Media release versus letting a journalist loose

We’ve recently had this conversation with a client who was keen to get media coverage for their business and wanted to be clear how to best achieve this. There’s no real hard and fast but some things to consider:

Why a media release?

• Preparing your media release allows you to present the key information in a way that you feel comfortable with.
• You can frame it so the messaging is in line with your brand or business values.
• You can proof it and ensure all the details are correct.
• You can distribute it to multiple media agencies (if this is appropriate) as the ‘story’ is yours. This can be a disadvantage so you should be strategic with this decision.
• While there are no guarantees the media release will get picked up, there are ways to write it to enhance your chances. (Kite can help you there.)
• Many media outlets won’t run a media release straight as supplied; they may re-intro or broaden the content out by talking to others for an alternative view. You have no control over this.
• Many journalists are time poor and always under pressure to meet deadline. A well written media release can be attractive as it does all (or most) of the work for them.

Pitching your story idea to a journalist

• You will need to piqué the interest of the journalist, so the idea needs to be framed in an arresting way to make them want to add it to their ‘to do’ list.
• You may care to provide one media outlet with exclusivity to make your pitch more effective.
• You will need to provide quality information to make pulling the story together as straight forward as possible (such as contact names, email and phone details for interviews / information gathering).
• You are very unlikely to be allowed to see the article before it runs. You may be allowed to check it for factual accuracy but will have no input into ‘how’ it is written.
• Other media may pick up on the story and recreate it or do their own take but journalists like to have the ‘scoop’ so it’s likely they’ll want another angle; be prepared with a variation or new on the original.

Either way, being prepared is the key. (In both instances, have some visual /photo ideas that are arresting and appealing to accompany the story idea.)
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If you have a story you want covered, give us a call 06 875 0393 or email and we’ll explore the best option with you.
And once, your article is ‘out there’, make the most of it through your social media platforms….. and that’s another story.

Written by Dale Cowie

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