One of the best ways to get free publicity is to offer yourself as the local angle to national or international stories you see in print or on TV or radio. Local media are hungry for the local angle. That’s because local news is their bread and butter. Any time they can find someone in their area who can offer background, commentary or story ideas that piggyback off a national event, or someone who is part of a national trend, they will usually bite.
In fact, it’s standard practice in newsrooms all over the globe to pursue the local angle. Reporters sometimes labor for hours trying to track down someone in their area who can shed new light on a national issue, or who can offer an interesting local visual to accompany a national story.
7 Ways to be the Local Angle
Here are 7 ways to get into print and broadcast stories by being the local angle:
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-- Offer yourself as an expert. For example, a consumer credit agency that sees a story in USA Today about the increasing number of college-bound freshmen who are already in debt from credit cards can call local TV stations, tell them about the USA Today story, then offer their experts for on-camera interviews. Offer to do the interview anyplace but in your office. Suggest that they film you at a local shopping mall or anyplace else where high school students spend a lot of money.
-- Create an experts directory. If you’re a larger organization such as a university, or a company or non-profit that has a wide variety of experts who can be contacted by the media, create and distribute an experts directory. It can be as elaborate as a spiral-bound directory or as simple as a two-page list of experts. Many colleges distribute these directories every year or two to local and national media. The experts are listed by alphabetized subject categories. Each category then lists the names of faculty and staff members who have agreed to be interviewed, along with their title, phone and fax numbers and cellphone or beeper numbers. It’s helpful if you even include home phone numbers. When a skirmish breaks out in the Middle East and a local newspaper wants commentary from someone in their community, they can simply dig out the directory and find a professor who is an expert on the Middle East. Post your list of experts at your web site.
-- Offer a tip sheet. The consumer credit agency mentioned above can offer a list of 8 tips on how high school students can get out of debt. Create a tip sheet with an enticing headline. Then simply list the 7 or 8 tips, and close with a paragraph that lists the name of your agency, contact information and web site URL. Tips sheets are frequently used by print media. But even TV stations often flash tips on the screen after a video segment. Be sure to include your phone number where people can call for more information. See Special Report #16: How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media’s Attention
-- Offer the people angle. If you or someone in your company or neighborhood is the local angle to a national story, contact the media immediately. If the national media are buzzing about a new fashion trend, such as the return to hip-hugger blue jeans, and a Baby Boomer you know has been wearing hip-huggers ever since her hippie days and has a closet full of outlandish hip-hugger outfits, the media might be interested. This would be a particularly good story for television because of the interesting visuals.
--Be a contrarian. The media love contrarian viewpoints and usually go out of their way to present both sides of a story. If you disagree with results of a national study, for example, and can explain why, you might be "the other side of the story."
--Present results of a poll or a survey. That's what BuyCostumes.com, a costume shop, did in September when it asked visitors to its web site whether they would wear a Gary Condit mask at Halloween. Fifty percent of respondents said it’s good idea but wouldn't buy the mask, 23 percent said they would buy it and 16 percent say the whole thing is a bad idea. Eleven percent had no opinion. Jalem Getz, chief executive officer of BuyCostumes.com, said he put the poll on the web site after the Connie Chung interview with the controversial California representative. About the same time, customer service reps began getting requests for a Condit mask. The story received coverage in local newspapers in Wisconsin, where the company is located, as well as in national publications.
--Don’t forget follow-up stories. The media love to follow up stories they already have covered. If you missed being featured in the original story, your story idea might be a good follow-up. For example, a hospital that wasn’t mentioned in a local story about how fewer women in their forties are getting mammograms might be the perfect "follow up" if they start a series of free classes on healthy breast care for over-40 women and learn the classes are one of the most popular they have offered. You can refer to the original story in your pitch.
For 6 more free tips and to purchase an indepth Special Report on How to be the Local Angle to National Stories click here.
Posted March 11, 2004
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