- 08 Mar 2017
- 0 comment
- Posted by entrepr
- Talking to the Media
Each weeknight, more than 1 million Australians tune into Today Tonight and every morning hundreds of thousands watch their favourite morning show. Here we go inside the mind of a TV producer to get a few top tips for securing coverage on either a morning show or evening tabloid news program:
“Unusual people, finance issues and health/fitness/weightloss are big topics for us. So is property.
“These days, ideas for stories come from a few different sources: early morning scours of the newspapers and magazines, suggestions from the public or businesses, established contacts and PR people.
“Before approaching us, you have to ask yourself what’s the promo line for this story?
“What‘s the one-liner statement we’re going to run that’s going to get people to tune in. If you can imagine that one-liner, then you’re in with a chance.
“Try to think like our viewers – the mums and dads watching at home. What’s in the story for them? And please, watch the show and know what it is we really do.
“Offering us an exclusive can also be a way to secure TV space. As soon as the show airs your story can go out as a general media release or be pitched elsewhere to print media.
“When putting a story idea forward, though, you must realise that a journalist will always aim for balance. This may involve finding a critic with a different opinion, finding an expert or member of the general public to comment or using an independent tester to trial a product or service.
“If you do manage to secure a story, providing or suggesting your own talent to put in front of the camera can be useful, as long as they are confident and able to speak clearly, genuinely and in terms the audience can understand.
“We will often go back to reliable contacts for relevant comment on stories – as long as you’re credible, good on camera, provide us with a mobile phone number and are prepared to be contacted at any time.”
