Getting Stories on Local TV News

You have an event that you wanted to be featured on television, or you know someone who is interesting and can inspire millions of viewers. The first thing that you can do is have your story featured on the local TV news, but doing so is not that easy. Here is a simple public relations guide to make your story seen on local TV, and hopefully gets picked up by national and even international press. 

Contact the news desk on “slow” days – You could say that there are two speeds in local television newsrooms: too slow and too fast. On slow days, the news team is looking for stories that would not drive viewers to take the remote control and switch channels. But when there is breaking news, everything speeds up and almost everyone drops anything else they are working on to concentrate on the big story. When you call your local news channel, ask if they are busy with breaking news or on a deadline. If the answer is yes, say that you would call back at a better time and hang-up.

Get in touch with the right people – You might think that speaking to a reporter is the best way to get your story covered, since they are the most visible people on TV. However, story decisions are usually made by managers, producers, and assignment editors, but their choice of stories do not come off the top of their heads. Aside from getting stories from wire services such as Associated Press and ideas generated by members of the news department, the stories are also sourced from press releases received by the news department over the preceding days and weeks.

Submit press releases the old-fashioned way – A typical big-city newsroom would receive hundreds of press releases each day. Submit your press release by mail or fax. Sending it by e-mail is not a guarantee that the news team would look at it regularly.

Make your press release stand-out – Usually press releases are handled by an intern or entry-level newsroom employee who is assigned to go through the stack and file them. Some are placed in daily planning folders, based on the date of the event being promoted. Others are simply tossed in the “circular file” (or trash). Keep in mind to make your press release stand-out, such as printing it on colored paper or submit a press kit by attaching promotional materials or pictures along with your mail. If you are submitting through fax, make sure that it starts with an attention-grabbing (yet related) headline.

Develop a relationship with an assignment editor – This tip could take weeks, even months, to perfect. But once you have established a professional relationship with a planning editor or assignment editor, the news team would be predisposed to read anything you send. Find something the assignment editor needs, and meet that need. If there is breaking news either in your area or in another city, provide them with the “local” angles on big stories. A tsunami struck in Bali? Find a local resident who survived the ordeal or has relatives there. When the time comes that you are submitting your story or event, you will not be denied.

Another way of developing a relationship with the assignment editor is to make an appointment with him or her. If the news team is not busy, ask to speak with the assignment editor. Introduce yourself and explain what you have to offer. You can even ask if you can take him or her to lunch in the coming week. If not, try to make an appointment to stop by for a short visit. If you can’t make an appointment, stop by anyway to drop off your press kit. Bring some food with you like candy, pastry, and the like. News people love free food.