Getting Media Attention During the Holidays
Traditionally, two of the slowest periods in the newsroom are Thanksgiving weekend and the week before and after Christmas. This is a great time to pitch a story idea to a journalist. But before you do, ask yourself the following questions:
Does your story have some sort of Impact - Your story is interesting only if it affects real people. All stories must have impact, so before you pitch a story, ask yourself: how many people will be affected by your event or idea? How seriously does it affect them? Having impact might include something like connecting your business or product by reaching out to a homeless shelter or donating items to kids for Christmas.
Feature stories are also very big during the holiday season. Do you have someone coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan? Or perhaps someone is getting ready to deploy and you're spending one last holiday together before they ship off. Those stories make for great TV. Maybe you have a HUGE family gathering for the holidays with family members coming in from all over the world.
If you have a business that sells unique, one-of-a-kind gifts or you actually make unusual items--that would make a nice little feature as well.
Grandparents can share stories of how much Christmas has changed since they were young and maybe they can tie in some old memorabilia to give viewers a trip down memory lane.
Although I do advocate press releases, I also know that regular emails can work just as well if they are effectively written. And whatever you do, make sure you follow up with the Assignment Editor to be sure they received your information.
One more thing: Be ready at a moment's notice for a reporter to call you because sometimes planned stories fall through and your idea may be a back-up plan.
When opportunity knocks, don't pull down the shade if you're looking for your time to shine in the media spotlight.
Beverly Mahone is a veteran journalist, author, media trainer and motivational speaker. After spending more than 25 years as a radio and television journalist, she is now using her media expertise to train others interested in hosting their own internet radio talk shows.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beverly_Mahone
Does your story have some sort of Impact - Your story is interesting only if it affects real people. All stories must have impact, so before you pitch a story, ask yourself: how many people will be affected by your event or idea? How seriously does it affect them? Having impact might include something like connecting your business or product by reaching out to a homeless shelter or donating items to kids for Christmas.
Feature stories are also very big during the holiday season. Do you have someone coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan? Or perhaps someone is getting ready to deploy and you're spending one last holiday together before they ship off. Those stories make for great TV. Maybe you have a HUGE family gathering for the holidays with family members coming in from all over the world.
If you have a business that sells unique, one-of-a-kind gifts or you actually make unusual items--that would make a nice little feature as well.
Grandparents can share stories of how much Christmas has changed since they were young and maybe they can tie in some old memorabilia to give viewers a trip down memory lane.
Although I do advocate press releases, I also know that regular emails can work just as well if they are effectively written. And whatever you do, make sure you follow up with the Assignment Editor to be sure they received your information.
One more thing: Be ready at a moment's notice for a reporter to call you because sometimes planned stories fall through and your idea may be a back-up plan.
When opportunity knocks, don't pull down the shade if you're looking for your time to shine in the media spotlight.
Beverly Mahone is a veteran journalist, author, media trainer and motivational speaker. After spending more than 25 years as a radio and television journalist, she is now using her media expertise to train others interested in hosting their own internet radio talk shows.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beverly_Mahone
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12:46 AM
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