The ability to generate press coverage for a product, service or cause is an invaluable skill. And it’s one that can be learned by studying key principles and mastering related practices. Answering three questions is an excellent starting point.
The first: what makes news? What characteristics of a potential newspaper, magazine, television, radio, or Internet story make it most likely to interest reporters?
Weaving one or more of the following elements into your information increases the likelihood of capturing a reporter’s attention.
- The unusual or odd element.
- Something new. “News” by definition is what’s happening that’s different from the norm. Identifying and communicating to reporters what’s truly new, innovative, or unique about a product, service, or event, therefore, is essential for generating coverage.
- Timeliness. News is a perishable commodity with a short shelf life. So what’s news today may very well not be tomorrow. Tie-ins with holidays and anniversaries are excellent ways to capitalise on this aspect of media coverage.
- Size. Companies like Microsoft and non-profits like the United Way attract press coverage because they’re large. Smaller, less well-known organisations and causes typically have to go out and seek such attention.
Additional points to consider
It is important to also consider the following points when generating press coverage.
- Common interest. The media report on topics like personal finance, the weather, entertainment and sports, among many others, because they interest a broad range of people.
- Local angle. Print and broadcast journalists focus on reporting news that interests people in their market — whether it’s an entire state or country, a particular town or suburb or even a school or organisation.
- Celebrity. Tom Cruise, Madonna, and President Bush are “news” because they’re famous, albeit for different reasons. In fact, everyone is potentially newsworthy based on personal or professional achievements.
- Disagreement/conflict. If everyone agrees, it’’ not newsworthy. But take a position different from the majority one, and it’s potentially newsworthy – as are larger conflicts like wars and labour disputes.
- Human interest. Reporters like to cover stories about people to humanise what might be abstract or difficult to understand.
- Edited article by Mitchell Friedman, courtesy of Frog Pond Group, (www.frogpondgroup.com).
