Approaching the media, Part II
The editor evaluating your news release may have only 15 seconds or so to take in your message, evaluate it, and and decide whether to pursue it as a story, or not.
After 15 seconds, if the editor's decision is "no", your release is deleted or goes into the recycling bin. Tomorrow is a different day with a different mountain of releases, and you're no longer in the pile.
If you're going to take a shot at a news release yourself, think about these elements that will get the editor's or reporter's attention:
- The "news" in the first paragraph
- Short sentences (10-20 words)
- Short paragraphs (1-2 sentences)
- No jargon
- No exaggeration
- Perfect spelling and grammar
Now you'll need to know who in the media to send it to, and how, and when. Again, professional help is a good bet. Clarity's media contact list, for example, has hundreds of contacts in B.C. alone.
The newspaper or magazine or broadcast station or website may use your news release just as it is. Or they may use just some of it, rewritten. If they are really interested in the story, you could get a call from a reporter or a broadcast researcher. Remember, it may be your story—but they will want to do it their way, for their audience.
(P.S. If your stories keep going into the trash, well, perhaps you can call the advertising department and buy some space or time to get your message across. At least that way your story is told in your words.)
Clarity Communications Inc. provides expert professional services in all forms of public, media and community relations and media training, in Vancouver BC Canada and in Washington State
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