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Wishing Won't Cut it, But Good Lists, Brief Pitches and
Persistence are Key
After recently pitching TV stories on local stations in
other states - resulting in eight placements on CBS and ABC affiliates
the first day and coverage on the ABC affiliate's 6 p.m. news the next
day - these five lessons/reminders are worth sharing:
1. Devote plenty of time to building a solid media contact
list beforehand. Do your homework with calls to confirm who the best
contact is at each station and double check email addresses and contact
preferences.
2. Be brief with your pitches.
Shorter. Is. Better. Assignment editors are extremely busy. And if you
don't have strong visuals, it isn't a TV story.
3. Make sure you can convey the essence of your story idea
in a matter of seconds. If it's so
"complicated" that it takes 15 seconds or more to explain, then
maybe it's not a TV story. Or maybe you need to refine your pitch.
4. Be persistent. If you sent an email or
fax, you're not even close to finished. Do a station drop-off if you have
time. Send an email. Follow with a call. Make sure they have it on the
planning calendar. Email with a new detail the day of the event. Call to
see if they have what they need and are planning to cover. It's not over
until you see the camera person walking in the door.
5. Don't get discouraged. Here's what we
faced: One station's assignment desk had two camera people call in sick,
while another station had crews working since 3 a.m. Both resulted in
no-shows for one of our stories. What do you do? Don't let up. Re-contact
the assignment desk with a fresh angle or follow-up idea.
Pitching media - especially ultra-competitive TV - takes
time. Don't wing it or you'll waste your time. Your best bet is to
assign a pro to focus on making those pitches for coveted airtime.
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