Earlier this month CIPR North East held an event for PR practitioners focusing on the discipline of media relations, and pitching to broadcast media in particular.

Media relations is what many people, who don’t have a full understanding of the profession and industry, associate with public relations.
 
Public relations can be done very successfully without using media relations, yet media relations does not exist without PR. However as a discipline media relations remains, for many practitioners at all levels, an integral part of their PR activity, both pro-actively and re-actively.

I do though want to stress that public relations is not just media relations. And it doesn’t and shouldn’t define us as a profession. As current CIPR President Emma Leech said in response to a BBC Radio 4’s episode of The Media Show on public relations that focused solely on publicity through the media.
 
“What we deliver goes far beyond media relations. The truth is tens of thousands of public relations professionals provide ethical and strategic support to businesses of all sectors. We help build trust in organisations by establishing and improving relationships with key stakeholders - not just journalists. Many aspects of PR such as community engagement, digital communication and internal communication involve no media relations.”

​But I also want to stress how important it is to get it right. Although media relations is not what we do all the time - PR encompasses so much more - when we do engage in media relations on behalf of clients and our organisations it is important to do it well and appropriately for the business and target media. 

So whereas public relations is the act of maintaining, fostering and improving relations between others and your business, media relations is limited to an organisations interaction with stakeholders who are journalists, bloggers, editors, reporters and others in the media business. Placing stories in the media is just one way that PR can help an organisation reach their audience. But as PR professionals we should be aiming to be trusted advisers to the media not just sending out press releases.

Why is it important to get it right? Read this blog post by Ella Minty in which she says about getting it wrong “We can damage a client’s reputation even if we’re paid to protect it!”

Success in media relations means anticipating not just the story that will appeal, but the treatment of it, other assets it must include and a method of pitching that attracts the journalist’s attention.

Technology has transformed filming, editing and broadcasting meaning there is little need to edit in the studio anymore however less processing time means stories can be edited and programmed up to broadcast time resulting in more pressure on producers.And with fewer resources newsrooms are stretched.
 
So with that in mind CIPR North East (of which I am Vice-Chair) held an event on media relations and broadcast media in particular, with Adrian Pitches, BBC Look North TV Planning Editor, and Matt Jones, Bauer Radio News Operations Manager. all about how to nail your pitch. The duo has over 30 years' experience - so know what makes a good story for TV and Radio!

Here’s what we learnt. Put these tips into practice and your client or organisation could be the topic of the next ‘did you hear xxx on the news this morning’ and ‘have you heard about xxx’ conversations.

1. Get to the point straight away. Take the time to craft your opening two paragraphs of your email. You need these words to get you through the first filter on the planning desk. Your initial call or email is your opportunity to convince the panning desks you have story right for their media outlet.
2. Make it accessible. Cut the acronyms and jargon. Jargon, company speak and no news won’t pass the filter threshold.
3. Suggest content that is engaging. Where is the human interest? Have you got great case studies happy to be interviewed? Is it news, is it interesting or is it funny and will it make people smile.
4. Ensure it is visual or talk-able. But don’t forget everything is multimedia now and even with radio video can be used for website and social media. Think about and help identify how images and sounds will be created – send stills to help it be visualised but only send them if they help. A head shot is not going to help. When doing radio interviews by phone hold the device away from the face so the microphone picks up the sound properly. 
5. Can it be embargoed and previewed? Media previews and behind the scenes still important so content is embargoed but ready to go when it becomes news
6. Could it be an exclusive? Think about approaching one media outlet first and see if they are interested. Check out the organisations current themes and own campaigns – do you fit their agenda?
7. Think about timing. The Tuesday after a Bank Holiday Monday is a slow news day (maybe not any more if we all follow these tips) but an embargoed news story ready to film on a Tuesday following a bank holiday can be arranged the before the holiday weekend. Look to place weekend stories on Tuesday or Wednesday embargoed for weekend. News is planned day before and thee more notice that can be given the more thought can go into it. But don't hesitate to phone on the day - if the  story is good enough it will get covered. But also bear in mind the need to be flexible - local news can go out the window for the national agenda.
8. Think about the audience. The TV audience is fairly middle-aged and older and family orientated but not all news is created for them only. Viewer research shows that they’ve watched the national news and now want something more relaxing, informative, different to the national agenda and with a feel-good factor about their own region.
9. Is it good enough? There is less than 28 minutes to till in a regional TV news programme, which means only 6 – 8 stories per week day can be covered. Radio bulletins are about 2 minutes long.
10. Make contact. Don’t forget you can always email or call to gauge interest in a story before you spend time on a pitch – that is what developing media relations is all about.

May 2019 saw the first mayoral election for the North of Tyne Combined Authority, with registered voters in three local councils: Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland eligible to take part. The North of Tyne devolution deal secured £600m over the next 30 years, aiming to create 10,000 jobs and boosting the local economy by over £1bn.

As well as representing every single person in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, they will ensure the area’s voice is clearly heard by Government and champion the North of Tyne nationally and internationally. The deal means more decisions will be taken locally rather than by central government which means we as communicators will have a big part to play in influencing these decisions. It’s no longer just about what is happening in Westminster.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) North East Regional Group has created a series of professional development and networking events for senior / strategic professionals in the North East's PR & communications industry. The first event with Heathrow Airport focused on putting PR at the heart of your organisation and how to get PR a seat at the boardroom table.

Organised by CIPR North East committee member Huw Lewis (Nexus) and Vice-chair Deb Sharratt (Independent Practitioner) the Strategic Communicators Forum North East aims to provide events which meet the needs of a targeted audience, focused on leadership and strategic communications rather than purely practical and technical PR skills, whilst providing an opportunity to network with colleagues, as well as meeting new people with similar roles, experience and insight. This fits with the vision of the CIPR to be at the heart of a professional and diverse public relations profession that organisations, government and the public understand and value.

Further events for strategic communicators from CIPR North East via the North East Strategic Communications Forum are planned throughout the year. To get involved tweet or DM @CIPR_NorthEast or email CIPR North East Vice Chair Deb Sharratt.

CIPR North East also has a various training, networking and social events across the year for all PR practitioners. Follow @CIPR_NorthEast on Twitter or LinkedIn to keep up to date.