CHAPTER 9

Pitching to the Media

When I talk to the media, many of them roll their eyes at the thought of some of the approaches they have received from PR people trying to pitch a story on behalf of a client. It is so important to understand the best ways to communicate with journalists and how to tell your story. It is about understanding what makes the media tick and the principles are very similar to contacting your local media. Do not be intimidated by the prospect of calling a reporter; remember, at the end of the day, they are all people and it is about building relationships.

How to Pitch to Print Media

Pitching a story to the media is much like a sales pitch. In preparing for the pitch there are several things that you should take into consideration before deciding who, when, and how to make that pitch.

• Do Your Research—This is the first thing to do and probably the most important point of all. Understand the topic you want to talk about and do your research on it. Google is a great resource to see what is being said on the Internet. Your research will help you define your angle before you make contact with the media—I believe media relations comprise 95 percent preparation and 5 percent execution.
• Identify the Relevant Journalist—If you want to interest a journalist, then read through back issues to find what she or he may have written previously on the topic. Also, find out the byline of a journalist who writes on similar subjects to the one you are trying to promote. This really helps and is a big motivator to get a journalist interested in you/your story.
• Pitching to Major Media Outlets—They expect at least a unique angle, if not exclusivity. Be smart. Manage your story and your relationships.
• Journalists Prefer E-mail Pitches—An overwhelming number of media these days prefer to receive e-mail pitches. Some will only accept pitches by e-mail, because it is less intrusive than receiving countless phone calls. Through your pitch you are supplying a professionally packaged information product that helps the journalist to do his or her job.
• Preparing Your Pitch—Draft a one-page fact sheet about your business or organization that includes a brief background and important features. Come up with two or three different story ideas in mind, in case the first one is not of interest. Be willing to get additional information for the journalist.
• Get Straight to the Point—The media work to deadlines and pressure. Do not waste their time by starting with pleasantries such as “I hope you are well,” or “How are you today.” Use conversational, personalized writing, but be direct. Use your first two to three sentences to say what you are pitching and why. What is the key point or angle you want to make? Say it up front so the recipient does not have to waste time by reading through to the end of the e-mail.
• Clear E-mail Subject Heading—The subject line is the most important line in the whole e-mail. Make it short and snappy. At times the subject line of many e-mail pitches is too vague and gives no idea of the content. This is when many journalists will delete it before reading any further. Avoid using clichés in subject lines, headlines, or lead paragraphs. Avoid hype and exaggeration. Avoid using subject lines that look like spam—anything with repeated exclamation points, or all caps is not likely to get past spam filters. There is so much competition and clutter with e-mails these days that you need to grab attention immediately. Check your signature and ensure it clearly shows your name, organization/business name, and any other information to help the journalist contact you. This helps recipients locate your e-mail if they want to find it later.
• What’s News—You can safely use “new” in subject lines, if it is a “new survey on” or “new treatment” or “new technology” or “new app” and so forth. Other suitable angles include timeliness of the item, the extent of human interest, how unusual it is, the impact, conflict, well-known person or expert involved, a solution to a problem, or saves money or a smarter way. It could be a story of “a new music group coming to town.”
• Establish a Connection—Demonstrate that you are genuinely interested and share at least one authentic reason for working together. It will go a long way. Do not get pushy and, if the journalist is not interested, move on and try another news outlet.
• Radio and Television Newsrooms—Often coverage is heavily dictated by the nature of the medium. TV requires visuals and radio requires a strong spokesperson. The person to contact for TV and radio news and current affairs shows is the producer of each program or its news desk.
• Timing Is Crucial—Find out the working hours of reporters and their deadlines so you can ensure your contact and supply of material cater to their needs.

Case Stories

A UK business author also had a business trip planned for India and wanted to publicize the book in this region. I worked ahead and contacted business editor on the Indian national newspapers, giving them the opportunity to interview the author when he was in India, and gave them a strong Indian news angle. The Times of India interviewed the author and ran the interview in its paper.

