
This step is all about approaching the media. It's the fun bit!
To get you ready, we’ll quickly take you through the etiquette of contacting the media and teach you about the different types of media and how they operate.
We will have told you which media to target in the video response we sent you so you'll just need to check the link to the media contact list you got in the email when you first signed up and see if those media are on there.
If not, don't worry, we’ll show you how to find the right journalists for your story in this step.
We’ll also teach you about the different types of media and how they operate and we’ll prepare you for any interviews you might have.
Once you’ve worked through this step, you will be ready to go out to the media.
First we’ll give you a brief background on how the media works.
TYPES OF MEDIA

Print and online media tend to have a writer that looks after a particular section or topic eg health, technology, entertainment, social affairs, small business, food and drink – the list goes on. So when thinking about magazines and newspapers, you need to decide where you think your story will fit within those publications and therefore which type of journalist is likely to cover and have a greater understanding of the issue you are trying to alleviate.

Radio stations are broken up into programs and each program will have one or two producers that look after the entire show. There are two types of radio program.
The first is talkback where the presenters discuss topics at length and bring experts onto the show and invite listeners to call in with their opinions.
The second is music based with light chat in between songs. These chat topics are often based on pop culture like discussing the latest episode of The Bachelor or celebrity gossip, so unless your story taps into this kind of subject, then you’re better off looking at talkback.
Then you have news. News bulletins are made up of short, sharp 10 second stories and cover only the top stories for the day. You need to have a seriously strong news story to make it on to these.

TV is similar to radio in that it has news bulletins and magazine style programs and the same rules apply. You need strong news to get on to the news and the right kind of story to make it on to shows like Sunrise, Today Show, Studio 10 and The Project.
They particularly like human interest stories about real life problems being solved.
MEDIA DEADLINES

You also need to be aware of the timelines that media work to. All media work to lead times but not all their lead times are the same.
Monthly magazines are known as long lead publications because their lead times are three months – this means that they write their stories and send the issue to print three months before it hits the shelves. It follows that you will need to send your story to these publications over three months ahead of when you ideally want it to appear.
Weekly magazines and newspaper supplements are known as medium lead as their lead times are approximately six weeks. This is not the case for the ‘news’ sections however, eg the Short Black section in Good Food in the SMH and The Age will be written about five days to a week before; same with the ‘gossip’ pages of the weekly mags like New Idea.
Newspapers are short lead as they turn stories around in a matter of days. Daily newspapers may run your story the next day and Sunday newspapers like you to sell your story into them on the Tuesday before they come out. NB you cannot sell the same story into both daily and Sunday newspapers in the same state, as if it has already run in a daily, the Sunday will consider it old news. You will need to decide which is best for you.
It may take longer for your story to appear in the small business sections of the paper as the story is likely to be less time sensitive; these sections tend to be planned and written at least a week in advance.
Radio, TV and online are considered immediate lead because they broadcast stories in a matter of hours however it is best to ‘sell in’ to these mediums at least a week before, especially if the news is considered ‘light’ (ie not ‘breaking news’) or you have a spokesperson to put forward for interview.
GENERAL RELEASE VERSUS EXCLUSIVE
One thing you need to consider is whether you want to opt for an exclusive with one publication or issue your story to everyone (general release). Journalists love an exclusive and if you offer it to just one, the chances of the story running are much higher. The reason for this is that they know that a rival publication won’t be running the same story. If you offer your story to a journalist as an exclusive you cannot give it to anyone else unless they decline to run it.
Exclusives work particularly well for softer stories, ie ones without a really strong angle. A news story, however, is usually a general release story. For example,
you’re launching the Australian version of Uber – this is a strong news story that you can share with more than one publication.
A news story, however, is usually a general release story. For example, you’re story is that you are expanding your business to the US – this is a strong news story that you can share with more than one publication. Similarly, if you’re releasing a Christmas variant you would send that to as many media as possible.
There are a number of handy tools that PRs use that you might want to consider using too.

Another free of charge service. You can set up alerts via your gmail that will monitor the web so you know when your brand has been mentioned online.
Click here to set up

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a popular sourcing service for the English-speaking world. It connects journalists and bloggers with relevant expert sources. It sends out alerts every day from reporters looking for content for their stories.
Click here to set up

It’s a call out service that media use when they are looking for story content. There are often call outs for small business owners and entrepreneurs to share their stories.
You can sign up to get their alerts for free. You can also put yourself forward as an expert so that when a journalist searches for a person to speak on your topic, your name comes up.
Click here to set up
Well done on getting your story out. There are four more modules to explore so if you have a product or service that could be reviewed or makes the perfect gift, we'll show you how to get it in the media. If you have an event coming up, we'll tell you how to maximise it and if you fancy yourself as an expert in your field, there's a module for that too.
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