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How To Make News Reporters
Your Best Friend
Working with reporters can lead to priceless coverage.
by Dennis E. Hensley, Ph.D.
All materials copyrighted
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Ad Disclaimer
About a year ago a reporter for the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain did a big feature story about me and the two books I have written on
time management. The story hit the wire service and appeared in more than 60 newspapers nationwide, including The Detroit Free-Press,
Indianapolis Star, Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Minneapolis Star, and Buffalo News. Needless
to say, it did wonders for the sale of those two books of mine, and it also generated numerous bookings for me to speak at conventions,
universities, and corporations.
Now, how do you think that came about? Fool luck? Random chance? Well, if that’s how you’re thinking—think again! I went out and
generated that story. If you want your product to get high visibility, you’d better learn how to generate the coverage yourself. And
you can do that by following the steps outlined below:
Put Out Lots Of News
Sit down and come up with as many news angles about yourself and your product as you can and send these notices to area and regional
reporters. Not a week goes by that I don’t mail out emails and snail mail press releases about my speaking engagements, my new book
contracts, my service on a board or panel or judging group, or my special projects at the university where I teach.
I stole this idea from Henry Ford, who once said, “I don’t care what they say about me, so long as they spell Ford correctly.” Throw
enough lines in the water, and sooner or later you’ll reel in a big catch. If you have nothing to report, then that’s your fault.
Volunteer to speak about your product at the Rotary Club or Kiwanis or at high school classes, and then make sure the area press knows
about it.
Make Yourself An Expert
Newspaper reporters love to quote experts when they are trying to give a local angle to a national event. So, if you’ve written
articles or even a book on a topic related to your product make that known to area reporters and make yourself available for interviews.
For example, I wrote a short devotional book focused on Christmas and New Year’s Day called Surprises and Miracles of the Season
(Beacon Hill Press). Every Christmas season I create a list of ten interview questions about unique Christmas celebrations, interesting
family traditions, and historical incidents related to Christmas. I send these to area radio stations, mention my book, and say that
I’m available to be interviewed. Invariably, I’ll wind up on three or four talk shows, either at the station or via telephone, to talk
about Christmas. Naturally, I make reference to my book several times during the interview…and it greatly increases sales.
Create A Newsworthy Topic
When I want to convince a newspaper reporter that I am worthy of being interviewed, I will often gather a series of articles from
various sources to show interest in a specific topic. I’ll then offer myself as a responder or interpreter of that news item. In a
sense, I’m “creating” news, but that is fine for reporters, as long as they have enough evidence that the topic is actually newsworthy.
For example, in the middle of last summer, I found a lot of articles in various magazines and newspapers about “the summer doldrums.”
So, I made copies of these articles, sent them to a reporter for Knight-Ridder, and said that I was the author of two time management
books, and that I could offer great tips on how to use goal setting, self-motivation, and time management as ways of beating summer
doldrums. She thought the idea was clever and timely. So, she interviewed me and brought along a photographer, and I wound up being
featured in 64 national newspapers.
Capitalize On National News Events
Whatever the big news of the day is, try to find an angle you can step in to speak on. When “male bonding” was such a hot topic a few
years ago (Million Man March on Washington and Promise Keepers mass rallies), I contacted several TV talk show producers to say that I
had written a book called Man to Man: Becoming the Believer God Called You to Be (Kregel).
I sent a copy of the book to each producer, attached a list of my credentials and a list of possible interview questions regarding the
topic, and I landed interviews on six out of the ten stations I approached.
The thing you need to keep in mind is that most talk shows have to come up with a new topic and new theme every day. They are scrambling
constantly for good ideas, and if you can walk in with ready-made questions and present yourself as a credible source on a given topic,
you’ll often be seen as a gift from broadcast heaven. Likewise, newspaper feature writers need a constant source of fresh ideas. You
won’t be harassing them by sending in lots of topics and lots of interview suggestions. They need material.
One final note for the writers out there: As you generate lots of news coverage, make sure that your publisher gets copies of each
newspaper feature and a copy of each recorded TV or radio interview. Ironically, once you start getting famous, that is when your
publisher will begin to advertise your book. The publisher sees it as adding fuel to an already burning fire, not trying to ignite
something that may never catch aflame.
Okay, go strike that publicity match.
About The Author:
Dr. Dennis E. Hensley’s 47 books include Millennium Approaches
(Avon Paperbacks), Money Wise
(Harvest House), and The Power of Positive Productivity (Possibility Press).
Visit him at Dennis E. Hensley
* This article is available for your publication, for a F-E-E.
This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author.
For reprint rights or comments/questions about this article, please contact the author.
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