Five keys to getting your story covered. Defining Newsworthy Thinking Visually Making it Unique...
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Transcript of Five keys to getting your story covered. Defining Newsworthy Thinking Visually Making it Unique...
Five keys to getting your story covered
• Defining Newsworthy• Thinking Visually• Making it Unique• Being Timely• Writing Good Releases
• Who cares?• Would I stop to watch this? • Would I stop to read this?• What would make a great story?
Ask yourself these questions?
What is a great news story?
• It is timely.• It impacts people.• It is unusual, popular or controversial.• It is just about anything that will hold
someone's interest.
Don’t Be Ordinary!
• Reporters don’t cover the ordinary, they cover the extraordinary.
• Dog bites man, old news – man bites dog, lead story.
• A story is memorable because it’s unusual – something you don’t see everyday.
• Twist your story to make it memorable.
Tele-VISION and Front Page Pictures
• Reporters tell stories with pictures.• Non-visual stories can be made
visual with a little creativity.• A picture is worth 1,000 words.• Even radio needs visuals.
Find the right time to pitch!
• Know that hard news will always trump soft news.
• Pray for slow news days or just know when they are.
• Any day that government offices are closed will most likely be a slow news day.
• Be a follower!
How to write a good release• NEVER more than one page.• Make your headline bold, clever and
attention-grabbing.• Make your opening sentence bold, clever
and attention-grabbing.• Follow-up with who, what, why, where and
when.• Have contacts that are reachable!
• Make sure your story is newsworthy.
• Give your story a unique twist.• Make sure you have good
visuals.• Think about your timing.• Write a great release.