What makes the news?

So you’ve got something to say – that’s great! It’s time to share what’s happening in your world whether you’re launching a new event, report or product. It’s simply a matter of writing a press release and sending out far and wide right? Well, not exactly. Understanding what the makes the news is important. In reality, not all announcements and everything you have to say will be newsworthy. Here’s how to break it down.

A news story must include at least one of these:

• New facts or statistics

• Something new being said by someone interesting

• A new event, stunt or action (particularly if it would make a great picture)

• A story that hasn’t been told before

• Personal testimony that is moving, surprising or shocking

As a general rule of thumb, what isn’t news is:

• Your thoughts and feelings

• Old statistics that you’ve only just discovered

• An event you did last month but forgot to tell anyone

• A story that’s already out there without a new angle

• Personal testimony that is similar to other stories

It’s not an exact science. The best way to work out what different outlets consider news is to watch, listen or read them. If you’re pitching a story to BBC Breakfast but you only ever listen to LBC then you might struggle to know what they want. Do your research - each outlet has a different understanding of ‘news’. It’s your job to find out what they want. Everyone consumes news differently.

Ask yourself if you’d honestly click on the story you are pitching or if you would enthusiastically relay it to your friend down the pub. Maybe you would, but would your friends or your family be interested at all? If your story lacks broad appeal it probably isn’t news. It’s hard to hear that your ideas aren’t interesting but the more you send journalists non-news, the less they will talk to you and the harder it will be to build relationships. It’s really useful to share with colleagues in your organisation what makes something news and build that understanding. It helps to have guidelines and sometimes you’ll need to get creative to make things newsworthy.

Why might the media want you?

There are many reasons why the media might want to talk to someone from your organisation.

• You’re an expert and they want you for a news item, or for an in-depth feature on an issue that you deal with.

• Your organisation is involved in a live crisis situation and they’re asking you for comment. This could stem from the wider world such as a global pandemic or a crisis closer to home – a scandal or a disaster like an extreme weather event.

• The work your organisation does has been flagged in some breaking news or the issue is part of an ongoing hot topic such as food prices or immigration.

• Sometimes the media want to set up a panel of diverse voices to grapple with an issue such as improving public services or health inequalities.

Contact me to find out more: asha@ashatharoor.com