The news media survive only because people read, watch, or listen to their product. Without subscribers, without advertisers lured by large audiences, without good programming or attractive layouts, they cannot produce a good product.
But audience, glitz and color do not guarantee success. They need news. As a species, humans have this insatiable hunger for news, all kinds of news. The news media needs news that we will plunk down a half-buck to read (remember when it was a dime?), or pay a substantial monthly cable bill to watch, or buy products from advertisers so that commercial TV doesn't become a wasteland of mindless pap.
The news media needs professional communicators -- public relations people of all kinds�to exist. A recent survey of the Wall Street Journal revealed that fully 80% of the stories that appeared in one day's edition either were taken directly from news releases, or were prompted by public relations pitches. I'm sure that although the percentage may be lower, local news outlets will still show a hefty portion of their news comes from PR people.
Here's how you can help. I call this list the "5 Need-To-Knows": (1) Know what is and isn't news, (2) Know how to write the way they write, (3) Know when and how to submit the news in the way they want it, (4) Know how to influence their decision, and (5) Know how to be patient.
What exactly is news to journalists? Actually, I am constantly amazed at what news people consider newsworthy. Oftentimes, I'll present a story that seems like the second coming of Christ to me, only to get turned down flat and laughed at behind my back. Then, sometimes, a simple little press release becomes a great big deal with tons of coverage.
Basically, to journalists, news requires certain elements. It must be timely, it must affect a large number of people, it must provide consequence, and it must be interesting.
The question is, who makes the judgement on whether or not something is newsworthy? The public relations practitioner? The readers? The reporter? None of the above. It's the editor. Plain and simple. Sure, you may be able to convince a reporter that the story is a winner, but if the reporter cannot convince the editor, then no amount of persuasion will get your story published or on the air.
So your task then -- your duty -- as a communications professional is to pitch only those stories that you personally consider to be newsworthy, stories on whose veracity and newsworthiness you would stake your personal career.
Even the simplest story has a news angle. It's your job to find that angle. I recommend reading the first paragraphs of each news story in a daily paper. Notice that they never begin by stating the obvious ("A meeting was held last night"). Notice that they almost always are written in the active voice ("The council last night voted 6-3 to ban smoking in restaurants," instead of "A 5-3 vote was held by the council."
The news value of the story should be obvious, should be second-nature. You should be able to get the gist of the story in the first paragraph or two. If you can't, the story was not well-written. Remember this when you write your news releases.
And that brings us to journalism, a peculiar style, one that is very different from the way you normally write.
There are various kinds of English, you know. There's the English you learned in school (assuming of course that you're old enough to remember when English really was taught well), the English you used in the play-yard when you were growing up, the English they expected you to use in college, the English they expected you to use in your creative-writing classes, academic English (which no-one except scholars will ever pretend to understand), the English (today, usually an ethnic mixture) that we use at home, and finally, journalism English.
Because news is constricted by space and time, journalism style is very concise, terse, and sometimes even insulting. But that's the way it goes, and that's the way you have to write.
If you do nothing else, buy a copy of the Associated Press Style Book and Libel Guide. Buy the latest edition, buy a new one every year, and be prepared to trash it every year. Language changes at an incredible pace, and so does journalism style. I speak from personal experience. Students have called me on rules I learned in college in the '60s and considered sacrosanct. The rules have changed.
Other magazines and newspapers have their own stylebooks, and if you're writing for them or sending them copies of your news releases, then you'd better get theirs too. Otherwise, as a general reference, the AP book is just fine.
In most news releases, the first paragraph is the most important. A quick glance at the first paragraph will tell the editor exactly what follows, or will intrigue the editor enough to want to go on to the second, or will so muddle the situation that the release will be filed in the wastebasket.
Editors receive hundreds of releases each day. To you, the release you worked so hard on and lovingly sent in is the most important. But to the editor, the "newsiest" release -- the one that most fulfills the criteria -- is the most important.
