What Journalists Are Looking For In A Story
Knowing what journalists are looking for in a story can help you bring your company to their attention. Journalists are always in search of the next story. The moment they put the paper to bed, they begin searching out new stories for the next edition.
Top Things Journalist Seek in a Story
Local connection – Local publications need a connection to the area. It can be a person in the story or a benefit the community may be receiving. Look for ways that your company press release can be written to highlight local connections.
Timely content – Stories that relate to topics trending in social media or news feeds can be enticing to journalists. Timely content can shoot to the top of the search engines. Timely content can also help publications sell copy. Release timely press releases before they lose their momentum.
Personal story – An honest and compassionate story with a personal lean will touch the reader. Journalists recognize the value of a personal story. Look for personal stories throughout your company and create press releases for these stories.
Precise writing – Clean and clear writing can be a delight for journalists. They often look for stories in the press releases that they receive that need little editing. Be sure to invest some time and resources into creating a professional press release for your company stories.
Descriptive and attention grabbing opening – Writers of all genres will tell you the importance of “show not tell”. Journalists are looking for stories that paint a picture for readers and not ones that just provide a list of facts.
Something new or unexpected – They say there is nothing new under the sun. Journalists are looking for stories that prove them wrong. Make an old story line new with a twist or unexpected move. Give the journalists something unique to tell and they will be more likely to tell your story.
A reason to care – It needs to be more than just a story. Your press release should include a hook, or a reason that readers (and therefor journalists) will care. Make a connection to the past or a link to the future. Create a bridge to the community. The hook can be the biggest reason that journalists will share your story.
Journalists are busy looking for a new story to share. This is good for your business when trying to share a story, but it can also be a challenge for your business.
Because journalists are busy, they seek out easy to find information and easy stories. They are also looking for stories that are formatted in a clear and precise manner so that it will be easy to generate a story for their publications. This means you have to invest some resources into crafting press releases that will provide journalists with these elements.
Because journalists are busy, they are always looking for new and interesting stories. This means that by crafting stories with timely content and unique stories, you will be more likely to catch the attention of the searching journalist.
