COVERAGE – HOW TO GET IT

 

Whatever your station shines at—charity events, concerts, stunts, community celebrations—you want news coverage.  And you want your call letters and dial position in that coverage. Newspaper and TV often omit these critical points, often because the radio station in question just sends out a press release, instead of getting to know the right person at each media outlet.

 

The Tactics for establishing media relationships are common sense, what your mother told you.

 

            Do your homework: Find out who the right contact is. Know what       type of story the person prefers to cover. Learn deadlines and don’t           miss them. Find out whether the contact prefers paper, email, MP3             files, etc., and always use the preferred form.

 

            Be newsworthy: Make sure you have a story to tell that is of interest to the media outlet’s audience. Stay on message. Whether you call,           write, or visit, be prepared to talk thoroughly about what you’re doing and why it’s worth covering.

 

            Be on time: Get your information out early enough to allow the contacts to plan to cover your event. If an interview is asked for, get           there five minutes early and allow enough time in case it runs long.

 

            Watch your language: You represent your station, so make sure that            your speech or writing is correct and doesn’t contain bad or suggestive     language, even if you’re a hard rock station. After all, you never know     who will see or hear your material – it could be your contact’s boss who           is much more strict than the person with whom you’ve built a      relationship.

 

            There’s another part to the language issue – don’t send out anything    that’s full of mistakes. If you’re not sure how a word is spelled, look it        up or ask someone who knows.

 

            Proofread everything, and have someone else read what you write, too.

 

            Don’t rely on Spell Check – it makes a lot of basic grammar mistakes,            and often will change “you’re” to “your” when you mean “you are.” 

            Spell Check can’t tell “its” from “it’s.” A good journalist judges you by    the words you use (and the ones you don’t).

 

            Once you get coverage, say thank you, preferably in writing, which        includes e-mail.