Make 2016 a Good News Year

You can pick up quite a few lessons in media preparation by learning from the mistakes and recoveries of companies in the news. For instance, Chipotle's stock began to climb back up after the founder and co-CEO made an apology for customers' illnesses. Keep an eye on Volkswagen's actions as it goes through the fallout from the emissions scandal. And watch the presidential contenders. Ask yourself who's offering the best soundbites and why. If you want more detailed how-to's, call me.
https://youtu.be/7dqY2UMWbhU

Behind the Scenes

The woman being featured in my report turned to the man next to her and said, "It doesn't matter what we say. They don't use this part of the sound."

That reminded me of why I write this blog and work as a soundbite coach. Most people people don't know the rules of the game, and as a result, some can be taken advantage of.

I quickly and graciously corrected the woman, telling her that for our purposes, as we shot this video to illustrate what she does, the "natural" sound could be heard and might be used as what many reporters call a "nats pop" -- or burst of sound -- to make a report more interesting.

Here are two other tips that might help you when reporters feature you:

1. Be yourself--if you have a gregarious, engaging personality, it's fine to use big gestures, make faces and roll your eyes. 

2. Don't ask for the "outtakes" or the "rough cut." We understand you would love to have professionally-shot video of yourself to use for marketing or promotional purposes, but we are not allowed to give that to you. Most stations will put a link of your story on their website, and some will let you buy a DVD.

The woman I mentioned earlier was good-natured and a quick study. She immediately adjusted her conversation to reflect the tone of the story. And as I wrote the piece, I was happy to hear that she was full of nats pops!

Take Advantage of the Last Question

Most reporters will end most interviews by asking, "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

They may throw a spin on it by asking, "Is there something I should be asking you?"

Never answer "No."

This is a terrific opportunity for you to share your message. Reporters expect you to get on your soapbox given this chance. You may help them realize there is more to the story, and they will ask a follow-up question. Your passion will often ratchet up in this response. As a result, your answer could be the soundbite that makes the news!

Attention to Detail

I've taken a part-time job reporting in Phoenix, and I love it! For the most part, the newsmakers I've interviewed on camera have done a decent job making their points.

Here are three steps they've taken that have served them well:

1. Attire - Whether it is a CEO, attorney, entrepreneur or scientist whom I've interviewed, all dressed like you might imagine a person in that role would. This is good, not to reinforce stereotypes, but because you don't want to distract the audience.

2. Cooperation - When you're a part-timer, your schedule is not always flexible. The newsmakers have been accommodating and have also helped me make contacts with other people who could be a resource for the story.

3. Authenticity - The newsmakers have come across as genuine and honest, even though their issues might not be popular with the public.

What could they do better:

1. Don't be nervous - an investigative reporter would take this as a sign that they have something to hide and go for the jugular.

2. Keep answers short - long, rambling responses make it difficult to follow and will get edited.

Learn more from television newsmakers by watching and analyzing for yourself who resonates and why.

How News Coverage Has Changed

How are you getting your news?

If you're reading just one newspaper or looking at one news website or watching only one cable channel or local station for your news diet, you may be news malnourished. Here are reasons to get your news from multiple sources:

1. To be interesting - variety is the spice of life. If you and your friends all read the same stories or listen to one radio station, your conversations could become dull.

2. To understand the other side. Zig Ziglar said he read the Bible and the newspaper every day, so he'd know what the devil was up to. It's great to have an opinion, but you'll sound smarter if you know what your opposition is saying.

3. To be innovative - if we all get our news from the same sources, we will have group-think. At most jobs, original ideas and creative input are valued. If you're a CEO, you must have fresh eyes. Get news from trade journals, social media, alternative sites, newspapers from a different state, and you will learn.

As a journalist, I know that there is so much more news going on that does not get into one newspaper or one newscast. Local news has become a headline service: some producers are required to have 20 or more stories in a half-hour newscast. This means about 12 to 15 seconds per story. If you want to go in-depth, you have to go beyond the headlines.

A Happy Meeting Partner

When your client is happy, it makes you happy, too. One reason the following letter sent after a presentation last month means so much to me is that David had been part of a media training workshop ten years ago, and he remembered me, as mentioned below.


Lorri,
I'm not just saying it to be nice -- you did a fabulous job! You brought a lot of value, entertained the audience, and they all left with great information and action items. I also appreciate the generous way you shared the stage and worked with Jim Hinshaw. You guys crafted a wonderful presentation! BTW, the editor in chief of Contracting Business Magazine was in the audience and he said you did a great job too.

I think I told you this, but in case I didn't... Years ago when we were all at PRIMEDIA you did a Media Training seminar for all of the managers. I thought it was great. You gave us terrific techniques and the right way to think about working with the media. So when we were talking about this event, and the idea of teaching about the media, you were the first person to come to mind. I told everyone that you were THE person to do it. You didn't let me down; it was great.

I hope we have another opportunity to work with you.

Thanks!
--David

When Speaking in Soundbites Isn't the Best

The Right to Bare Arms

Avoiding Stings

Press Releases Still Have Value

As you can see by the post just below this one, I think organizations that take great steps to help others deserve positive press coverage. Here's a new business giving FORTY PERCENT of profits to charity. 

I also recommend you still write press releases. News outlets still read them, but there's more value to you beyond that. Put them on your blog or your website and link to them on all your other social media. Plus, when reporters go to check you out, they will research your company through your archived releases. This is a simple press release, but includes the important elements: contact information, location, website and compelling quotes.

For Immediate Release                                                                                     

Contact: Christine Ellis, 602-xxx-xxxx   www.StepInShoes.com

NEW MESA UPSCALE SHOE STORE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT CHARITIES

Forty percent of profits will go to help Haiti and homeless in Phoenix

Ribbon Cutting and grand opening of Step-In Women’s Designer Shoes Thursday, June 21, 10:30 a.m. at 2665 E. Broadway Road, Suite B108, Mesa

Mesa, AZ (June 16, 2012)—Sisters Christine Ellis and Shella Michel were looking for a way to get free shoes for the homeless they feed Sunday mornings in downtown Phoenix and asked former professional athlete David Jones for help.

            “When he showed us what the markup was for designer shoes, my sister asked, ‘Why not open a shoe store?’” said Ellis.

            Now, Step-In Women’s Designer Shoes celebrates its opening in Mesa. Ellis began the Bridge Ministry of feeding homeless people each week in 2006. Michel joined her and now they feed up to 500 at a time. When the devastating earthquake struck their native Haiti in 2010, the two began the Haitian Disaster Relief Center, which has established an orphanage caring for more than 40 children on the island.

            “When a woman purchases a pair of shoes from us, she will literally be feeding someone from Haiti or someone homeless,” said Michel.

            Most shoes in the store will sell for $19.99 or less.

            The store’s motto is “Look good to do good.”

            Real Estate Investor Michael A. Pollack helped the team get started by offering four months’ of the retail space at no cost.

            “We did it because they are giving back to the community in such a big way,” Pollack said. “I think it would be wonderful if more businesses did that.”

####

Cleaning for a Reason

A national non-profit organization based in Texas has been effective getting local television and newspaper coverage because its story is so compelling.

Cleaning for a Reason partners with local cleaning companies to offer women going through cancer treatment four free house cleanings. The kind service brings patients to tears--cleaning the house has been one of the chores that they were just too fatigued to accomplish.
Many of the owners of the cleaning companies who participate have a story about how cancer has touched their lives, and they talk about what a joy it is to give back.
Does your industry do good? Could you start a non-profit to help someone in need who has to pay for a product or service that you offer?
Think about the free publicity and name recognition these companies are receiving. To see some of it, go to You Tube and search "cleaning for a reason."

Be Nice to the Intern

You never know how recognition of everyone will matter in the long run... interns get hired and remember who was nice and who was nasty.

Yesterday, an intern escorted an expert guest out of the newsroom to his car, and he autographed one of his books to her. She will remember him positively. This guest also bought a package of cookies to the newsroom. Everyone loves cookies! What a savvy newsmaker.

Newsmakers Can Learn Lessons from Watergate

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

When You Ask for Questions Ahead of Time

Some newsmakers and public relations practitioners routinely ask for the questions ahead of time when an interview is scheduled.

DO NOT DO THIS.

It makes the reporter think you are nervous--what other reason would you have for needing to prepare?

It makes the reporter think you have something to hide--you must want to make sure the issue you are scared to answer is not on the list.

It makes the reporter think you have no knowledge of how the rules of interviewing work, so you probably aren't going to be a good resource or a good interview at all.

Here are some ways around this dilemma:

1. Ask the reporter for the scope of the interview, the "angle" or if it would be possible to get talking points to help prepare.

2. Tell the reporter you know that she probably won't use them, but would it be OK to send a few questions ahead of time, questions that fall into the newsmaker's area of expertise?

As a reporter, I am offended when the PR people ask me for questions. I usually ignore the request the first time, and if someone brings it up again, well, it depends on the story, but I never send questions. For one reason, I don't have the time. To me, interviews are more of a conversation than a deposition.

As a talk show host, booking guests, I would tell people, "I don't have time to come up with the questions in writing. We are spontaneous. However, if you send us questions you would like us to ask, we might use some of them."

How do you handle this situation?

Good for ABC

This shouldn't be a cause for celebration--or news. Nevertheless, it's good to know that one network is doing the right thing.

ABC Bans Paying News Subjects
ABC News has quietly decided to get out of the business of paying news subjects in connection with exclusive interviews. With no public announcement or fanfare, the news division's president, Ben Sherwood, has effectively taken ABC out of what had become a competitive bidding war for hot bookings. After taking a public-relations hit in several high-profile cases, ABC will no longer be buying photos or video as a way of getting a news subject to cooperate-a process that had become a fig leaf for purchasing interviews. When asked for comment, spokesman Jeffrey Schneider confirmed the new policy, saying: "We can book just about anyone based on the strength of our journalism, the excellence of our anchors, correspondents, and producers, and the size of our audience. These licensing deals had become a crutch, and an unnecessary one." The new approach is not an absolute ban, but network sources say it would take an extraordinary circumstance to allow a licensing fee-perhaps once every couple of years-that would require approval at the highest levels. ABC's unilateral disarmament could prompt the other networks to drop out of the pay-to-play arms race as well. Or they could continue to pay big bucks for licensing fees with one less competitor to worry about. "Will we lose a booking here and there? Sure," said Schneider. "Are those lost bookings equal to the credibility of ABC News? Not in any way, shape, or form."
The Daily Beast

Authors, Consider a Book Trailer

Movie trailers, the promotional clips for upcoming attractions that you sit through before getting to the real movie, have been around for 98 years.

