creative clique
FIRST GET UP & GET OVER
YOUR FEARS
Most people are terrified at
the prospect of talking to a
journalist, buying into the myth
that all journalists are mean
and scary, will twist your words
around or make you look bad.
Spoiler alert... just like you, most
journalists are highly trained
professionals (and nice people)
who just want to do a good job.
Their job is to tell important,
interesting or entertaining
stories that resonate with their
audience and you can help them
do just that.
These days, journalists need you
as much as you need them. In the
fast-paced, highly competitive
24/7 news cycle original,
interesting stories can be hard
to find. So they need your insight
and expertise to help to feed
their famished news agenda, to
tell the world something that is
unusual, to offer fresh voices and
context to bigger stories.
THINK LIKE A JOURNALIST
If you want to attract the
attention of a journalist, you
need to think like one. Their aim
is to find story angles that will
hook their audience’s attention,
so they are always searching
for story ideas that are topical,
unusual, solve problems or are
a bit controversial. But most
importantly, story angles must
also have a human-interest side.
One of the first questions
a journalist will ask when
assessing a story idea is “who
cares?” Because people are
most fascinated with stories
about people. Heart-warming
stories and heart-breaking
stories always get attention,
as do helpful, heart-stopping
(suspenseful or exciting) or
hilarious angles
So how do you become
“Good Talent” and get to
bank all that credibility
currency?
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
Don’t ever approach a journalist
with a story about your business,
your product, your book or your
event. Most journalists are pretty
allergic to a blatant PR pitch
and will avoid a story idea that
smells like an advertisement.
What they are really interested
in is the story behindthe story–
how you got to where you are,
stories about your customers
or your community, paths of
transformation, a moment of
discovery and turning points.
Journalists also want to know
how you are solving a problem or
your expert tips. Your expert tips
are often exactly the same advice
you give to your customers
and clients time and again.
Remember, your customers may
have had the gift of your wisdom
but plenty of other people out
there also need to share it.
Keep an eye on what is going on
in the news and see if you can
capitalize on it. This is known
as the art of “Newsjacking” -
injecting yourself into a breaking
news story so you and your ideas
get noticed.
IDEAS TO GET YOU
NOTICED
Is a Government report about
to be launched that you could
provide an expert opinion or
industry insight on?
Can you leverage a story angle
out of a significant calendar
date like Christmas, back to
school or the end of financial
year?
Think of something that you or
your business could add to the
story - you’ll be surprised how
successful you could be.
AUTHOR
Ann Buchner
ANN BUCHNER COMMUNICATIONS
CONTACT
0418 409 702
WEBSITE
annbuchner.com
BE PREPARED
To be “Good Talent” you need
to build interview skills to
help you tell your story in a
succinct, engaging, authentic
way. Having a clear story angle,
creating an interview game
plan and preparing snappy
quotes that you can deliver
with confidence, will help you
successfully play the media
game.
Women’s Network Magazine
65