It is just not businesses that seek publicity, but media brands also want those column inches. This example demonstrates this and when at The Economist Group, the whole organization had a re-brand, which also included the well-known The Economist magazine. The re-brand allowed us to talk about the Group and created an opportunity for the CEO at that time to talk about her vision for this very highly regarded media organization. I pitched this angle to the international media and the CEO did interviews with both European nationals and North American media, thus greatly enhancing media coverage internationally.

A political commentator saw that a topic was trending in the news and was a subject that he was an expert on. The political expert wanted to pitch his position on the subject, which was different to a lot of the media conversations in the news. This was a time-sensitive story and we needed to get the story out immediately, before it disappeared. I called the news desks on the print media to see if they would take a comment from the political commentator or, better still, publish an opinion piece from him based on the topic. A national newspaper did just that and published an opinion. The key thing to remember here is that we had the opinion piece ready and could turn things around instantly, to ensure that we not only met the newspaper’s timescales, but also were time-sensitive to the actual news item.

Pitching to Magazines

Magazines are different from other types of media. Because of their lead times, as they plan much further in advance, think six to eight weeks ahead. For instance, a February issue might close in mid-November; the time to contact the editor with your pitch would be at least two months in advance, so in September. Their editorial teams also are different. Usually and inappropriately people tend to send pitches to the editor in chief, whereas in fact they would have a much higher chance of success if they approached the right person on the magazine. So, getting to know the magazine you want to approach is essential before you send a pitch. Other things to think about:

• Just like you would pitch to a newspaper, you need to prepare a pitch—this is a common thread throughout when pitching to the media. Double check that the topic you are pitching falls into what the magazine actually covers; do your research with the story that you are offering, ensuring that the story and angle is a fit, and it is even better if you are offering an exclusive. The most successful pitches will fit into the theme and offer an angle the magazine has not covered previously.
• Remember, your pitch is up against a flood of e-mails, so do not include more information than you need to; short and sweet is the answer. Customize your pitch, so it seems personal.
• Get the timing right, as magazines plan out their content and as they adhere to a print production schedule.
• There is a difference when it comes to pitching print magazines versus digital publications. At some media outlets, there is a completely different editorial team working on the digital content to the print magazine, while, at other media brands, there are editors who work on both print and digital. Again, this is why it is important to know who you are pitching and what they cover on a day-to-day basis.

Case Stories

A business consultant with a new book on leadership wanted to break into the US market and raise his profile at the same time. I researched the business leadership and training magazines in North America to pitch the business consultant, knowing that the story would be published ahead. In doing so I ensured that the pitch was not time-sensitive, but still relevant to the outlets. We also offered the magazines free books for their readership, giving away ten copies of the book to the first ten readers who sent in their details. This book offer strengthened the relationship with the editor.

The breast cancer charity I used to work for did a lot with women’s magazines, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which takes place globally around the world in October. All the editorial pitching and planning would take place as early as July to ensure that everything was ready in time for the October issue, which was published in September.

A small US-based sustainable chocolate brand wanted to gain some publicity in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom. We researched the various sustainability magazines and pitched a story based around the ethos of the chocolate; several magazines carried the story.

Pitching to Radio

Radio is a great medium to promote your business and reach your target audience, as radio programs have a specific audience of listeners, which allows you to communicate directly to your customers, clients, or a niche group of people. Pitching to radio is a little different than pitching to TV or print media because the news cycle is quicker, as well as that they have other segments and the journalists have different roles. Here are some tips to help you pitch to radio:

