Connecting

Tradition Media: Connecting & Pitching

Connecting:

You are invited to an event by a colleague, and you see someone that works at the local tv station, or they are introduced to you as the station manager of your favorite radio station. Would you introduce yourself and immediately start spouting off your resume and accomplishments? Probably not. Instead, you would get to know the other person with conversation and look for areas of interest, common ground, and show your interest in the event and what they are doing there. After, you might share your business card or find another way to connect again in the future.

We make introductions because, no matter our goals, working with people means building relationships. This also holds true when working with journalists, editors, and media managers.

Just as networking is a two-way street, the same goes for working with reporters. Even if you don’t have a story to pitch yet, you can still take steps to build a positive relationship with them. Later, when you’re ready to pitch, it will pay off tenfold.

Here are two ways you can start building media relationships today:

1) Research

Building strong relationships with journalists starts with understanding their expertise or field of interest. Start by researching media outlets and their reporters and develop a media list (a media list is a database of names, numbers, phone numbers, email addresses and areas of interest) of local, regional, and national reporters that help you tell your story or promote your programs and events.

These might be traditional outlets and reporters who cover social justice and politics, human rights, education, or other topics that are in line with NCNW’s four foci. Look at past articles, tv stories they have covered, and their social media activity. It will help to identify the correct contact.

Remember not to ignore influencers, niche media outlets, which can be just as significant for connecting to your target audience. Also, follow their social media, as well as the outlets, because what they are covering for work and what interest them may be two different things and you can use that to your advantage.