Want to hear some direct advice from a reporter? Hear what advice Public News Service offered to our members about press releases and working with reporters in the September Skills Training recording:
Access the streamed recording at the following link:
Most of the submitted questions that we saw had to do with news releases. So, to make sure we cover more ground, we started off with a few of the many other good questions, making sure to leave some time for news releases.
The questions, in approximate order, covered the following:
1. Before I can get into explaining what we do, I often have to explain who we are -- How can I get past the organization introduction and get to the nitty gritty news?
(my usual elevator spiel is "We work with farm and forest landowners in the Catskill region to protect drinking water quality for nine million NY residents. We accomplish this through voluntary programs in agriculture, forestry and conservation easements. Along with the water quality mission, the Council strives to bolster the local economy within the farming and forestry sectors.)
2. How do you make a tour of a landfill sound so great that all the reporters jostle for position to cover it?
3. How can we continue to generate attention to small projects (in our case, dam removals) when they happen relatively frequently?
4. How do you frame a pitch in a way that responds intelligently to the reporter's inquiry and meets her/his needs and still moves the piece slightly away from the initial premise to one that better incorporates a social justice voice?
5. Here’s a few related questions that will take us to the news release topic … What are some of your favorites stories you were pitched from non-profits or NGOs? What made them compelling? What catches the eye of a journalist when looking at an incoming press statement? And what makes the reporter say “Ah-ha! This is something that matters!”
6. Examples?
7. How do we entice a journalist to cover our conference? Media Breakfasts to meet key speakers? Other ways?
8. How important Is the lead paragraph and title of a release?
9. Do you read every relevant, newsworthy and researched e-mail pitch, or is the in-box too overwhelmed?
10. Two related questions … Do reporters prefer a press release be straight-forward answering Who What When, etc or press releases written as an article with quotes and catchy introductions? And , Should quotes be used in a press release? My experience is that small, local papers will be more likely to take a press release with interesting quotes and run it as is, but what about the larger, more regional papers? How do I get their attention?
11. Are social media press releases really helpful, or are they mostly distracting?
12. We have an event planned for next April called Save the Frogs Day. We plan to announce it to our supporters by October. Should we send a press release then, as well as in April? In between?
13. Is it better to e-mail or fax a press release, and if e-mail, where does it end up going?
14. How effective is sending a press release directly to a reporter vs. the news desk?
15. How do you build rapport with journalists?
16. When working with a conservative media outlet, what are some tips on making sure you’re getting as fair of a shake as possible?
17. How does a reporter decide which environmental group to quote for reaction in a story?
18. We had a few questions related to calling the media …. What is the best approach for making pitch calls, what’s the best time of day to call or send a release? Should you call before, or after, sending the release?
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