One of my greatest rewards as a public relations consultant is seeing a client get considerable and positive media coverage. It builds lasting brand recognition and serves as a third-party validation for their organization and its products or services. It's great for business.
But when all is said and done, that media coverage would never happen if it weren't good business for the newspaper, television station or magazine that decided to take the time to cover a client. The truth is, a television station covers what their viewers want to see. The newspapers and magazines write stories their readers want to read. It makes perfect sense that they try to give their audience what it wants because in the business of news, "audience" is synonymous with the word customer.
Customers are what drive business, and the news media is no different. So next time you're thinking about contacting the media with that freshly written press release about version 15.4 of your software, stop and think for a minute if it's what their readers want to read. (That would be no.) Would you create a product you knew your customers didn't want? Of course not! And connect won't do it either because it's bad for business.
You can make sure you're doing a better job of helping the media please their customers by following a litmus test that's similar to the one they follow for deciding what's newsworthy and what's not. Here are a few examples of what's good for business when it comes to news.
Conflict and Controversy – Barry Bonds? SCO? Need I say more? You may want to stay away from this element of news if you are trying to get positive media coverage, but attorneys use it all the time because they know that people (customers) love to read about conflict and see it on television.
Consequence – What is the overall effect? Are you hiring 10,000 new people or 10 new people? Will the merger create new jobs or get rid of jobs?
Human Interest – Is there a human element to the story you want them to cover? I saw a story on the news one night about a disabled young man in the local high-school rodeo. It was heartwarming and fun to watch, and it focused on how he didn't let his disability get in the way of his desire to participate in a sport like rodeo.
I later found out that a local public relations agency was working to help get publicity for the Utah High School Rodeo Association. Coincidence? Not likely. They just understood the media business and the media customer. The story of a disabled young man who was benefiting from high school rodeo took care of itself.
Prominence – Prominent people, organizations and issues are attractive subjects for the media because more customers are interested in hearing about them. Gordon B. Hinckley, Larry H. Miller, Zions Bank, Intermountain Healthcare, polygamy and nuclear waste are a few examples of each.
Proximity – What is the local angle of the story you want them to consider about your company? Where did it happen? Where will it happen? For local newspapers and television stations, you have to keep this in mind because readers and viewers are naturally more interested about what's happening in their own backyard. "Close to home" is more than a tagline no matter what television station it is.
Timeliness – Is it timely? This is probably the most important rule. When did it happen? When will it happen? Read the paper. Watch television. Identify the current hot topics the news media is covering. The growing economy, increasing home prices, rising interest rates and steady job growth all seem to be hot topics lately because they are happening now, and they affect everyday people.
These are just a few examples of what the news media will look for when you are trying to get media coverage, and there are other tests you can find using a simple Google search. Next time you're thinking about pitching an idea for a news article about your organization, put it to the test. Is it good for business?
Russ Page is a public relations and internet marketing consultant at Decade Media. He has landed media coverage for his clients with media outlets like CNN, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine and RollingStone. In his spare time, he loves riding his mint-green Stella scooter and playing and watching baseball. |
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