The news media needs content like the body needs food, and though we humans do better by eating boring vegetables and grains, today’s media seems to thrive on a constant diet of chocolate sundaes and New York cheesecake. So how do you make your story interesting to media entities? Here’s some food for thought:
How does your story impact or relate to readers? Whether you’re interested in pitching a story to a local newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota or a blog that caters exclusively to Six Sigma black belts, the story has to have some relevance to the readers of that publication. What interesting persons are featured in your story? Who is impacted by your story? The answers will help generate a list of media outlets to target. For example, if your Vice President of Research and Development has just filed his 100th patent, his home town newspaper and college magazine might be just as interested in the story as the trade journals that follow your industry.
Does your story involve an interesting or prominent person? People are more interested in reading about other people than in abstract trends or concepts. It’s commendable that your not-for-profit organization is helping feed the hungry in Africa, but if the bush pilot who flies your food donations across the Atlantic is a 70-year old grandmother of six who smokes cigars and cusses like a longshoreman, now you’ve got a story! My former company, Ovations, sells health insurance to people on Medicare. Boooring. But when reporters learned that the company was run by Lois Quam, a former Rhodes Scholar who was featured in Fortune magazine’s ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’ issue, suddenly Ovations became much more interesting to write about.
Does your story involve conflict? Conflict permeates every aspect of our society. Crime and politics involve the clash between morals and ideas, respectively. Sports and business are all about competition. Fortunately, your story need not involve bloodshed and gunplay to contain conflict. Has your organization recently overcome some internal challenges to reinvent itself? Is your company using the economic downturn to aggressively buy up competitors? Have you invented a product that improves the quality of life for the disabled?
Is your story timely? Ever see a story about Christmas in July? Only if it involves the summer vacation habits of department store Santas. Publications are interested in finding time hooks on which to hang stories, so if your story has a deadline or due date attached to it, play up that aspect. But be aware of editorial lead times. Blogs and internet sites can run with a story in minutes or hours. Newspapers typically take a few days. Magazines won't run your vacationing Santa story in July but that's when they start planning their December issue, so you need to approach them months in advance.
Does your story go against the conventional wisdom? Think of commonly held beliefs and stereotypes at work in your industry or field. Is your organization defying one or more of these? Does your law firm put a premium on hiring new associates who score high in empathy? Has the IRS begun a new customer service program which actually turns an audit into an enjoyable experience? Did your bank recently set a record for the number of home equity loans it is making?
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