Myths About Media Coverage

Having your company or product covered by the news and entertainment media is just about the best exposure you can get, as it has high impact and low (sometimes free) cost. But most business people believed in certain myths about an industry that they do not understand how it works. Here are the myths that your company should break in dealing with the media.

Sending a press release is your ticket to automatic coverage – News editors get stacks of press releases every day. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of blanketing every media outlet in the phone book with press releases, and then they are disappointed that no one picked up the story. 

The media does not owe you anything, and your best approach is to earn your way into their awareness through persistence, building credibility, deepening your understanding of their readership/ viewership, and being a resource. Treat your targeted media outlets just as you would your best clients.

Buying an ad increases your chances of getting an article placed – A reputable publication keeps the editorial department separate from the advertising department. They do not influence each other.

In fact, it is an insult to journalists with integrity to assume that you can buy your way into the news pages. Although there are media outlets that let themselves become influenced by advertiser dollar, it wouldn’t be worth it either. Just think of your company’s integrity.

You will have an opportunity to review the article before it is printed – It is extremely rare for an editor to allow interview sources to review an article that they have been quoted in. You are battling against their very tight deadlines, and having even the most minor of tweaks and changes will only give them more work.

Occasionally, a reporter will ask for clarification or a name spelling, to which you should respond swiftly. In the end, you have absolutely no control over what gets printed. Just make sure that what you said during interviews are clear enough to avoid misquotes.

An announcement of your newest service offering is juicy news – A new product or service is not enough to make it news worthy. Dig deeper to really understand the story that is most interesting to the target readers or viewers. Does you service make life easier? Does it increase revenue? Does it revolutionize an old process? Does it create impact at the local community?

You can make copies of your printed article and distribute them any way you like – If you submit a bylined article, be sure to understand the rights you have to the story. Visit your local intellectual property agency for a crash course on copyrights. You should get a written agreement with the publication spelling out your rights as the author. If the publication retains the rights, you then have no legal right to distribute the article. Contact the publisher and speak with someone at their Reprints Department to learn the proper way to redistribute copies. Of course, you have to pay for the reprints, but with your name emblazoned on the article, it would be worth it.