout.com is prospering in the celebrity gossip arena by covering African-American celebrities and personalities. The site’s founder and owner counts TMZ as his biggest competitor. Click here for the story in The New York Times.

Spanish Radio Station

WSKQ-FM in New York known as “La Mega 97.9,” plays a mix of Latin music with up-beat pop and averages about 2.6 million listeners a week. Its audience is loyal, engaged and young. Advertisers have taken notice. Read about the station and what’s contributing to its success here. 

Small -Town Vermont Papers

Like father like daughters, I love this story!  Three sisters are enthusiastically working with their father to run local community newspapers that are prospering. The fact that print is a reliable source of news in the winter during snowstorms and shaky Internet connections does help.

3) MESHING THE “OLD” WITH THE “NEW” IS A WINNING FORMULA

Elle

Its September print issue is the biggest ever and the website is scoring lots of hits. Listen  to this CNBC interview with Kevin O’Malley, the publisher and chief revenue officer for his insight.

Forbes

Lewis DVorkin, Chief Product Officer of Forbes Media, sayes that long-form magazine journalism helped drive 2.5 million daily unique visitors to Forbes.com. In July, Forbes.com’s audience was up 55% in the last year. Discussed here, is how their dedicated staff and contributors cover all kinds of beats and Forbes’ success on social media platforms.

Over the Labor Day Weekend, NPR’s “On The Media” featured how some media outlets are making money in the current environment. Mike Perlis, the President and CEO of Forbes Media talked about the company’s use of advertorials, a large blogger network, e-newsletters, e-books and online education programs to help sustain and increase profitability.

Meredith

The company reported an uptick in advertisers for the print product, particularly in their food and parenting magazines. Details here in MediaDailyNews. 

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5 Reasons Media Relations is Effective in Promoting Brands and Services

First off, let’s start with a brief background. Person reading Newsweek on an ipadMainstream news organizations are no longer the gate-keepers of news and information they once were. Consumers interact directly with companies online forming communities and offering both praise and gripes. The popularity of social networking websites, online video, photo sharing sites and blogs now allow people to produce and post news and videos themselves.

News outlets have appeared or taken on many forms to keep relevant. Some were born as internet newspapers and blogs like The Huffington Post , Newsweek merged with The Daily Beast website to stay viable, while others are reinventing themselves and growing their digital capabilities such as Forbes. General interest magazines have created vibrant websites to complement their print editions and this summer, New York magazine is expanding its fashion-focused blog The Cut.

Many large and small news outlets are becoming digital-only platforms ending their print editions entirely such as SmartMoney Magazine and the New York State Hudson Valley Business Journal. One major TV network, FOX Broadcasting Company, has recently launched a new digital lifestyle magazine.

However, even with these transformations, I believe that the practice of media relations which includes designing newsworthy programs and events to pique journalists’ interest in an organization’s products, services, issues or ideas, remains relevant. The skills required to work with professional journalists to help meet their needs are still necessary even as the media outlets and formats change.

What is a placement?

A placement, as used within the context of media relations, is another term for a story or mention about a client arranged by a public relations practitioner but written or produced by professional journalists at print, broadcast or digital media outlets. Unlike an ad, the client does not pay for the space or the airtime given to featuring their product/service/event/issue nor does the client or the PR professional control the final outcome. Two important aspects of a PR practitioner’s job are to understand which journalists and outlets are the right fit for his or her client’s story and then knowing how to craft a pitch accordingly.

Below are 5 ways that placements can help promote brands and services:

  1. Provide credibility. When a brand, service or event is featured within the confines of news outlets inherently trusted by an individual, this is commonly known as third-party editorial endorsement.
  2. Create awareness, understanding and word-of-mouth among consumers both online and offline.
  3. Support and complement other communications campaigns such as advertising, marketing, promotional or social media programs.
  4. Increase SEO for an organization’s website, products and services. Stories that appear in media outlets will also appear in Internet search engines as part of an organic search. This helps provide inbound links to a company’s website.
  5. Provide interesting content. News and feature stories can be linked to on social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others to showcase news about a company. They in turn may be re-tweeted, emailed, viewed and “Liked” by many other friends and followers.

A future post will discuss tips for obtaining effective media placement results. Please stay tuned.

{Image by Yunus Arakon, iStockphoto}