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Press Releases - The Questions Journalists Ask When They Get Your Press Release
Category: BusinessIf you can get a good idea of what journalists are looking for in news stories and ideas that are sent to them then you can tailor your material so that it has greater impact. One way to do that is to tune into their thinking. There are many things issues they will think about in relation to a news story, or an idea for a story, but here are some for consideration to get you started.
Questions Journalists Ask
Is this a story?
First and foremost, if you are issuing a press release then it must include news. This may seem obvious but time and again individuals and organisations bombard journalists with press releases that promote themselves and have very little news value. If you have got any news, but want to promote your organisation, then look at other avenues like advertising.
Where is the human interest?
News journalists want human interest – they are interested in the ‘people’ element of the story. They will want to know how people are affected, what the benefits and disadvantages are for them. If you look at the newspapers, watch
Who would disagree with this view, opinion, change?
Journalists are interested in conflict as an element of news. They will be interested in who will have an opposing view to yours – this will make the story much more interesting. They won’t directly ask you the question ‘who would disagree with this?’ but any decent journalist will be looking to speak to or interview those that disagree with what you have done or the viewpoint presented in your news story. From a journalist’s point of view they are seeking to move the story on and uncover the real news.
There are also a number of other questions journalists consider: What’s in it for me? Is this relevant to the audience? What is the potential for keeping the story going? How credible is the source? Who else has got the story? What’s the real story? Your job is to get your messages across but ensure that the journalist can answer these questions quickly and easily to their satisfaction.
Using PR to build your profile and protect your reputation can help you influence the audiences that are important to you - I invite you to access more free articles, tips and information on this and other subjects by visiting the ‘free stuff‘ section of the website - http://www.profilematters.co.uk/resources.php
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Debbie Leven - Profile Matters
Tags: journalist, media, news, newspaper, PR, press, press release, public relations, publicity, radio, television