Search

What's news? How to get editorial coverage

You’ll need to justify to any journalist or reporter why they should cover your campaign or your story. Why is your story relevant to that week’s news?
Even features pages or lifestyle programmes will want to know the reason why they should cover your story in that particular programme or that month’s issue of their magazine. You need a story hook.

Although your goal is to recruit volunteers it doesn’t necessarily mean that your story or campaign has to be about volunteers. Grab a journalist’s and your potential recruit’s interest, get them emotionally involved in your organisation – then introduce the idea of volunteering to them by tagging it on the end of a powerful story.

Do your research

The best way to begin finding a story hook is to find out everything you can about the media you’re interested in:

  • Start flicking through as many magazines and newspapers as you can
  • Have a different radio station on in your office each day
  • Use your remote and flick through telly channels at home
  • Look out for any media coverage of issues which could connect to your charity’s work
  • Watch out for what other charities do and work out why you think their story or campaign was picked up
  • If you spot a clever story idea which someone else has used, borrow the idea, build on it and make it your own

To find out about what radio, TV, magazines and newspapers are in your area use the free online directory: www.mediauk.com

Media Guardian also publishes “Media Directory 2007: The Essential Handbook" (£19.99). Find out more about media directory services like these in the article on Building your contacts book.

Piggyback on someone else’s story

The easiest way to hook into the news agenda is to make a connection to a story which is already off and running.

  • Can you offer a new angle on an issue that’s being debated in the news pages?
  • Have you got a story to tell which will add to that week’s hot topic?

The British Heart Foundation has set up their own Reactive News Desk as part of their communications strategy. Their team monitors media coverage and watch out for any stories which BHF can respond to, add to or provide comment on.

See how Parentline Plus got a feature into The Guardian.

Planning, as always, is vital. Before you devise your PR or advertising campaign check what other events and government announcements are coming up – not only to prevent clashes but to predict what’s likely to be in the news agenda any particular week of the year.

  • Have a look at free events calendars such as www.countmeincalendar.info.
  • DeHavilland monitor all parliamentary events and offer a forward planning service (subscription and access can be purchased online.
  • See the most recent Commons debates on They Work For You.
  • For up-to-date local government announcements try eGovmonitor.
  • Other news planning services charge for access. The most well known are ForesightNews (costs approx. £2000 per year for charities) and AMIplan (access costs approx. £4000 per year for charities)
  • Mediadisk subscribers can also receive alerts about breaking news stories (access to Mediadisk including their media monitoring service costs approx. £3000 per year) More on these services in Building your contacts book.

Journalists and reporters are growing weary of awareness days and weeks. Don’t rely on them to secure you the media coverage you want for your campaign. They are also increasingly reluctant to leave their computers and come to press launches, press conferences or media events.

Here are some examples of charity's volunteering stories which made it to print:

Hooking into breaking news

Speed is of the essence. Most stories won’t last in the news pages for more than a couple of the days. So if a story breaks in the morning get on the phone offer a reporter or journalist a new angle on the story and you’re likely to get coverage the following the day. More on this in What journalists want.

Local press always loves anyone who can offer a local/ regional angle on a national story. Offering local case studies on a national story will make you particularly popular with your regional papers and broadcasters.

Here are a national TV news editor's top tips to making your story newsworthy:

1) News should be new. Tell us something we haven’t heard before. Lots of stories are discarded because someone pipes up “but, don’t we already know that?”

2) Relevance. Is it a story that would interest our audience? How many people does this issue effect? It’s generally accepted that people care more about issues that they have some kind of direct experience of. So a dispute over an MS drug that would only benefit a handful of sufferers is less likely to make air than a story about depression or breast cancer because of relative prevalence.

3) Televisual content. To make a news report we need something to film. We’re always looking for some interesting picture (maybe even home video), and crucially, available case studies (with whom the viewer will identify/empathise). It’s also important spokespeople are charismatic, engaging and offer clear helpful advice.

4) Advance Notice. The earlier a story is offered the better, it gives us a better chance at getting all the elements we need to produce a balanced report. It also becomes more attractive if we think we’ve been offered something before other outlets. It’s not great for us to be seen to be duplicating material that’s been running all day on all outlets.

5) Topical. If you can tap into something that is very ‘of the moment’ you’re on to a winner. Think about the current climate. For example, Facebook stories seem to be everyone’s favourite obsession at the moment. You should also be aware of what else is going on in the news and make sure the story you’re pitching doesn’t clash. We need a balance of stories, a range of subject matter - we’re looking for 6 or 7 DIFFERENT stories per day.

 

Read the next article in this section.... Making a story plan