Local TV newsrooms are awash with emails every day pitching news coverage from PR professionals and volunteer community organizations, and everybody in between. The good news is that stations want to cover what’s going in their communities.
Local TV newsrooms are awash with emails every day pitching news coverage from PR professionals and volunteer community organizations, and everybody in between.
The good news is that TV stations want to cover what’s going in their communities.
“It is a symbiotic relationship,” says Mike Ingalls, the managing editor at NBC O&O WCAU Philadelphia. “We need them to tell us what is going on. They need us to cover it so if we can help them be better at helping us, it just makes the machine run a little bit easier.”
But with that many requests, how can yours get noticed?
“I’m always looking for the gems that can be great stories for our reporters,” Ingalls says.
He has some advice.
Ingalls says WCAU has a futures file that he goes through looking for those gems but there are dozens every single day and the newsroom must make a determination of what to cover “because we still only have a finite number of cameras in the community.”
In a perfect world, here are some recommendations to keep in mind to solicit news coverage:
Establish a relationship at the station through email that matches the time of your event whether it be in the morning, afternoon or evening, Ingalls says. “If you have something at 10:30 in the morning, you have a higher chance of getting coverage because and we can slip out a crew before we even have to start talking about what our reporters are out getting.”
Geography and timing also come into play. “If something is happening at 4 o’clock or at 5 o’clock when we’re already in our newscast, that realistically has a lesser chance of getting coverage,” Ingalls says.
Put all of the information in the body of your email, and do not send attachments. Hand-written letters should be avoided, Ingalls says.
And make your subject line short and snappy.
Be clear about the who, what, when and why of your event. “The best ones spell out when something is happening, why we want to cover it and here is who you get,” Ingalls says. “What are the visuals, what are the sounds, so that our producers can say, look, we really need to get to that. We need something like this in our newscast today.”
Getting TV station news talent involved in a volunteer organization or nonprofit certainly helps the likelihood of coverage.
“If you have somebody from a station as a part of your organization, then you have an insider and they can help you,” Ingalls says.
What should you do if no news crew shows up?
“I would take video of it,” Ingalls says. “User-generated content is absolutely the biggest thing going.”
If you have a good story, use your phone to shoot video, Ingalls says.
“All of us are trying to get into different counties and different communities, so there is a way to get coverage if you are willing to put in a little extra work,” Ingalls says.
And for the PR professionals looking to get their expert on TV, here’s a bonus tip from Ingalls.
Have the local TV stations app alerts set for all of the stations. “As soon as you see what the station sends out, get your expert prepared, and get your pitch to the assignment desk,” Ingalls says.
Ingalls sent along an example of a story from a news release.
“It combined good info about the hot topic of e-sports, a wall being smashed and good pictures of what it will look like in the future. It will also help the surrounding community, so it was a good story for both parents and kids,” Ingalls says.
The Department of Cinema & Television at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design in Philadelphia, PA seeks applicants for the Graduate Program in Television & Media Management. The successful candidate will be able to contribute to a rigorous and innovative academic program that addresses the many technological and market evolutions impacting all aspects of content delivery that prepare graduates for successful outcomes in a wide range of employment opportunities. Click here for more specifics and how to apply.
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions