Re: media (somewhat long)
Mark Ray (info@EAGLEBOOK.COM)
Fri, 30 Jan 1998 09:15:45 +0000
Concerning getting media coverage for Scouting events:
When I was a district executive, I actually had pretty good luck getting
coverage for my events. I think that part of the reason is that I have a
degree in journalism and knew what the media were looking for.
Specifically, a story is more likely to be covered if it:
is timely--last week's events are not news
has impact--affects/relates to the lives of the audience
is relevant--relates to issues of the day
is unique or novel--not something that happens every day
is interesting--boring just won't cut it
It also helps--especially with television--if there are good visuals.
To put all this another way, someone once said that it's not news when a
dog bites a man. It IS news when a man bites a dog. You need to find the
"man-bites-dog" aspect of your story.
I found it critical to write press releases with strong leads. These often
became the leads of the printed stories. Here's an example of a bad lead:
"Jonathan Springer, a 17-year-old Scout, will receive his Eagle Scout award
at a court of honor at First Methodist Church Thursday at 7:30 p.m."
(Yawn.) Now, here's a good lead: "Since he was nine years old, Jonathan
Springer has had just two wishes: to become an Eagle Scout and to become a
forest ranger like his father. Thursday night, he'll get his first wish."
Same story, different impact.
Finally, send your press releases to several departments at the newspaper
or TV station: news desk, local desk, photo desk, assignments editor,
feature editor. Don't assume media people communicate with each other any
better than you and your co-workers do.
Mark Ray
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
