1. Building Relationships With “the Media”
Kenny COLSTON
KENTUCKY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY

2. Who are “the Media?” “Big” outlets Local outlets
Courier-Journal, Herald-Leader, Associated Press, CNHI
TV stations in Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati, Evansville, Paducah, Bowling Green and WYMT.
Local outlets
Your local newspapers, be it weekly, multi-weekly, daily.
Other small publications in your area – i.e. coffee news?

3. How to Pitch a Story/Event
The more local the media, the more likely you are to get covered.
For ex: At the Oldham Era, if you had a community event we would put it on our “Community Page” free of charge, usually if you asked nicely.
If it’s a big event, stop by and talk to the editor or reporter about why it’s a big deal.
Don’t expect to get a “free ad” by having your event run the community/calendar section every week for 4 weeks. Budget for an ad at that point

4. How to Pitch a Story/Event
If truly a big event, make it easy for the journalist/media to cover it
Have people qualified to talk about the event on standby and ready to chat, either in person or by phone
If it’s happened before, offer to share photos from previous events.
Have consumers/patients willing to talk about their experience/why they are excited for the event
Have other stakeholders (other orgs, county/city government folks, public health folks) also ready to speak

5. How to Pitch (Cont.)
The key is making it easy for the journalist, no matter how big or small the outlet is.
It doesn’t promise you coverage, but it certainly hurts if you’re not totally put together. They have increasingly small staffs and have to prioritize what to cover
Questions?

6. Building Relationships
As noted on the previous slide, no matter what the outlet is, most journalists/media outlets don’t have enough staff
Don’t take it personal if they don’t cover an event you think is really important.
Building relationships by “playing a journalist” yourself. Snap photos at the event and send them in. Do a full press release if you can

7. Building Relationships
The other key is to not just check in with a media person every time you need something
Building a relationship with journalist is no different than with anyone else.
It’s a give and take
You have to invest in it weekly, monthly. Sometimes daily
Be a community resource for them, not just on your topic of interest, but others as well.

8. Building Relationships
The better your relationship with a journalist, editor or outlet in general, the more likely you are to get coverage.
If all else fails, ask them directly what you should do in order to get coverage of things you deem important
How can you make their job easier?

9. Conclusions In conclusion:
There’s no “perfect pitch,” every journalist, editor and outlet is different. Work to find what’s best for each.
Treat your relationships with journalists as you would any other business relationship – you have to stay on top of it.
Don’t be afraid to look outside traditional media – there’s all sorts of newsletters, little magazines and social media where people get their info now.
Final Questions?