Building Long-Term Relationships with Reporters
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Would you like to understand what makes reporters say yes or no to a story or feel more prepared when you give interviews? Join Colleen Newvine, owner of Newvine Growing marketing consulting, for a webinar on working with reporters, editors and bloggers. * How reporters work * What reporters look for in a story idea * What to include in a good press release -- and what to leave out * How to create a good media section on your website * How to prepare for an interview so you feel more confident and emphasize what matters most to you * What to do if the story doesn't turn out how you hoped * How to work with reporters in a bad news or crisis situation
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Building Long-Term Relationships with Reporters
- 1. Colleen Newvine Newvine Growing Building a long-term relationship with reporters Farmers Market Coalition, June 2012
- 2. Our agenda How reporters work What reporters look for in a story idea What to include in a good press release What to include in your website’s media section How to pitch your story effectively How to prepare for an interview What to do if it doesn’t turn out how you hoped How to work with reporters in a bad news situation Your questions
- 3. How reporters work What you might picture The modern reality
- 4. What makes a good story Journalists have two audiences – their editors and the general public. The story should be compelling to both. Does the story have what journalists call a news hook? Explain what’s new or different. Is it part of a larger trend? Provide data or background on that trend. Other sources are a big help, too. Is the idea timely? You should have a reason why now is the perfect time to do this story. Do you have photos or video? Visuals make a story more compelling.
- 5. What makes a good story Probably not a story: Your market is open this Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ... Just like every Saturday. More likely a story: Your market is open this Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ... The first Saturday for your market. Your market is open this Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ... Three hours longer than previously. Your market is open this Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ... There was a big storm this week and it was unclear if you’d be open.
- 6. What makes a good story Probably not a story: Your market is marking its 15th anniversary this weekend. More likely a story: Your market is marking its 15th anniversary. ... And you’re having a big party to celebrate. Your market is marking its 15th anniversary this weekend. ... And you have photos of the first market to show how it’s changed. Your market is marking its 15th anniversary this weekend. ... And your founders are available to talk about why they established the market.
- 7. Anatomy of a good press release o Contact information o Keep it short and straightforward o Provide background o FMC has this template available at o Make the reporter’s job http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/ membership/fm-week-press- easy release-template
- 8. The media section of your website Shreveport Farmers Market o Contact information o Archived press releases o Photos with captions o Logo in color and B/W o Video with descriptions Farmers Market Federation of New York
- 9. Pitching your story Find reporters via the news outlet’s website, a Google News search and social media Email individual reporters with a personal pitch Explain what will make the reporter’s life easier: you have a source who’s experienced giving interviews, broadcast-quality video, photos, etc. Think about all your local media: weeklies, alternative publications, bloggers, student publications Services can help you: for example, Vocus or Cision to find reporters, PRNewswire to send releases, HARO to pitch yourself as a source
- 13. Preparing for an interview When a reporter calls, ask when his or her deadline is and if you can call back in a few minutes Ask for a little background on the story: what’s the story about, who else are you talking to, how can I help? Prepare three crisp, clear ideas you would like to get across in the interview. Write them down. Write a list of potential questions – including the scary ones – you think the reporter might ask. Try to use your three ideas to answer them. Gather any background you might want: your list of vendors, your budget, your board members, etc.
