You improve your chances of getting coverage if you understand the lead times of the various media when pitching story ideas.

Newspapers, for instance, often work with no lead time. Online, radio and TV, too, are known for their immediacy. Newspaper special sections, such as a holiday gift guide, might want material one to two months in advance. Weekly newspapers, like the , have their special editions planned months in advance and begin reviewing story ideas for those as much as two to three months out. So, they might be thinking about their February 17 corporate philanthropy section in December.

Magazines - particularly those aimed at consumers - often have lead times of as much as six months. Some of those include women