I can't teach you how to write journalism style via this medium. You just have to practice. If you belong to a national non-profit organization, chances are they will have publicity chairman material for you to read. Or, take a night class in newswriting at your local junior college. The point is, there is no easy way to learn how to write well. You've got to do it. Over and over again. It's a painful process, especially if you don't have professional writing experience.
Get a book. There are tons of them at the local library or in your neighborhood mega-bookstore. Invest your time and money. Nothing is free. Nobody said this was easy.
Target your media. Every journalist, editor, and news director has a list of what we used to call "pet peeves" in the '50s and '60s. I guarantee that 'way at the top of everyone's list is the one where "the stupid, uncaring, ignorant PR flacks don't have the courtesy to find out exactly who at our station (paper) should receive their releases." What? You mean we don't just mail them to "Editor" and hope that the wise and helpful editor will distribute them to the right people? Of course not.
Do your home work. Find out who at each media outlet gets what kind of news (they call the assignment areas "beats"), and more importantly, find out if they actually need the information you're trying to promote. Just because a station or magazine is on your media list, it doesn't mean you have to send them everything. Do your research first. Nobody said this was easy.
Make sure you know deadlines -- all of them, no exception. It doesn't do you, or a friendly station, or a friendly editor, or a friendly news director, any good if your story misses their deadlines. It may be the best story in the world, but if it misses the deadline, it may not even run. And even if it does run, the impact will be diminished drastically. Timeliness is paramount. Work hard at it. Nobody said this was easy.
Make sure you submit your stories in an acceptable format. Examples of formats are available in any public relations book in your local library or bookstore. Buy one or two.
Use a general format, but if specific media have specific requirements, honor them.
You cannot guarantee placement of your story in the media, but you can influence the way it is accepted, framed and reported.
There's only one way you'll know for sure that they received your news release. You have to hand-deliver it to the reporter or editor. That way, you know for sure they didn't lose it.
This next part is very important. You need to talk personally to the editor, or reporter who'll be writing the story. If you don't present a scenario favorable to you, you never know how they'll frame the story. They're just like you. They are bombarded with messages every day. The chances of them becoming interested are greatly increased if you tell them why the story is important -- remember, not important to you, but important to their readers.
Call a day or so later and ask if they need more information. It's a good way to find out in a round-about way if they're going to use the story. If they're not, they'll usually tell you, and you can thank them and move on with your life. After all, remember that they, not you, determine a story's newsworthiness.
It helps to know who covers your organization regularly, if only so you don't look stupid ("Jeez, she called the civics reporter again and offered a business investment story. What, is she stupid, or what?"). Once you know who's covering your beat, it's easier for you to keep in touch and place stories about your organization. This works. Do it.
When reporters become your friends, they tend to give you a break. After all, they're only human. Maintain good relations, and don't forget to call in tips on good stories, even if they have nothing to do with your company.
I guess if there's one cardinal rule, it's get to know what they need, and make sure you give it to them the way they need it. If you do that, if you never lie to them, if you tip them off to good stories, you'll find you have a lot of influence on how they frame the important stories. Be candid, be open, and be honest.
Sometimes, you strike out. Remember what I said earlier�it is almost impossible to predict how the news media will value (or discount completely) your submission. Whatever you do, don't call the reporter to find out why your story hasn't run. I'll give you, right here, the four most common explanations they'll give you on why it hasn't run:
I know it's hell to wait and not know whether your story found the bottom of a wastebasket early, or is still in the hopper waiting its turn. But nope, don't call them and ask them why it didn't run. They're only going to get angry at you for daring to imply that they don't have good news judgement.
By this time, it's too late. What you should have done was exert more influence when you first submitted the story (see the preceding section). THAT was the time to sell the merits of your story. THAT was the time to ask questions. THAT was the time to offer more help if they need it. THAT was the time to ask the reporter whether or not your story was newsworthy. Then, at least you can walk away with peace of mind, knowing you did everything under your power to ensure its publication.
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