Hitching a Ride on Current Events

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Hitching a Ride on Current Events
by Paul J. Krupin

Current events do present opportunities for media coverage. To see whether you can get involved requires you to analyze what you have and quickly identify what you can bring to the table that the media needs. Obviously you do not want to be scene as an ambulance chaser. But there are ways to get out in front of the news, regardless of what happens.

If you think about what media does in response to an event, they go through several stages of activity. Break these stages down and identify specifically what these activities involve.

On any event of note the media needs:

- relevant facts and explanation to provide insights into what this event means to the watching public

- expert commentary with an ability to assess and relate history and the past to the present and the future

- analysis of impacts and consequences

- opinion on what individuals, organizations and cognizant governments should or shouldn't do

- evaluation of developing trends and consequences

- prevention, protection, remeditation or financial protection ideas and strategies and remedies for the people involved directly or the next touched and the support network for both.

If you can clearly identify and then flesh out your ideas and credentials, you can send a fax or email and draw attention to yourself and offer to provide the information to the media for their use.

The real key is to not look backward but look forward. The actual news releases you write do need to contain some key information. Successful event follow-up news releases:

1. Have a short and to the point headline

2. they clearly state what, when, where, why, and how the ideas benefit the targeted impacted group of people

3. it also clearly states why the information is of interest to the media audience.

4. Provide a quick, solid, easy to use statement of facts, issues, analysis points, conclusions, questions and answers, talking points, or whatever it is you have to offer.

5. Presents your credentials quickly, which qualify you as an expert worth trusting.

6. Provides clear contact information (name, phone and email) that allows for quick booking of the interview.

7. Offers the media more free additional information quickly (review copies, white papers, pdf files, etc by web site, e-mail, fax, overnight).

You should send out your news release as soon as you can after the event occurs because the clock is running once the event starts.

One key guerrilla tactic, once an event occurs, is to create a likely timeline whereby you predict what will happen over time, and identify the key events and opportunites for your timely intervention. Then you pitch
and let the media know what's going to happen.

For the Sunday tsunami and tidal wave situation, an expert in waterbourne diseases would be able to get out in front of the media needing this expertise simply because it can be calculated when the threat of disease
will happen and when the media will need the help. The need arises two to three days after the event. What's next? What else will the media need by Friday? Sunday? Day 12 through 15?

The timeline allows you to factor in the lead time appropriate for the type of media you want to focus on.