- 14. Preparing for an interview IN PERSON: FOR BROADCAST: o Minimize distractions – o Watch for distracting turn off your noises: tapping your phone, pick pen, your email alert someplace where tone, rocking in your chair you won’t be interrupted o If you stumble on your words, you can start o You can still have your over if you aren’t live on background material air o Everything is on the o Choose solid colors for record, even before TV, and avoid noisy or and after the reflective jewelry notebook is out
- 15. When it’s bad news No comment doesn’t help – it just means your side of the story might not get told Just like any other time, ask what the reporter needs and if you can call back Take a deep breath Call your lawyer, if necessary Prepare your three talking points and list of possible questions Be clear, be human and don’t be defensive
- 16. If it doesn’t go well If you know even before the story runs that the interview didn’t go well, send a calm follow-up email emphasizing your three talking points If you are unhappy with the story, first ask: did the reporter accurately report on the situation and what I said OR was I misquoted? Politely ask for a correction if the story had factual errors. Clearly point out what was written versus what you said, and why the distinction is important. Offer supporting material for future reference If the story was negative but accurate, thank the reporter and reflect on what you’ll do next time
- 17. Final thoughts DON’T: DO: o Call immediately after o Learn the names of sending your press reporters who cover release food, markets, etc. o Send unsolicited o Be responsive, even on attachments bad news stories o Scattershot your release o Pay attention to to the whole newsroom timing, including o Pitch yourself for a story planning ahead and that just ran deadlines o Ask to read the story in o Offer other sources if advance you can’t help o Say thank you
- 18. Newvine Growing Marketing strategy and tactics for farmers, farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurants http://newvinegrowing.com colleen@newvinegrowing.com
Editor's Notes
- In sweeping generalities, reporters are curious people who like to tell stories that haven’t been told to death – either something brand new or an interesting twist on a trend.Some go into it because they feel a calling to the fourth estate, acting as the people’s watchdog. Others do it because they like writing. Or maybe they’re adrenalin junkies who like constant deadlines.They can be cynical – being exposed to some of the worst of humanity all day can lead to dark humor, much like cops.They can also have a low tolerance for annoyance. Imagine working at Macy’s for the entire busy Christmas shopping season, and how you might be frazzled by the intensity of day after day of activity around you. When I was business editor at the Ann Arbor News, I would take my stack of mail and a chair over to the recycling bin twice a day. I got hundreds of press releases a day. Meanwhile journalists are trying to track down sources who aren’t always easy to find, and getting screaming calls from people unhappy about negative coverage. It’s not for everybody.It’s a high-demand job, often with long hours and low pay – but it’s also a passion job. Many reporters have a hard time imagining doing anything else.
- In general, a reporter is looking for a story that’s going to be interesting to his or her audience – that could mean it’s interesting because it’s the very first time the story’s been told, or because it’s a growing trend, or simply because it’s unusual enough to raise curiosity.He or she also probably needs to sell the idea to an editor, so it needs to be something the reporter will feel good pitching to the bosses. Will it make me look smart or in the know? Think about whether the story you’re pitching has what journalists call a news hook – is there something new or different or interesting, sufficiently so to make it seem like something you could picture in the news? Clearly communicate that hook – are you doing something that’s part of a national trend, or the first one locally to do something new, or have you doubled your revenue in the last year? Once you know what your news is, share it clearly with the journalist, in succinct layman's terms.
- Some pointers for writing your press release:Keep it short and sweet – like a resume, you want to hit the high points quickly and keep it to one page if you can, two pages tops. Make the reporter’s job easy – if the release is about an event, put the date and time in the headline then bold it in the body of the release, for example. If you have photos or video available, clearly describe what you have and how to request them. Think about someone skimming hundreds of similar releases, and make sure what's most important is obvious.Provide enough background – don’t assume the reporter is familiar with you or your organization, so describe what you do either in the press release itself or in a boilerplate paragraph at the bottom. Don’t use jargon.Keep your writing clean – reporters are turned off by flowery press release language that proclaims a business “revolutionary” or “cutting edge” or “beloved.” Adding exclamation points makes it even worse. If you write in straight, fact-based sentences, you increase the potential for a reporter to cut and paste verbatim from your release.Contact information is essential — see the above about making the reporter's job easy. If he or she wants to contact you for more information, your name, phone number and email address should stand out.And don’t forget about other options to get your news out there – you can write a letter to the editor, write an op-ed column for the local paper or do an “other voices” piece for your local radio station, you can take out an ad ... Getting into a news story is just one choice.
