A great story doesn’t automatically become a news story
If a story is interesting enough, reporters will find it…eventually.
But every day, journalists are sorting through breaking news, assignment tips, pitches, press releases and their own reporting, and there are plenty of genuinely compelling stories that never reach the right reporter. Timing is everything.
A PR professional doesn’t create the value of a great story. Our job is to recognize that value, understand why it matters and connect it with the journalists and audiences who may care about it. And sometimes, our job is to help others understand why they should care in the first place (this is part of the fun of being in PR!).
Some of the most successful stories I’ve pitched didn’t initially come to me packaged as obvious media stories. The name of the game is finding the story within the information and developing an angle that would make a journalist want to say yes.
One of my favorite examples came from our longtime client, Mechanics’ Institute, a historic library and cultural center in San Francisco. When a 150-year-old book that once belonged to the library unexpectedly made its way home, I knew there was a story there. But the library getting an old book back wasn’t necessarily the story I wanted to pitch.
I started digging deeper. That book had survived the 1906 earthquake and fires, which destroyed Mechanics’ Institute’s building and most of its entire 200,000-volume collection. With the 120th anniversary of the earthquake approaching, timing really was everything. I wanted desperately for this story to publish just before the April 18 anniversary. And so did the reporter. Tenacity and timing paid off: the first story published on April 12, just six days before the anniversary (SFGATE). From there, the story took off, eventually capturing the attention of local, national and international media, including The New York Times, CNN, People and more.
The book had been back at Mechanics’ Institute for months. The story was always there. It just needed the right angle at the right time.
Newsworthiness is in the “why should I care?”
Organizations understandably view their news through their own lens.
A milestone, new program, executive appointment or company announcement may be enormously important internally. A journalist has to consider something different:
Why would MY audience care?
PR professionals help identify the broader story:
- What’s unusual or surprising?
- Who is affected?
- Why does this matter now?
- Is there a larger trend or conversation it connects to? (Newsjacking! My favorite)
- Is there a human story behind the announcement?
Our job is figuring out what the story angle is, not just pitching.
Sometimes, a PR pro and reporter work together to find an angle. That collaboration becomes much easier when there’s already a trusted relationship in place.
Understanding the elusive “why now?”
A fascinating story can disappear into the ether if there is no reason to tell it today. Like I said, timing is truly everything. The news cycle is one of the fastest-moving parts of this industry. We need to move even faster or at least think five steps ahead to anticipate where the news cycle might go next.
There have been many times when I believed I had a perfect story to share with the media. Reporters say they’re eager to share it. They give me a publication date range. Then breaking news takes over.
And sometimes, the obstacle is on our side. If a reporter is interested but can’t get what they need quickly enough, the opportunity can vanish. No one wants to work on a weekend or a day off, but when a reporter calls or emails about a story you’re actively pitching, responsiveness matters. A quick reply can sometimes mean the difference between landing the feature and missing the opportunity entirely.
Part of the job is watching what’s happening in the world and recognizing the opportunities to connect an organization’s expertise, people or story to something journalists are already covering. This is called newsjacking.
Sometimes the difference between interesting and newsworthy is timing.
On the other hand, a publicist should know when not to pitch. If major breaking news has consumed a newsroom or the timing isn’t right for other reasons, waiting can give a good story a better chance.
Finding the right journalist matters as much as finding the story
I talk a lot about the importance of the reporter-publicist relationship.
Getting coverage isn’t about sending a story to as many journalists as possible. We call this “spray and pray” in PR. It’s about understanding:
- Who covers this subject?
- What has the journalist written recently?
- What kinds of stories interest their audience?
- Is this actually relevant to their beat?
- What’s the best way to approach them?
A fabulous story sent to the wrong 500 journalists may go nowhere. The same story sent thoughtfully to five of the right people could spark a conversation that ultimately spreads far beyond those five people. This is what we want!
And this is where media relationships matter, but relationships do not replace relevance.
A journalist isn’t going to cover a bad story because they like the person who pitched it. What trust can do is make them more likely to know that when you reach out, there’s probably a good reason.
Getting a reporter interested is only the beginning
What happens after a journalist says they’re interested? Most people outside PR probably think getting the reporter’s attention is the job, but in reality, that’s often when another part of the work begins. Depending on the story and medium, we may need to:
- Coordinate TV, radio or podcast interviews
- Help facilitate photo and video shoots, including schedules, locations and access
- Coordinate B-roll or other broadcast assets when needed
- Work with producers and assignment desks on logistics, sometimes with only a few hours’ notice
- Coordinate interviews, sometimes within hours
- Prepare spokespeople
- Track down data or background information
- Find photographs, video or other assets
- Connect journalists with additional sources
- Answer follow-up questions (this is a big one)
- Verify names, titles, dates and other facts
- Work around rapidly changing deadlines
- Make sure everyone involved knows what is happening (ALWAYS provide your clients with an update!)
Making a journalist’s job easier is a huge part of securing coverage, and a major component of building that trusted relationship with them.
Reporters and producers are often working under tremendous deadline pressure. Being responsive and getting them what they need quickly can be the difference between a story moving forward and becoming too difficult to pursue.
Another misconception about PR
Once a journalist decides to pursue a story, the story belongs to the journalist.
Alongside developing the story angle, a publicist can provide context, facilitate interviews, answer questions and correct factual inaccuracies. We don’t get to approve an article, choose the headline or dictate what gets included. We also don’t control how an interview is edited, which soundbite makes a broadcast segment or which photographs ultimately run. This is an important distinction between earned media and advertising.
The credibility of earned media exists precisely because someone independent decided the story was worth telling. That unpredictability is also part of what makes working in PR exciting.
Good PR respects that boundary.
Sometimes the answer is still no
Even the best publicist can’t guarantee coverage.
A genuinely good story might not land because:
- Breaking news takes over
- An editor decides against it
- The outlet recently covered something similar
- The timing isn’t right
- Resources are limited
- Another story takes priority
- It’s not the right fit
That’s part of media relations.
Our value isn’t a magical ability to make journalists say yes. It’s understanding why something may or may not resonate, adjusting the approach and continuing to look for the right opportunity.
PR is the bridge
On one side is an organization, person or cause.
On the other is a journalist whose job is to find stories worth telling to an audience.
The publicist operates between the two.
We translate organizational information into potential stories. We understand what journalists need. We connect the right people. We facilitate the reporting process. And, when we’re doing our jobs well, we build relationships based on credibility rather than solely asking for coverage.
Great stories still need someone to recognize them
There are remarkable people, organizations, discoveries, ideas and stories everywhere. But journalists can’t possibly discover all of them on their own.
PR can’t make an uninteresting story interesting just by sending a clever pitch. And we certainly can’t guarantee that a great story will show up in tomorrow’s news cycle.
But good PR recognize the story hiding in plain sight, understand why it matters, bring it to the right journalist at the right moment and help make it possible to tell.