Here is a range of hints and tips around news stories to help you get inspired.
What makes a news story?
- Controversy -- eg Man bites dog
- Story relevant to target audience and chosen media
- Topical and ‘new’ -- already in the news or breaking news
- Human interest -- your success stories
- Statistics -- new research and findings
- A strong photo relevant to your story
- Breaks the ‘so what’ barrier -- makes you want to discover more
How to approach a journalist
- Know your story - especially what makes it interesting to the newspaper or radio station you are approaching
- Be prepared to sell your story to a journalist in just thirty seconds!
- Research the journal/station/channel before you call
- Know which journalist or news desk you want to talk to
- Ensure your interviewees are briefed and available if required
Things to remember when dealing with the press
- Don’t call up when journalists are going to press or about to go on air
- Follow up any call to a journalist by email
- Respond quickly to any initial press interest and check deadlines
- If a journalist needs an interview/more information make sure you get back to them before their deadline
- Contact the newspapers directly- they’re best placed to tell you who to approach with your ideas
- All publications have a core readership that is age, sex and attitude specific. Do some research before pitching your idea to ensure you’re targeting the right title for your audience
- Remember for a magazine, the pictures are as important as the words. If you have good pictures, pitch them as well as the idea
- If you have a case study who is willing to be identified you are in a strong position - use that!
- If you want your story in a magazine be aware that they have print deadlines anything from a few days before publication to over a month.
- Increasingly, magazines are developing sister websites. If you're interested in being featured in a particular magazine, think of ways to broaden the message onto their website too.
- If you have newsworthy stats/ facts from commissioned research that are relevant to a publication's readership, they will probably be interested.
- Look at the type of headlines a particular publication uses. Come up with a good headline to sell your idea.
Photojournalism - a picture paints a thousand words
Did you every pick up a newspaper or a magazine where a single image is used to tell a story? That’s photojournalism.
Top tips for photography and photojournalism
- Build a collection of images from your organisation. Many of these won't be immediately news worthy but may be useful at a later date.
- Take pictures of all your organisations' events or gatherings and clearly mark who is in the photographs for future reference.
- Success stories – every picture tells a story so make sure your organisation documents its successes.
- Try and create a small library of stories and images that bring the work you do to life.
- Don’t forget to get signed permission from people who appear in the pictures and carefully file all permissions slips and release forms.
The world of digital photography has made taking, viewing and
storing images much easier and being able to e-mail images instantly is
a great advantage when the need to get your images to the media quickly
is so important . We live in a world where today's news is forgotten
tomorrow and , so keep suitable set of images on hand at all times.
TV news
Think who you want to reach
24 Hour News - think carefully about your message, pitch it to the
right news programme for your target audience or planning desk and pick
your timing very carefully
Broadcast journalists needs are different from print journalists - they require:
- Pictures, pictures and more pictures - photographs to illustrate potential filming locations and people
- Access to exciting visual case studies - be aware of privacy issues i.e. anonimity
- A nominated contact available at very short notice - due to tight deadlines
- Good live to camera spokespeople - make sure your representative is media trained
What you should provide:
- Pictures, pictures and more pictures - photographs to illustrate potential video content
- Last minute and out-of-hours availability and preparation for short notice requests
- Concise subject and organisational knowledge and a jargon-free background briefing
And remember ...
TV is a visual medium so use sound and images to get your messages across
FAQs - more information and Frequently Asked Questions on using Community Newswire.
Media Trust Online guides
To find out more about writing news releases, PR and other communications guides see our useful Online guides section.
To sign up to Community Newswire and upload your news release go to www.communitynewswire.org, or email communitynewswire@mediatrust.org for further support and advice on writing news releases.