Maintaining Media Coverage

The executive director of a non-profit poses this question: "We used to get great coverage, and now it seems as though we have fallen from grace. What can we do to maintain media interest?"

The simple answer is to become a resource for reporters. Be the kind of newsmaker producers and journalists mark in their database as someone who is always good for a soundbite. That means you are accessible, articulate and willing to say, "I'm not the expert you need for this story, but call my colleague, who would be perfect for the angle of this story."

As for talk shows, coordinators are always looking for local guests who can come into the studio on a moment's notice, who offer ideas for future topics and who are interesting and provocative behind the microphone.

You can fall from grace if you tell the same old story every time. Or one too many times you are tied up. Reporters will find someone who has an expertise close to yours, and he or she could become the go-to source.

C'mon People - Focus!

Please, please quit multi-tasking while you're doing phone interviews. I've pleaded with guests and newsmakers on this issue time and time again here in this forum and in my monthly Media Savvy eTip, but some folks just don't get it. Here's one more attempt to convince you that bluetooth or not, we CAN HEAR WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

Live, I've interviewed authors, speakers, organization presidents and pundits who think we can't hear their extra activities while they're answering our questions, usually in a short time segment that they or their publicist begged for.

Cell phones ring. Emails are delivered. Dogs bark. Pots and pans clang. And a few days ago, a man must have been standing in front of his freezer while the ice maker unloaded a fresh batch of cubes. Was he on a deadline to have a cocktail or smoothie at 7:10 am?

Not only does this make you sound unprofessional, it distracts us from promoting your cause. Instead, we have to acknowledge a loud interruption:

"Oh, the garbage trucks must pick up early in your neighborhood."

"No," the guest answered, unapologetic. "I was just making breakfast."

She couldn't have waited five minutes for the interview to conclude?

Many shows will ask great guests back again. But if you forget to turn off your cell phone, lower the volume on your computer, put the dog out or insist on multi-tasking, chances are you won't get a return invitation on that program.

A Whole Lotta Apologizin' Going On

From former Senator Tom Daschle to Olympic Champ Michael Phelps, the phrase of the week seems to be "mea culpa." Did it help?

Yes, it will help both men in the long run, their supporters in the short term, and more importantly, it was the right thing to do. When a newsmaker commits an error in judgement, the public -- and the press -- want accountability. That's what's made the Rod Blajojevich story so confounding. He hasn't apologized.

Tom Daschle lost his chance to be in the Cabinet, and Michael Phelps lost an endorsement or two. We hold lawmakers and athletic heroes to high standards, but most of us realize they are human. So when they apologize, we forgive them. We have short memories. If you would've asked me a couple of years ago, I would've said Senator Joe Biden would never be elected to higher office because of the plagiarism incident that clouded his career. And now, he's a heartbeat away from the highest office in the United States.

We will probably hear from Tom Daschle again. And Michael Phelps may be back on a cereal box in 2012.

Learn from them. If you goof up, be ready to say, "My bad."

The Tylenol Test

Dateline: Illinois. In 1982, the makers of Tylenol spent $100 million to rehab the brand when seven people died in Chicagoland after tampering. Despite the tragedy, Tylenol survived and the incident is a case study for public relations students. The spin doctors, Hill & Knowlton offered this advice: "Tell the truth. Tell it all. Tell it now." It's terrific advice for any person or corporation facing a crisis. Think of the newsmakers who would have not gone to court or prison if they had told the truth early on in a scandal.

Now, the governor of Illinois is facing impeachment. He's also a master manipulator of the media. In America, he's innocent until proven guilty. But in the jury of the press, if I were his Soundbite Coach, I'd ask him to quit creating news diversions and learn the lesson from the event that happened in his neighborhood 27 years ago: tell the truth.

Cool Way to Send a Press Release

One of the public relations companies that routinely pitches guests to me for my daily talk show has started doing something that's definitely different--important with the dozens of books, emails and letters I get each day.

This company is sending its pitch on a thumb drive. To make the pitch even more solid, the logo of the guest's book or product is on the drive, and a video report is included with a press release and photos. I'm impressed. It undoubtedly costs more to make and send these drives than it would to just send a letter or email, but when you consider the cost of advertising or mailing preview books, the investment may be smart.

The drive alone doesn't sell me; the content still has to be right for our program. But in a world where catching attention is the first biggest hurdle, this works.

Happy 2009 - Media Savvy Resolutions

Happy New Year! I'm excited that this begins the 9th year I've been sending out my montly e-newsletter, called Media Savvy eTips. I always put different advice in the eTip than the suggestions or observations I share in this blog. But I've had such terrific reaction to the latest edition, that I wanted you to benefit from it, too. The eTip urged readers to set Media Savvy goals for each month of the new year. Here are the first five resolutions:

For January, I resolve to create a media contact sheet. It will include names, emails, addresses and phone numbers of local, regional, national and trade reporters and editors.

For February, I resolve to introduce myself as an expert resource to each person on my media contact sheet.

For March, I resolve to raise my profile on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Tweeter, etc.

For April, I resolve to submit myself as a source on www.HelpAReporterOut.com.

For May, I resolve to improve my ability to speak in soundbites in one of the following ways: getting coaching, joining Toastmasters or recording myself answering questions on a home camera.

If you are not already a subscriber to Media Savvy eTips, please consider signing up. You can do so by going to my website and clicking on the portion on the upper right that mentions the free newsletter. Or you can send me an email with "etips subscribe" in the subject line. And if you'd like the other seven resolutions, just ask.

In the meantime, have a happy, productive new year!

Wild Abandon

Sometimes those being interviewed are nervous. If I could whisper words of encouragement to them beforehand, I would say, "We are interviewing you because your opinion counts. Just be yourself."

In the place where I'm working now, there are huge movie-screen-type monitors off to the side of the set, and routinely a person will catch his or her image, realize he or she is on national TV and suddenly exhibit signs of terror. On the other hand... occasionally, a guest will become so enamored of seeing himself on the screen that he will stare at himself. That makes it hard to continue the interview, too.

So the learning point is this: be your best self... maybe for you that's not wild abandon. But you're energized, you're on, you're confident, you have a message to share.

We can't wait to hear it.