To Get Free Publicity, Talk to the "New Kid on the Block"

by George McKenzie

God bless reporters. They don’t make much money; they
don’t get much of the glory; and they generally work
long hours under withering deadline pressure.

But here’s the most important thing to remember about
reporters if you want to get free publicity:

Very often, they’re responsible for coming up with
their own story ideas. This is called "enterprising."

This is where you can become the reporter’s best friend
- and reap a bonanza of free publicity for yourself.

For the sake of convenience, I’m going to group
newspaper columnists with reporters in this discussion.
(This may bother some columnists but I hope they
forgive me.)

I’m also going to group print reporters with broadcast
reporters. (This will REALLY bother some print
reporters, but I hope they also forgive me.)

I’m going to talk about anyone who loosely fits the
description of "beat" reporter. Anyone who’s
responsible for staying-current-with-and-reporting-on a
certain topic like technology, business, crime,
government, health, travel, consumer affairs, etc.

And let’s not forget the real heroes of everyday
journalism: the general assignment reporters and
feature reporters.

While everyone I just mentioned sometimes gets assigned
to cover certain stories, very often they find
themselves responsible for coming up with their own
ideas. This is where your opportunity lies.

It’s been said that most general assignment reporters
are a mile wide and an inch deep.

In other words, they know a little bit about a lot of
things, but they don’t know a lot about anything.

Even beat reporters have a learning curve - most of the
time they get assigned to a beat just because someone
HAS to cover it. It’s not because they have any special
background or training in that particular subject.

Helping them shorten that learning curve - becoming
their top resource for insight and information on their
beat - offers tremendous potential for getting free
publicity.

Even if they don’t write about you or attribute quotes
to you right away, it’s just a matter of time before
you start showing up on the air and in print.

So here’s what to do.

Find the "new kid on the block."

Pitch your idea to someone farther down the newsroom
hierarchy who’s responsible for coming up with their
own stories.

As a rule, reporters don’t make nearly as much money as
people think. So there tends to be a high turnover,
with reporters moving from place to place fairly often.

When a reporter is first hired, they generally won’t
know much about their new job, and (this is extremely
important) won’t have built up a list of sources yet.

If you build a relationship and become one of those
sources you'll often find yourself getting free
publicity that's more believable, powerful productive
and profitable than any advertising you can buy at any
price.

About the Author

During his 31 year broadcasting career, George's
TV reports have appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN.
George offers a free 7-day mini course to anyone who
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