Book trailers have only come along in the past decade. But they are rapidly becoming a staple of press kits and grass roots promotion. A well-done book trailer can help sell you as a talk show guest or news interviewee. Some TV stations may even use your video as b-roll during your interview.

You can post your book trailer to your blog, Facebook page and website. You can send it with your press releases. You can put a link in your Tweets and other social media. You can add the link to your email signature.

Please get professional help in shooting and editing your book trailer. I may be biased, but my husband's new trailer is a good example. He is an Emmy-award winning producer, so he has an advantage, but he's not used to being in front of the camera. Take a look and see what you think he does right.

Example of a Good Press Release

New Thriller Ill Wind Re-Visits Worst Hurricane in U-S History; Galveston Storm of 1900 Killed More Than All Others Combined

Film Producer Allen Pits Early Texas Crime Syndicate Against Fledgling Secret Service

June 13, 2011 - Houston

It was the deadliest, most destructive hurricane in American history. Even Katrina falls short in scale and devastation. Emmy award winning TV producer and native Texan Mark Allen uses the apocalyptic storm of 1900 as the backdrop of his historical thriller, Ill Wind.

This year, national weather watchers predict a more-active-than-normal hurricane season - with three to six major hurricanes projected for the Atlantic alone. But none have ever been predicted as severe as the devastating storm that swept Galveston Island more than a century ago.

“Most people have no idea how devastating the storm surge was,” says Allen. “In 1900, Galveston was the fourth-busiest port city in the country, but this hurricane wiped the island flat.”

The year was 1900.

The newly-formed U.S. Secret Service has sent an agent to investigate a counterfeiting conspiracy on the Texas Gulf Coast. He arrives just weeks before the horrible storm’s arrival on September 8th. As he uncovers a labyrinthian network of organized crime, the Gulf of Mexico churns - eventually producing a deadly phenomenon unlike any seen since.

Allen has leveraged his love of the Texas Gulf Coast and its history to produce a riveting historical novel set against a backdrop of utter devastation.

“I’ve always been enchanted with the city of Galveston, its romance and its tragic past,” says Allen. “This is a chapter of American history that has never been fully explored. I wanted to bring it to life with a novel that examines the city, the people and the circumstances preceding the disaster.”

As a child, Allen spent several years in the Houston area, where he and his parents learned to ride out hurricanes in the shower stall with a blanket and a weather radio. Years later, he covered Hurricane Andrew as a journalist based in East Texas. Today, he’s an award-winning TV and film producer and amateur historian.

“I think the lesson is that we tend to put too much trust in technology to protect us or to help control nature. It’s really a losing battle. We’re better at predicting hurricanes, floods and fires today, but no better at preventing them. Look at the Missouri River flooding, the Arizona wildfire or the tragic tornadoes this year alone. Weather is the great equalizer.”

Hurricane season in the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico lasts from June through November. Ninety-percent of the storms occur during that six-month window. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that this year's season will be above average, with as many as ten hurricanes spiraling across the Atlantic, many threatening the U-S coastline.

This is Mark Allen’s first novel, now available at amazon.com/kindle, barnesandnoble.com/nook, apple.com and ebookstore.com.

(http://www.illwindnovel.com/)

# # # # #

For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Jeff Brady at Brady Media Group. 214.265.5670. jeff@bradymediagroup.com

Plea to Business Owners--Get Insurance

Businesses that:

• Manufacture


• Have customers


• See patients


• Build


• Drill


• Hire drivers


• Have employees


• Use chemicals


• Serve food

need insurance. Of course, you have it, you think. But could your business handle the headline coverage that would come with a crisis in an explosion, ugly lawsuit, or accidental employee or customer death? What if one of your drivers fell asleep at the wheel and caused multi-car fatalities? What if one of your employees embezzled, sexually harassed, committed arson or murdered co-workers? Would you be ready to handle the reporters who descended immediately?

Media crisis insurance can come in the form reading blogs like this or coordinating Soundbite Coach training like I offer. But in these times, you might not be able to afford that. Here's a question to think about: can you afford the negative publicity that might cause customers to lose all faith in your products or services?

Documentary Horrifies, Inspires

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold will force you to
look at every advertisement, every movie, billboard, TV show and even school fences differently. Product placement didn't used to bother me--it seemed much more realistic than those generic packages that no one really uses.

Now, there is a whole industry based on creative advertising and placement, and documentarian Morgan Spurlock provides an entertaining but horrifying tale of how we are bombarded with ads. Be an informed consumer... OR as a newsmaker... be creative and be inspired about how you can find new property to sell your products or services.