What is the media?

The media includes newspapers, periodicals, magazines, newsletters, television, radio and internet.

Commercial media, such as newspapers and commercial radio or TV, is a business. The primary goal is to earn money for shareholders. The focus for any commercial media business is on attracting audience, which then attracts advertising. Public media, such as the ABC, is required to broadcast programs that inform, entertain and educate the community. Community media, such as community radio stations or newspapers, is not driven by market forces, and is often focused around a particular issue, group or geographic location.

You can buy media time or space. Generally known as advertising space, this approach gives you complete control over your messages. All the detail you want to include can be put into an advertisement, and it can even tell a story, if you have enough space. However, advertising is costly, and for many local groups may not be affordable.

The alternative is to attract "earned media." This is where your story or issue is given editorial coverage by a media outlet. It includes coverage such as a talk radio interview, coverage on the evening news, a television story, or a printed article in the newspaper. In attracting editorial coverage however, be aware that you can’t control what the media will say, and how they will present your issue.

What does the media look for?

The media are always looking for a story that is newsworthy. This is very subjective, but there are some consistent elements that give a story news ‘value’:

  • Is there a human angle? Does it have impact on people’s lives?
  • Does it tell anything new?
  • Is there new data? Use statistics to present something new.
  • Is there conflict? (Be careful not to blame or criticise others too much here – this is a last resort!)
  • Will there be good visuals for television or photographs?
  • In thinking about telling your story through the media, consider the following elements:
  • What’s the angle? Can it be explained simply? Apply the 10 second rule: if you can’t explain it in that time, you won’t get a run.
  • Who is affected? Try to find a human interest aspect to the story. Is the issue you are targeting affecting kids walking to school? Or the safety of people walking to the shops?
  • Is there a broader issue impacted by your story?

 

Once you've thought about all that, but before you approach the media directly, think about your next steps? Journalists will want to know what you plan to do next, so be prepared.

Who might be interested?

Pitching your story to the right media is critical for getting coverage:

  • Many local stories will have most interest to local media – such as local newspapers. Local media is read by many people in the community, and monitored closely by authorities such as councils. A local newspaper may take up your issue as a campaign, which could mean you receive ongoing coverage of your progress.
  • Metropolitan daily newspapers have state-wide coverage. They’ll often want to have an exclusive – in other words be the first media outlet to cover the story. Think about what the media is looking for before you pitch a story to a daily metropolitan newspaper.
  • Radio news isn’t interested in exclusives – they want to make sure they are not missing out on stories already running elsewhere. Once a story has been covered by print media, you can pitch it in to every radio newsroom with a media release and a phone call.
  • Talkback radio looks for interesting talent and is also good to pitch to after a story has run in the newspaper. When calling, ask for the producer of these programs, not the presenter.
  • Television news and current affairs is after strong visuals, a news angle and good “on camera” talent.

 

The best way to identify possible programs and outlets to cover your story is to listen, read and watch as much media as possible. Keep notes on the stories covered, the journalists covering them and the approach they take. That way you can build up your knowledge and target the right people at the right media organisations at the right time.

What approach should I take?

Prepare a media release that tells and sells your story. Use the format of a news story to write up your issue, keep it accurate, clear and brief (no more than one page), and make sure you convey the key elements – Who? What? When? Where? Why?, and How?

Use a catchy, concise headline for interest. Good media releases start with the most important issues and follow with other details in descending importance. Keep paragraphs to two sentences or less, and use simple words and phrases. Have a spokesperson for your group who is available to talk with the media and include a punchy quote from them, and put their contact details at the bottom.

However, don’t expect a media release alone to get you coverage in the media. Journalists and news editors receive hundreds of media releases every day, by post, by fax and by email. Without follow up, yours will not necessarily be noticed.

Before you send your media release, start with a phone call or email to the media outlet/s you are thinking about for your story. If you haven’t identified a particular journalist or program, call the news desk. Tell them about your story/issue, and ask them if they would be interested in finding out more. Ask if this is something they might like to cover. Offer to send them a copy of the media release at this point.

You may like to think about starting with one newspaper and letting them know this (they call it an ‘exclusive’). Sometimes this is a better way of building up media interest in a story than bombarding everyone with the same media release. Ensure you follow up with any extra information they have requested, but if after several phone calls or contacts they are not taking action, ask them if they are happy for you to take the story to another media outlet.

Think about a picture that might accompany the story. Most newspapers won’t take images supplied by you – they’ll want to take their own. So setting up a photo opportunity – with local people (talent) can help to sell a story.

Once the story has run in print, you can target radio and TV newsrooms and talk shows. For radio news, never call around the hour or half-hour when news bulletins are going out – they won’t thank you for it, and they won’t pay attention to your pitch. Make sure your spokesperson is available – if you get a bite from a radio program they are likely to want to get the story fast.

Television will take more time, as they need vision to make a story work. If the story you are pitching is a local human interest one, you can be flexible with them around timing. If it is a story about an event (such as a public meeting or rally) then be clear about the times things will occur in pitching your story.

You could also consider holding a media conference or launch. This is where you invite the media to you. Think about whether your story is strong enough to attract more than one media outlet and don’t expect miracles. The biggest launch in Australia can be ignored if another major news story pops up. And keep your launch or event focused – the media won’t wait around for a story to happen.

Supporting your media efforts

Earned media is most effective when combined with a campaign strategy. A campaign is a multi-faceted effort that includes a variety of materials and methods to spread your message. For example, a campaign could include printed brochures, web-based information or a blog, newsletters, stickers handed out at events.

Create a fact sheet that gives all the details of what you are working to achieve, why it is important, and who is involved. This can be a good support to your media release, as it doesn’t have to “sell” a story, but provides back up facts, in detail.

Think about setting up a social media group on the internet. Facebook or MySpace are good examples.

As well as being a great way of communicating with members of your group, you can start building up examples of work undertaken (such as your walking audit), links to stories and coverage of your group’s work, and facts and figures that support your argument.

Writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper is another way of achieving free media coverage. Letters should be short, and many newspapers require that they be under a certain number of words. They generally don’t let anonymous letters be published, so include your name and contact details with your letter.

Newspapers will check to ensure letters don’t contain misinformation and don’t libel anyone. They will sometimes limit to one published letter from a writer within a time period, and may not publish letters that have also been sent to competing newspapers.

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