In discussion of media relations strategy, one question inevitably comes up, “Do you know… (fill in the blank with the name of your favorite reporter)?” After 20 plus years in the communications biz, I can definitively say that knowing your story is far more important than knowing your journalists.
Why is this the case? Like everyone else, journalists appreciate collegiality and reliable contacts. But more importantly they need interesting ideas and important information to tell stories. No friendship will convince a reporter to write a boring story. Useful information will find its way into stories written by reporters you have never met.
Equally important, Journalists change beats, move to new outlets and new cities. Today’s hot media contacts may not be covering your field tomorrow. But their successors will be drawn to you if you can provide the stories they need.
Stories make people care about your organization and issues. And they make people come back for more. We all recognize a good story when we see it. Here are some of the factors that make stories work.
Timing
The word news means exactly that – things which are new. Current events are news. Things that happened last week aren’t. Consumers are used to receiving the latest updates, and there is so much news about that old news is quickly discarded.
Significance
The number of people affected by the story is important. A court decision affecting millions of immigrants in the United States is news. A court decision on a divorce affecting two people isn’t, unless of course they are very famous. More on that further down.
Proximity
Stories which happen near to us have more significance. The closer the story to home, the more newsworthy it is. For someone living in France, a major plane crash in the USA has a similar news value to a small plane crash near Paris.
Prominence
Famous people get more coverage just because they are famous. If you break your arm it won’t make the news, but if the Katie Holmes breaks her arm it’s big news.
Human Interest
Human interest stories appeal to emotion. They aim to evoke responses such as excitement or sadness. Television news programs often place a humorous or quirky story at the end of the show to finish on a feel-good note. Newspapers and magazines often have a dedicated area for offbeat or interesting items.
Visual
Stories that can be captured in video, photography or infographics convey lots of information and emotion quickly. In our time-starved world, this makes them especially appealing.
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