• We already know that a story needs to be newsworthy and, to be featured in a radio interview, you need to have something newsworthy or interesting that can be discussed. Maybe you are an expert on a topic that is currently in the news or maybe your business is doing something really exciting a journalist would be interested in. Your topic must appeal to the program’s target audience and fit in around the topics they usually discuss.
• Get to know the segments and do some research into the radio programs your target audience listens to and get to know more about it. Some radio stations have specific segments you can pitch to—such as a business or finance segment or a women’s panel discussion. Most radio stations have breakfast, morning, afternoon, and drive-time shows. If your story is news related these segments are a good place to pitch to.
• You need to find out who the best person is to pitch your story to, to ensure that it will be considered. In most cases this will be the program producer rather than the host of the show, as they are involved in planning the show’s content. If you do not have access to a media database, you can find out who to pitch to by calling the radio station’s switchboard and asking for the name and contact details of a specific producer or doing an online search.
• Do not try to plug your company and, while this might sound counterintuitive, journalists are not there to help you promote your business—their job is to commission great content that will interest their audiences. Plus, advertising rules are so strict these days, and they are not allowed to run stories that appear to promote products or services.
• It is better to call the radio producer to pitch your story, rather than an e-mail because radio journalists work at a very fast pace and your e-mail may become lost. As a SME, when you are pitching to a journalist you will need to explain why you would be a great person to interview and why your interview would be of interest to the program’s listeners. Always prepare your phone pitch beforehand and write down what you are going to say. You have a better chance of success if you appear confident, knowledgeable, and get your point across quickly.
• Some shows are recorded, and it is worth checking to find out if the interview is live or pre-recorded.
• It is a good idea to follow up your phone call with an e-mail straight away to further explain your pitch and why it is relevant and interesting for their listeners. Some things to include in your pitch and follow-up e-mail are:

1. Your credentials;
2. The topics you can discuss during the interview;
3. Why your topic is newsworthy or of interest to the target audience;
4. Your availability for interviews; and
5. Your contact details.

• Timing is everything. Never call a radio journalist during a live broadcast or while they are on air, unless it is a talkback segment that you want to participate in. Know what times the radio program airs and make your call before or after the broadcast ends if this is the case.
• Radio and TV producers, particularly on regional programs, are always looking for experts and “talking heads.” So if you have specific expertise, do not be afraid to pick up the phone and introduce yourself. Again, timing is everything with radio, so call when you know there will be opportunities coming up. For instance, if you are a financial expert, it can be a good idea to call up a few days before a government spending review.

Case Stories

A western energy company entering the market in Ghana wanted to raise its profile in the region and one of the ways we did this was to search the various Ghanaian radio programs and find the suitable sessions focused on energy and business segments. I then searched to see what topics were trending in Ghana around energy and business issues. I then sat down with the client with my findings, to see how we could add to the conversation. From these conversations, I created a strong news angle, which I pitched to the radio stations. We were successful with three different radio interviews lined up.

A female entrepreneur from New York was in London and wanted to maximize her business trip. Before she flew, we discussed what she could talk about and I put these topics into news angles and pitched this business woman to London radio stations with a business female focus. The female entrepreneur did one radio chat show and a podcast interview for a business women news platform.

Times Educational Supplement wanted to raise the profile of the paper’s first-ever campaign, for literacy for children in Afghanistan. This was a great story for radio as we had strong voices representing this campaign, including some children who had fled Afghanistan; both BBC World Service and BBC News covered the story interviewing the children.

Pitching to TV

Pitching to TV producers might just get your business or organization in the spotlight and the things to remember are:

• Images make the story in TV and, irrespective of whether it is the evening news, a morning show, or a current affairs program, if you want your business story to get on TV you need to put some thought into the visuals. There is no point in offering a media release on your great new product or survey results if there are no images to go with them. Make it easy for the producer to say yes by suggesting a few different visuals or video contact they could use in relation to the story you are pitching and creates more chance of success.
• Be topical or, in other words, newsworthy. If you are aiming at a news program, you will need a strong news angle. Even if you are pitching to a morning show or current affairs program, you will have the best success if you link your pitch to something topical. If the producers can relate your idea to a current story in the media, it gives them more incentive to run with the idea.
• Real people stories and interviews make the story come alive, so if you have interesting client and customer case studies who are happy to be interviewed, put them forward in your pitch. Give the producer an insight on the person’s background, involvement, and experience.
• Depending on what time they film you, some TV shows “drop” the interviews into a program or other programs that may fit the story, so check to see if your interview will be live or pre-recorded.
• A producer will usually just skim the first few sentences of the hundreds of e-mails they receive daily, so you want your pitch to stand out. Do not wait until the third paragraph to get to the point; be up front and to the point.
• Again, like radio, TV producers will be put off, if you are pushing a product, an event, or a business without a good hook. Your business takes a back seat to the actual story; it is the story that will get you TV coverage.

