Get to Know Your Media

Contacting the media directly can seem intimidating at first, but with the right preparation and tools, you can indeed find and build media relationships. The biggest tip we can offer is to “know” the reporter and the media outlet you are pitching before sending a story pitch or picking up the phone. The first step is to find the right media. You will want to build a targeted list of the media outlets that may have an interest in what you’re pitching and then determine which journalists, producers, or assignment editors you should be talking to at those publications and stations.

How do you select your media outlets?

1. What are your current and potential customers or clients reading, watching, listening to, or visiting? Make a list of all the potential media outlets that your customers may access on a regular basis. Then, ask your customers what they read, watch, listen to, and visit.

2. What media outlets do you read, watch, listen to, or visit?

3. Pinpoint the media in your particular industry and related industries. There are a few ways to go about finding out all the possible radio and TV shows, print publications, Internet portals, and newsletters related to your specific industry. One of the easiest is to subscribe to a media database, such as Bacon’s or Bulldog Reporter for access to up-to-date media lists.

Once you know whom to target, you should find out what the media contact has recently reported on so that you can understand the subtleties of his or her coverage area. This will help you create targeted pitches and story ideas that are both compelling and relevant. Here are some tips to get you in the good graces of your target media contacts:

1. Always know how and when a reporter wants to be contacted. Some reporters want phone calls, others prefer e-mail, and still others want news the old-fashioned way – by snail mail. Contacting reporters inappropriately or at the wrong time – such as on deadline – can instantly damage relationships.

2. Develop rapport. During this initial investigative period take the time to find some common ground with the media contact. For example, during a recent search for healthcare business reporters we uncovered a beat writer who grew up in the same hometown as one of us. How’d we figure that out? Easy – there was a press release on the media outlet’s Website announcing the addition of the healthcare beat writer.

3. Clarify your message before delivering your pitch. Develop a bulleted “fast facts” sheet, especially for phone pitches, that outlines your key message points. Also, review the potential media contact’s previous work so that you can avoid pitching something he recently covered or can offer a new twist on an old angle.

4. When sending ideas via e-mail, always include a short, catchy pitch along with your contact information. It is important to make the reporter’s job as easy as possible, so make sure to provide the most important news in the first paragraph. You should also include the company’s URL, as a reporter will often visit the company’s Website before calling back.

5. Be careful of how you provide your information via e-mail. Never send unsolicited e-mail attachments, as some reporters will be wary of opening them due to virus concerns, and others simply won’t take the time. Finally, never send out a group e-mail with your entire distribution list in the header. It is impersonal and shows a lack of effort on your part.

6. Don’t give up, and follow up! While some reporters will provide coverage after one phone interview, that is often not enough. It is important to be in front of reporters on a consistent basis with compelling information that demonstrates that what you are pitching is viable, credible, and worthy of coverage.

Amy Chilla and Melissa Gillespie are partners in Innova Communications (www.teaminnova.com), a Ladera Ranch, CA-based public relations and marketing firm.