A guide to national media

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National broadcast – TV and radio

Tips for national TV

1) Make it visual - if your story has strong visual aspect to it, then it generally stands a better chance of making it onto TV. Visuals might include a place where service users can be filmed, an iconic venue, an unusual piece of art, a workshop etc.

2. Know the audience - many television programmes have specific audiences that they cater for. When approaching particular programmes, keep this in mind. For example, BBC Breakfast and ITV’s Daybreak have an audience of largely stay at home mums with young children. Newsround is aimed at young people aged from around 7-16.

Top tip: Most media list building software also allows you to look at the demographics of programmes.

3) Contact the right journalists - for television programmes, you should try to contact the forward planning desk and programme editors well in advance of your proposed launch date.  You could do this by sending an operational note (see how the media works for sample and template). Also, the BBC has a number of ‘units’ – such as the Education Unit and Business Unit - who have their own planning desks. It’s worth contacting them as other programmes could pick your story up from the planning diaries.

For some stories, you might want to contact particular journalists directly – for example a specific education correspondent that you’ve heard cover a similar story to yours. If the journalist gets interested, they can recommend stories to their editors.

4) Think about your spokespeople - not only who you can put up, but their availability. You don’t want to offer up your leading case study if he/she is on holiday during the launch week or isn’t comfortable about appearing on television.

5) Statistics - it is useful to have statistics to accompany your story – particularly if you’re making a claim or issuing a call to action. If you’re hoping for a new report or even an in-depth feature, the more robust statistics, comparisons and hard facts you can provide, the better.

Tips for national radio

1) Sounds and voices - clearly radio is all about sound: so if your story involves music or a range of voices then that can help with securing radio coverage.
2) Phone-ins - many radio stations have phone-in programmes which can present a good opportunity to contribute to debates. Make your supporters/members aware of the debates (via Twitter, Facebook or e-shots) and encourage them to contribute.

3) Presenters - although there are relatively few radio programmes compared to TV, there are many minutes of airtime filled by presenters, DJs and celebrity guests. Many have blogs accompanying their programmes, so if you think someone might be interested in a particular topic or story you’re promoting, it’s worth dropping them a personal email with the details. They may well mention your story on air!

National newspapers

Tips for national newspapers

When liaising with national print journalists, it is important to make things as easy as possible for them. That means:

• sending them press releases which clearly state when the story is embargoed for and provides all the relevant contact information
• ensuring the press release provides enough factual information for the story to be written directly from it. If journalists are busy but have been asked to cover a story, they need to have enough material to write a story as quickly as possible
• providing case studies, spokespeople and relevant information in a timely fashion – and not promising things you cannot deliver
• giving them relevant material. Journalists are more likely to cover a story if it is on a topic that interests them directly.  Think about what angle the journalist might be interested in and emphasise that when you approach them.
  

Other points to consider are:

• lead-in times - make sure that you give journalists plenty of notice for stories you hope they cover in-depth. They have busy schedules and so need plenty of time.
• case studies - where possible, provide case studies to back up your story. Journalists are much more likely to run with a piece if they can talk to a real-life example. It can also help add personality to a story. 
• subject line of emails - it may sound obvious, but try to make the subject line of your email compelling.
• personalise when you can - it’s more time consuming than simply sending out a mass BCC email, but personalising emails is much more effective when approaching specific journalists.  A short covering note outlining the key points of the story and why think it’d be of interest to them, can make all the difference.

Comment pieces

All national newspapers have a comment section – where authors write 600-800 words on topical issues. In order to pitch a comment piece, you need to approach the comment editors well in advance where possible. All comment pieces need a ‘hook’ – this might be a news hook (your comment is on a topic that is being widely covered by the media) or it might be anchored in a particularly event or launch that is taking place.

Increasingly online comment outlets, such as the Guardian’s Comment is Free and the Independent’s Eagle Eye are becoming popular and heavily read.  Online comment outlets allow for readers’ comments and you get an instant sense of people’s opinions.  When pitching a piece, make sure it’s topical and think about offering an author other than your Chief Executive or Policy Director. More and more, online outlets are looking for the ‘voice of real people.’

Responses and letters

When responding to an article or sending a letter to a national newspaper, you need to move quickly. If possible, send the letter the day you see the article printed. Make sure you refer to the article to which you’re responding in the letter – and keep your own writing concise and to the point. It is often a good idea to send in a joint letter; particularly if your organisation can galvanise others to make a joint case.

Supplements

Many daily and weekend newspapers have supplements on specialist issues; education, environment, society, families, music etc. It is worth making a note of when these are published so you can pitch any relevant stories. Supplements not only contain news stories but are often heavily case study led – so think about strong examples when you pitch a story.

Trade press

There are many trade magazines covering a range of topics, some of which are fairly broad (e.g. children and young people, science, healthcare) and others more specific (e.g. classical music).

In addition to the general points on contacting the media, here are some specific points to consider when approaching trade magazines:

• photographs - trade magazine often have plenty of space for photographs. If you have an event or strong picture story, then consider sending a photograph to relevant trade outlets with a caption. Don’t forget to include a credit for the photographer.
• columns, features and interviews - many trade magazines have regular columns, features and interview slots to fill each issue. Become familiar with the most relevant trade magazines and look at the opportunities for profiling your organisations/story/campaign. When you pitch an idea, make sure it fits with the style and structure of the column you’re aiming for.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that trade press will often have quite long lead-in times – particularly if they are not published every week.

Consumer magazines

In addition to the general points on contacting the media, here are some specific points to consider when approaching consumer magazines. Consumer magazines tend to have long lead-in times and are heavily focused on personal stories. Here are a few tips for successfully pitching your story.

• Personal stories – stories that have a strong personal dimension are ideal for consumer magazines. This might be someone who has achieved something outstanding against all odds, or who has a particularly compelling story to tell. As with other media outlets, the closer your case study fits the profile of the readership, the better. 
• Know the readership – it’s important to think about the target readership for the magazine. You can then make a more informed pitch. For example, it is no good pitching a story about a young, single mother who is struggling to cope because of changes to the benefits system – to a men’s health magazine.
• Long lead-in times – with many magazines, approaching the features editor two months in advance gives the right amount of time to give your story a chance of being featured.
  

Useful links

• Making the media take notice: (CharityComms)