AOT Champions

AOT Champions - Engaging the Media

Engaging the Media

Engaging the media can be an effective way to raise awareness about AOT in the community and to maintain momentum during the implementation planning process.

Tips for Pitching the Media

  • First and foremost, ask yourself: Is my story new and timely? Journalism has been described as a rough draft of history. Your pitch needs to be current.
  • Is your story relevant to the news cycle? The ideal time to pitch a story or op/ed is when you can add value to a national conversation.
  • Is there a character to care about? Journalists use many of the same techniques as novelists. They don’t write about abstractions. They write about people. So make sure your story features a sympathetic character.
  • Does it affect many people, or have relevance to a large sector of the population?
  • Does it help solve a problem?
  • Is there tension, debate or conflict?
  • Will it make people smarter?
  • Know the media outlet's audience. An outlet that specializes in a particular topic (e.g. health) will have different ideas about what is newsworthy than a general-interest outlet will. Similarly, local and national media outlets have their own set of requirements for what is newsworthy.
  • Use compelling visuals — send high quality, high resolution photos (300 DPI or greater) with your pitch.
  • Create compelling subject lines when pitching by email. These days, reporters and editors are deluged with email pitches, as the press release has become virtually obsolete. Make yours stand out with a punchy subject line.
  • Follow up. If you don’t get a response to your email pitch within a few days, don’t be afraid to follow-up by phone or again by email. Just be kind and remember that journalists are very busy.
  • Give plenty of lead time. If you’re pitching an event, the sweet spot for pitching is three weeks out from the event. Pitch too late and they may be out in the field reporting a different story or on deadline.
  • Go over the ground rules. Before any interview in which any degree of anonymity is expected, the ground rules need to be clearly established. The New York Times has a helpful primer on the different levels of anonymity that can be granted in an interview.