How Journalists Judge News Value
Nowadays startups are growing more and more popular, and as a result, it is making it harder to stand out. That is why we need to write pieces that will get noticed. In order to make your story get noticed, you need to pay attention to:
Trends: Trends come and go, and we need to be there when and where they are. For example immigration and climate change are trending, so covering stories that relate are sure to get attention.
The Unusual: Most people like to hear about the abnormal, the unusual, the extraordinary. Did a mother lift a car to save her child? Did a child raise thousands of dollars for refugees? Cover it! These events don’t happen every day, and that is what will get readers attention.
Relatable Content: Most people like to read about what is familiar, to know that they are not alone. Cover a celebrity and show that they too are human. Cover a local and show that they are doing something worth mentioning.
Hard and Soft News
Hard news and soft news are the two different categories in which news topics fall. For example, hard news typically has to do with scientific of political topics such as, business, economics, health, education, politics, and international news. However, soft news covers topics such as, lifestyle, arts, culture, sports, celebrity, and entertainment.
There is more that goes on in an interview than one might assume. But luckily for you, I am going to provide a quick crash course into how to have a successful interview. First, there are two sides to an interview, the interviewer, and the person being interviewed.
How to be: The Interviewer
Be prepared.
Make sure that you have done your research on the topic, and if possible, the individual in which you are interviewing. The more knowledgeable you are on the topic/ individual, the more willing they will be to talk to you.
The more thought you put into your questions, the better answers you will receive. If you make it feel like you are having a conversation with the individual, rather than quizzing them on their knowledge, it encourages them to share an array of information.
However, that does not mean to neglect the occasional direct question. As Scanlan says, “Closed-ended questions put people on the record”.
2. Focus
Pay attention to the nonverbal cues that they are giving you. Take notice of when they want to say more but aren’t.
3. Build a Relationship
Show that you are genuinely interested in what they have to say.
If you create a relationship with them, what you may learn about them as an individual can say quite a bit about the information that they are sharing.
Make sure that you are understanding their answers, and that there are no misinterpretations. That goes both ways. Make sure that they understand your question. If they look confused, find a better way to word the question.
How to be: Interviewed
Remain calm and confident.
Only say the truth, but be wary that you only say what you are allowed to say.
Nothing is off the record, so be mindful of what you are saying.
Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're not certain of what they are asking.
If you are not allowed to share the information that they are asking for, never say, “no comment.” Instead opt for a, “I am not allowed to comment on personnel matters”.
How to Work with The Media
The media plays a crucial role in the success of your company. As such, you need to keep good relations with journalists, always putting your best foot forward if we want your works to be published. The best way to do this is to:
Always be punctual with any and all meetings. They have rather tight schedules and don’t have time to wait for your reply. When they ask for information, that becomes the priority. Also, it is just respectful to be punctual.
Be prepared. This goes back to the How to be: The Interviewer section. Just as they are going to do their research on you before the interview, you need to do the same. With that, make sure that you have notes about what you want to make sure is included in the interview. However, you should recognize that once the interview is over you have little to no control over what gets published.
Make a great impression. That opens the door to building a solid relationship with the journalists that you're involved with for future interviews.
Media Kits
Media kits are what you hand out at press events to let the media know who you are and what your company stands for. These are vital because they act as a resume for your company
It is important to remember however that each media kit is to be unique. The media kit needs to be tuned to whatever event you are attending. Audiences change, and like you changed your resume to fit what job you were applying for, so should the media kit changes to fit the target audience.
Always include:
The Pitch Letter: This is similar to a cover letter. Briefly cover what is in the media kit and provide your contact information for follow-ups.
Company Info: This will be the brief history (Your Company) as well as a quick profile on the senior management and what we do.
List of Top 5 Frequently Asked Questions: That way they will be able to get a feel about what questions they may want to ask you or what facts they may want to write about in their article.
Depending on the audience, include:
Visual and Audio Files of Interviews: If there is a clip from an official event that you attended and/or were interviewed at that is relevant, include it. Providing this information for them may make it easier on them later.
Recent Articles and Publications from the Press: Our current media targets will want to know what other medias have written about us. They are going to want to know what has been written recently so that they aren’t writing the same articles.
Financial Information: Investors are some of our favorite people, and they are going to want to know your financial history. Be sure to include all related financial and investor related news for them to review.
How to Interact with Journalists Via Social Media
Overall, we expect you to represent us with utmost professionalism in all areas, from an article to interacting with other journalists over social media. Interacting with journalists over social media can be tricky as it can quickly cross a line from being professional to personal rather quickly. However, remaining professional, you have to know who to engage with, how, and when. If the list that we have on file will not work for the story you want to get published, then it is going to take a bit of research.
Once you have found the individual, you should, “reach out through a personal account, include a hook, and ask for their outreach preferences”. From there, if they reply and are willing to cover the story, keep it professional and timely.
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