- Picture opening your mailbox at home. It’s stuffed full. How do you decide what to read carefully, what to skim and what to throw out unopened?Chances are a hand-written note or letter from someone you know would get your attention far more than a pre-printed “Dear Occupant” mass mailing, right?Reporters are no different. They get an enormous amount of email, faxes and snail mail, and they need to efficiently figure out what deserves their attention. A pitch tailored to an individual reporter, that shows you know what he covers and clearly conveys why your story seems like something he and his readers would care about, can help your story stand out.It takes time. You need to research each individual news outlet or blog, do a little research on past stories, choose a person to personally pitch and write that targeted note.But if you get results, isn’t that what it’s all about?
- Once you have these names and emails, keep them all in a list someplace – it can be as simple as a Word or Excel file, where you can keep track of who you’ve pitched, who’s written about you, any concerns you’ve had working with that reporter, etc. This is part of building the long-term relationship. Make a note that a reporter has a kid the same age as yours and you’ve always got conversation fodder.
- When I started media training faculty members at University of Michigan about a decade ago, I frequently heard smart researchers say with derision that they’d worked their whole career to become an expert on X and they certainly couldn’t reduce everything they knew to a sound bite.I get their point – it’s hard to come up with a sentence or two that encapsulates the most important aspect of any topic, and it can feel like it minimizes the complexity of a big idea to do that.But if you know a reporter is likely looking for that concise quote to advance his or her story, who would you rather have making that decision: you or the reporter?To be clear, the reporter has the option to ask any questions and to use as much or as little of the interview in the final story as she likes. You can help influence that decision, though, by doing a little advance preparation.First, craft three short, crisp, concise statements about your area of expertise that accurately represent your work and that convey the ideas you most want the reporter and her audience to know.Second, practice saying those statements. Do they sound like natural speech? If not, revise them. Can you remember them? If not, rehearse more or tighten them up.Third, make a list of questions you can imagine the reporter asking you, and see if there’s a way to work one of your three ideas into the answer. For example, if the journalist asks you a broad question like “Tell me about your work,” or “How did you get started in your line of work?” that might be an opportunity to use one of your key ideas. Watch how politicians handle debate questions – they quickly tackle the question they were asked, pause for effect, put in a transition phrase for emphasis like “And that’s why it’s absolutely essential that …” and then they conclude with a key campaign message.Making use of your key messages will be easier if you know something about what the reporter needs. Let's say the reporter is doing a story about your farmers market — is it about the food available at market, who shops there, SNAP usage or a city council fight about parking near the market? Knowing that will help you tailor your points and figure out how they might connect to the news element.When you have your three points, consider writing them in a note in your cellphone or tape them to your desk — you want them available any time a reporter might call.
- You only have to watch the national television news for about 10 minutes to see that much of what gets media attention is negative. Wars, plane crashes, celebrities behaving badly.Unfortunately, this might be what makes your phone ring. It could be something general in the food supply, like an egg recall or spinach contamination, or worse, something specific to you and your market.If your first instinct is to blurt “no comment” and turn off your ringer, that’s understandable.Unfortunately, it’s the media equivalent of being accused of a crime and not hiring a defense attorney. The story will still come out without your point of view getting representation.Instead, thank the reporter for calling to get your input. Ask when his or her deadline is and if you could call back in time to be helpful. Ask as many questions as possible so you’re not surprised in the interview.Take a deep breath.Then put together a plan to respond, whether that’s coming up with three clear messages about why consumers should trust local agriculture or calling your lawyer to see if you can make a statement.
- A former boss of mine in PR liked to say that working with the media is a blunt object, not a surgical tool – once you send a press release or give an interview, you aren’t in control of how the reporter chooses to use that information. It might be very important to you that the name of your market be a certain specific way, such as capitalizing The in front of it or including the name of the municipality that sponsors you. The reporter is more interested in conveying information clearly to his or her audience than about your politics.Your goal should be accuracy – and developing an ongoing relationship of mutual trust and understanding. Think about your relationship with your spouse. You can fight about being right every time, or you can preserve the peace in the name of relationship.