Media Relations: Best Practices in the New Age. Amanda Draxton Mandee Hayes

Transcription

1 Media Relations: Best Practices in the New Age Amanda Draxton Mandee Hayes

2 What we ll cover today The current state of media and where it s headed Storymining best practices Pitching media and influencers Building long-standing relationships Q&A

3 THE CURRENT STATE OF MEDIA

4 Newsrooms are shrinking 24-hour news cycle generates constant demand for stories Reporters have less time to be investigative Dependence on PR contacts to provide packaged stories interviews, visuals, video, and customers

5 A W A L L S T R E E T J O U R N A L E D I T O R H I G H - P R O F I L E R E G U L A T O R O R I N D U S T R Y A S S O C I A T I O N H E A D P O P U L A R B L O G G E R H A S M B A A N D I S M E D I A G O - TO O R L I N K E D I N I N F L U E N C E R A S U P E R - C O N N E C T E D E M P L O Y E E A T O P T W I T T E R F O L L O W E R A V O C A L P R O S P E C T A C R E D I B L E I N D U S T R Y V O I C E A L E A D I N G A C A D E M I C P U B L I S H I N G I N T H E S P A C E she is one of the many people shaping the story.

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7 TV news audience is graying Half of Americans get news digitally

8 Regional printed paper Localized printed paper Online news source Tribune Apps Tribune Store Trib Nation Blogs Trib U Tribune Alerts Red Eye TribLocal Vivalohoy.com Metromix Video E-editorial TV show Chicago Now smarttech Trib kiosks Blogs Events The Chicago Tribune reaches more people today than in any time in our 150+ year history and only continues to grow. Gerry Kern, executive editor, Chicago Tribune

9 STORYMINING

10 Think Story First If you can t explain it simply, you don t understand it well enough. -Albert Einstein

11 WHAT S NEWS Impact Timeliness Proximity Currency / Spotlight Prominence The Unusual Conflict

12 WHAT S NOT NEWS Self-serving focus Competitive tit for tat Same, but better Personal motivations Coverage drought Press release

13 Get there first OUR VIEW MEDIA S VIEW Now, current, WOW It s better than the other guy s Affects lots of real people, useful We need some PR on this Surprise It s our big push for the year Our competitors just got an article on this Entertaining, water cooler conversation Controversial Local

14 STORYMINING QUESTIONS Tell me more about Has that ever been shared externally? Who else might be sharing a similar story? Do we have someone who can share their personal experience with media? What visual assets exist? What could we create? What s the timing on this?

15 THE PITCH PROCESS

16 KEYS TO SECURING A STORY THE STORY LUCK TIMING MEDIA SUCCESS ASSETS EXECUTION MEDIA RELATIONSHIPS

17 DO SOME DIGGING Know reporter s beats, preferences What stories have they covered recently? Recognize time constraints and deadlines Have a local angle when necessary Make the story easy to understand - Who, What, When, Where and Why

18 KEEP IT CONCISE Create catchy subject line pitch must be short and to the point Personalize the pitch to the reporter you re targeting Keep logos and images out of the pitch Never send attachments unless reporter asks for them Pitch it!

19 FOLLOW UP Know how and when a reporter wants to be contacted Use the phone yes, make the call Create a bulleted list that outlines your key message points to guide your phone pitching and follow up When you get a reporter on the phone, know what you re talking about, deliver it in less than 30 seconds and offer a next step

20 PERSISTENCE Be persistent with reporter and internal teams Don t get discouraged Every good story has a home Be willing to tweak the angle Be ready to answer questions or find answers Be available ALWAYS Be polite and patient No means No But find out why

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22 BUILDING LASTING RELATINOSHIPS WITH MEDIA

23 MEDIA AND PR FOLKS ARE UNLIKELY FRIENDS Don t just call when you need something Make it incredibly easy for them to do their job Meet face to face Follow and engage with them on social media Understand that they can t always cover a story

24 Q & A

25 THANK YOU! Please with additional questions: Amanda Draxton Mandee Hayes