by Mike Wacht Posted on Jan 13, 2020
When people learn that I have a journalism degree and used to work as a reporter, I often get the reaction that there’s never anything positive in the media. While I can understand that sentiment, there’s a simple explanation for it: Bad news is easier to find because police, fire and courthouse records are often public records, available to reporters upon request. Reporters and media outlets like to cover positive stories; they’re just harder to find.
Take for example this recent story on Good Morning America’s website. This is a good case study on how to help the media find good, positive stories. I do volunteer work for a Florida pet rescue group. One of my fellow volunteers reached out to me with what she thought was a fun story for the news media: a local bride wanted her bridesmaids to carry rescue pugs instead of bouquets of flowers down the aisle to honor her late brother.
I drafted a quick media advisory giving a summary of the event and why it was newsworthy, and sent it to about 200 editors, reporters and bloggers. My focus was on local media, and national media that covered pets. One freelance reporter who received the alert pitched the story to editors she knows with Good Morning America. They loved the idea. I worked with the reporter to make sure she had everything she needed to write and publish the story, including photos and quotes from bridesmaids. As a result, a local pet rescue group is now getting national attention from a positive story.
Global-5’s clients are more likely to be concerned with pavement than with pugs, but the principle is the same. Our top-notch communications professionals know how to employ media relations strategies to gain positive local, national and international coverage. For our clients, that’s good news.
UPDATE: Media coverage of this uplifting story keeps growing. Since Good Morning America first reported the story, it has been covered by Southern Living, Tails & Toys, InspireMore and even a Russian-language news site!