Today’s post is from team member Pete Cataldo, who shares some of his seven-plus years of broadcast news experience to help PR pros learn the ins-and-outs of pitching to the TV reporter.
As public relations professionals, leveraging clients to become TV news worthy can prove to be quite the challenge. TV news reporters are demanding, and at times a little impatient (it’s got to be now or never). I know this firsthand. I spent almost eight years on the broadcast side myself, and hope to impart some knowledge to PR professionals looking for that great TV hit.
First thing’s first: knowing is half the battle. Having a decent understanding of the differences between the TV and print newsroom can go a long way towards earning a reporter’s respect, and eventually, a place in a reporter’s script.
There are three big elements that we must meet in a reporter’s mind in order to make the cut: Visual … Local … Personal. Meet a combination of those, and any pitch will turn into a story.
Broadcast news is all about the visuals. If a story has great video, it will always make the show. Some newscast’s even set aside special segments for wacky news videos that come to their attention. When leveraging clients for TV news stories, always think video first. And if the video is compelling enough, tell the reporter/producer up front and right away. It might make the difference.
My eight years in TV news was mostly on the sports side, where it is all about the second essential element: being locally-focused. CNN, ESPN and FOX News cover the national stories 24/7, forcing the local TV newsroom to go as local as possible, or even hyper-local as it is called now. Anyone can go to ESPN for national stories, but even the worldwide leader in sports wouldn’t cover the local boxer struggling to earn a sponsor.
Last, but certainly not least, is the personal angle. Great stories equal great TV news. Reporters tend to be more critical of pitches that obviously leverage products or services (why would they want to provide a free one-minute-long TV spot ad during their newscast?). But, if it can be told through a personal story, a reporter might just bite.
Now for the big secret. The biggest pain point of any TV news reporter is the constant search for a story. That’s right. They need those story ideas every single day! Because on any given day, a reporter must show up to the daily editorial meeting with at least 2-3 story ideas.
From the morning show reporter that works late nights/early mornings … to the dayside reporter that grinds out stories for the early evening broadcasts … to the nightside reporter that gets the big late-local news stories … all of the above are hurting for top-notch ideas that will make the cut. Sure, the assignment desk can help out from time-to-time with decent content (and sometimes pull a reporter off one story for a breaking news assignment), but it is largely up to the reporter to come up with his or her own stories.
Find the reporters. Make it visual. Make it local. Make it personal. And PR pros will be able to make any TV news broadcast.
Let’s get a conversation started on pitching broadcast news, or news in general for that matter. Comment below to share your thoughts.
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