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“Pitching” Local Stories
Silent Treatment: Addiction in America
offers the opportunity to spotlight local angles on the
issues presented throughout the series. Familiarize
yourself with the series topics (see
Series
Summary) and offer reporters a unique and relevant
local story. Local coverage represents a significant
opportunity for you and your organization to garner
media attention on important issues.
First,
do your homework:
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Find out which newspaper section and/or broadcast
program covers stories like yours and identify the
editor(s) and news directors for that section.
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Find out how much advance notice the media outlet
needs to run the series and schedule your meeting
before that deadline. Newspapers often publish
submittal information in their sections.
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Research the newspaper's or station's online
archives or library to determine if it has published
or aired stories on the topic you're planning to
pitch. Editors and producers will appreciate that
you know what already has been reported on these
issues.
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Before the meeting, sit down with a colleague and
rehearse your pitch. Include any community partners
who will join you in the meeting.
Once you’re in the door …
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Keep your message simple and concise. Try to keep
your introduction to three or four sentences that
will tell the editor or news director why he should
be interested in your story. Give more details as
the conversation continues, but think of your
opening as a way to heighten interest and establish
that the story is newsworthy.
After
you’ve made your initial introduction, be prepared to
answer more specific questions. Know why the story
would be of particular interest to readers, listeners or
viewers. Is there a local hook? An upcoming
related event? Have a list of community groups or
individuals who can provide background and interviews
for reporters to use. The more resources you can offer,
the better your chances of success.
Consider providing local
statistics on addiction treatment and recovery.
The
Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration
offers several searchable state-level databases
including prevalence rates for addiction and treatment
admissions.
http://oas.samhsa.gov/oasftp.cfm
for prevalence and treatment admission rates
http://dasis3.samhsa.gov/
for a substance abuse
treatment locator
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/drugs.htm
offers
information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of
crime
http://said.dol.gov/WhatisSaid.asp
for a database of workplace
substance abuse issues
Communications consultant
Andy
Goodman has compiled some helpful advice from
journalists all over the country. More information can
be found on his Web site
www.agoodmanonline.com or by subscribing to his
Free-Range Thinking
newsletter.
From the March 2003 issue, some of the key elements to a
strong pitch include:
Aim at the right person.
Do a little homework— which
reporter actually covers your issue? Who has written or
broadcast positive pieces in the past? Whether you are
pitching an innovative program or plugging your
community event to the local TV news, it never hurts to
call the assignment editor or the news desk: they will
tell you who is appropriate.
Get to the point.
A pitch that clearly frames
the story idea in the first or second sentence is
infinitely more welcome than one that tiptoes up to it,
or worse, buries it under paragraphs of phrase-making.
In almost every case, journalists know instantly whether
an idea will work for them.
Remember: It’s a pitch, not
a monologue.
Give them enough
information up front to pique their interest, but let
them interject with questions before too long, certainly
within the first 30 seconds.
Give them time.
The smartest pitchers tell
journalists about things that are happening months
before the news peg actually comes up. This allows
reporters and sources to work together to figure out
when and how a piece would work for a newspaper.
Be a resource.
The easier you make it, the
better the chances they’ll bite. Be ready to immediately
provide quotes, background and interview opportunities.
The media/pitcher relationship is really pretty simple:
You want the media to cover your story; in exchange, you
help make their job easier.
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