Keep in mind, however, most news rooms throw out most press releases. To get your story on the air, let’s start with a bit about how news rooms operate.
Most story ideas are discussed and debated during the editorial/assignment meeting. Twice a day, assignment managers, producers, reporters, anchors, news managers and sometimes photographers meet to discuss the news that will go in those shows. Reporters and producers are expected to come with story ideas; everyone is invited to participate. Often times, however, “the desk” (assignment desk manager) pitches most of the ideas.
The assignment desk is the news room’s nerve center. News tips, story ideas and press releases get emailed to the desk. The desk often fishes for and floats around story ideas on Twitter. Most phone calls go to the desk. The desk is the news room’s biggest resource, but not your only one.
If you have an “in” with a reporter or a producer, use it -- wisely. They love going to the meeting with a good story idea nobody else has. But how do you decide whom to send your story to?
TV is a numbers game. It survives on ratings and demographics. Each show is produced with a specific target audience in mind. The goal is to pitch your story to the producer or reporter who is most likely to care about your story. Producers try to carry-over the audience from the preceding program to their show. For example, if Oprah runs from 4pm to 5pm, the producer of the 5pm show will try to keep the Oprah viewers from tuning out. This is why programming is so important. If a station has a good “lead-in,” (the show before the newscast) then (theoretically) many of those viewers will stay tuned for the news cast. So think about which lead-in (and thus newscast) best fits with your subject.
Does your story involve a mystery, intrigue or something that might be relevant to folks heading to work the next morning? If so, your story might “play well” in the later newscast – the one following CSI, Nightline or a similar program. If your story appeals mostly to women or moms, try pitching your idea to one of the early afternoon producers.
And don’t forget the weekend. Often, the person who is producing or working on the desk during the week is not the person who is in charge over the weekend. If you have an event taking place over the weekend, pitch it to the weekend producer.
Tip: Keep in mind that some shows have more time to fill than other shows. Morning and weekend broadcasts typically rely on a smaller staff and there is often less news going on. If you can pitch your idea to one of these shows, you might have a better shot at getting on the air.
Get creative. Morning shows, specifically weekend morning shows, often use a lot of “live” guests. Make this work for you. If you are holding an event (say a dog show) Saturday afternoon, then offer to appear on the Saturday morning news with one of your top dogs. This helps the producer and it gets you on the air.
