Publicity Hound Shares Important Pitching Tips from NPR

Posted by Amanda Walsh-
An interesting blog from The Publicity Hound was written to give some media relations pitching tips. The author, Carol Klinger, Associate Editor of "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio (NPR), has been working there since 1995. Her experiences have given her the ability to guide PR professionals in the right direction for effective pitching. The main focus of "All Things Considered" is breaking news. This is a departure from other NPR shows that focus on feature stories.

Klinger’s pitching tips are broken down into easy to read bullet points:

Pitches she hates:

* Get-rich-quick products or services.
* Anything diet-related.
* "The next big thing" in the health category.

Pitches she loves:

* Breaking news. “Smart publicists,” she says, “call their authors as soon as they hear about a breaking news event that ties into the client's expertise.” Then they call her and pitch—that day!
* Ones that have "terrific sound." For example, one of her sources who works for a university, pitched a story about how the school was going to drop cars atop a hurricane shelter, as part of an experiment, to see how much strain the shelter could take.
* Pitches from publicists whose clients have JUST had an amazing experience. Call her that day, not three days later.

You can listen to Carol’s tips by visiting the link below for this interview with Eric Schwartzman from On the Record…Online.

NPR has a large collection of archives, so before pitching, be sure to educate yourself on the types of stories that are featured on each show by using the topic search feature on their Web site. This advice is true when pitching your story to any media outlet and a valuable media relations tip. Being familiar with the journalist's past stories will help both of you. They will be happy that you took the time to research their beat, and you won't be wasting your time pitching a story that they do not typically cover.