You can absolutely  DIY a media pitch, as long as you are clear about the story angle that will grab the attention of your audience and who IS the journalist most likely to reach them.

 

Journalists are now slaves to the fast-paced 24/7 global news-cycle and are in constant story pain. Overworked, under-resourced and under pressure to file more and more stories a week across multiple media platforms, they’re always eager to cover newsworthy stories that will interest their specific audience.And ‘newsworthy’ is the key word here …. what do you have to say that is going to grab their audience’s attention and stop them flicking channels, clicking another link or scrolling away?

 

The Cision 12^th annual  Global State of the Media Report  provides some fascinating insights into what is making journalists tick at the moment and what they want from you for the rest of 2021. 

 

 

 

It’s no surprise that journalists said that the global Covid 19 pandemic has had a massive influence on the way they work and the stories they’ve run over the last 18 months. 40% of journalists said they’re suffering from journo pandemic-fatigue from covering seemingly endless stream of Covid-19 stories at the expense of other topics. And almost a third have struggled to find talent and reach sources with so many people working from home.

 

 

A slippery, fast-moving global pandemic, economic free-fall, natural disasters, political division and social unrest has left us all reeling from over a year and a half of almost continuous disruption, division and plain old negativity. Audiences are getting overwhelmed with an endless barrage of scary, pessimistic news. Almost half the journalists surveyed by Cision said they are looking for fresh angles for Covid-19 coverage.

 

Many are seeking more “feel good” stories on getting back to normal, and how individuals, business and communities are helping others through the crisis. So, when crafting your media pitch, it pays to think about how you or your business is having a positive impact on those who have been doing it tough. 

Can you share a positive story about how you are helping families and businesses face yet another challenging year? 

 

Are you doing something that is fun, light-hearted or quirky that will entertain and inspire audiences?

 

Other story pitches likely to have the It-Factor in the coming year will be around new technologies helping businesses get back on their feet and products and technology with a consumer interest angle. Who isn’t worried about climate change and increasingly frequent natural disasters like droughts, bushfires, storms, and floods? Instead of environmental horror stories, think hopeful stories.

 

Business and finance journalists especially are looking for angles that appeal to socially responsible investors. Stories reflecting sustainable business practices in environment, social and governance or ESG, are also very topical. Human interest is THE most powerful angle you can tap into, with one journalist observing, ‘My organisation is moving away from news of the day to longer, character-driven storytelling’. As the world gets more unsettled, complicated, and divided, people are looking inwards to the support and joy of they get from those closest to them.  Story ideas that reflect racial and social justice, fairness and equity, and hyperlocal community news will have impact and are more likely to catch a journalist’s eye Instructional, ‘how to’ storytelling that educates readers never loses currency, so think about including tips and advice in your media pitch.

 

And while the words “Fake-News” get thrown around too flippantly these days, journalists are highly trained professionals who want solid, factual research-based content, expert analysis and thought leadership for their stories. Which brings me back to a couple of points I made at the start.

 

Don’t get trashed.

 

If you want to ensure your pitch or DIY press-release doesn’t end up in a journalist’s computer trash-bin, do your homework and find the right journalist. You are wasting everyone’s time if your media pitch is not timely, topical and well targeted. As one journalist put it “I’m absolutely choked with news. A pitch needs to be really good and fit with our mission and readership”.

More than half the journalists in the Cision survey said they receive over 100 pitches a week via email, phone calls and social media messages, yet only 1 in 4 pitches are relevant to their audiences. “99% of those emailing me have never read a story that I wrote” said one journalist. They are inundated with spam, pitches that sound like PR and marketing spin and lack transparency. Remember, journos aren’t there to promote your business for free. Their job is to share a story that will interest their audience, so do them the courtesy of sending them a pitch that makes sense to their readers, listeners or viewers. 

 

“I don’t expect every single pitch to be relevant, but if you have no idea of my beat, you are just spamming me.”

So, the take out from this fascinating survey is… your story is important, audiences needs to hear it. But make your story relevant to them. The media is hungry for great stories but you need clarity, confidence and the credibility to share it, which is where good media training comes in.