Case Stories

The following client story is not only a great visual story, but it also had a strong news angle, which meant it was perfect for TV, particularly as a news item. Three women were participating in the “Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge,” rowing across the Atlantic with the focus to break the world record for both men and women, plus were also rowing for a charity to raise awareness about plastic pollution. This story had all the elements for a good pitch and the local BBC news station loved the story, particularly as they could film the team of women with their boat practicing their rowing on the River Thames. This made local London news.

During the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which were held on the Gold Coast in Australia, many of the small businesses and local traders pitched themselves to the international TV crews that were in town to show and talk about how they were celebrating the Games and the great business boost the Games were bringing. It was great international coverage for these small businesses.

The Future of Newsrooms

While it is important to know how to communicate with the media, I think when we are running our own businesses or trying to raise the profile of our organization, we need to be aware of what is shaping the future of news, so we can be aware of these changes and strengthen our approaches. Why? So we can include these elements in our PR strategies, communications, and pitches.

One of the key driving features is “diversity” and that is not just diversity in business and organizations, but within the news and newsrooms. The issue of gender equality has been a huge focus globally, where media companies for the first time have been forced to reveal pay gaps between men and women. It has been revealed that women are “dramatically under-represented in the news” with less than a quarter, that is 24 percent of news subjects or interviewees being female (The Global Media Monitoring Project Report 2015).

There have been conversations in the United States and in the United Kingdom about the negative way in which people of color are reflected in the media—again highlighting the need for greater newsroom diversity.

Reuters highlighted diversity and the impact it will have on journalists (Reuters Institute for The Study of Journalism and Oxford University Report 2019). Reuters showed that more journalists will follow the example of Bloomberg business reporter Ben Bartenstein, who found that only 13 percent of his interviewees were female, and set out to remedy this—achieving his 50 percent target by proactively seeking out new and more diverse sources.

His colleagues helped build up lists of high-profile women in finance while Bloomberg launched a “New Voices” initiative to give media training to women executives.

More newsrooms will start to monitor gender and ethnic diversity of content on websites by counting the names of interviewees or analyzing pictures. This awareness in turn will hopefully make editors more aware of their own biases.

The British newspaper, The Financial Times (FT), created a dashboard that monitors the reading habits of existing female subscribers to encourage editors to create more content that might appeal to women (Digital New Project 2019, p. 31). But deeper research on gender preferences has also led to new products such as the “Long Story Short” newsletter—five stories you should not miss—curated by a female FT journalist. One unexpected by-product was that this newsletter also proved a hit with disengaged male readers!

So, what could this mean for you as a business or organization? Well, simply to make your stories “diversity strong” and “authentically strong.” Diversity is not a fad or a phase; it is a change in mind-set and thinking. Be ahead of the curve and build this thinking into your PR strategies and your brand.

Summary

I think one of the clear takeaways from this chapter is that a lot of research and preparation needs to go into a media pitch, irrespective of the type of media—radio, television, newspapers, or magazines. It is not just accuracy of facts regarding your news story that is important, but the research to find the right journalist contact, understand what they write/report on. It also important for businesses to know what is happening in their sectors, to become experts and thought-leaders. Also, in this day and age, there is no excuse for a small business not be “diversity strong.” By being inclusive in your messaging, you automatically strengthen your brand and stand out with the media. But when things do not go according to plan, then you need to know how to deal with the negative publicity. Chapter 10 is focused on “crisis management.”