By Alyson Rybar, Stalwart Communications

For those of you that live in San Diego and don’t have much experience working with our local media partners, you missed a great event yesterday at the Rancho Bernardo Winery. The San Diego Daily Transcript hosted their “Meet the Media” session where local media figures introduced themselves and provided helpful tips on getting your company’s news covered. George Chamberlin, Executive Editor at the Transcript, kicked off the discussion and was joined by a panel of media experts including:

Tracye Grimes, Web Editor at the San Diego Daily Transcript
Jen Lebron, Reporter at the San Diego Daily Transcript
“Consumer Bob” Hansen, Reporter at NBC 7/39
Phil Farrar, Reporter at KOGO

I’ve been to quite a few of these events where media experts provide advice and this was by far one of my favorites because it included panelists from different mediums. In addition, all provided insight into what their jobs are like on a daily basis, the best ways to reach them, etc. Here’s a summary of what I took away:

• Have tough skin -> this is a business and you can’t take anything personal.
• Follow through -> if you send a pitch and offer up your client, be able to follow through.
• Provide accurate information -> if you provide inaccurate information, it’s highly unlikely the reporter will trust you the next time.
• Email is preferred -> a lot of reporters don’t check their messages for weeks so stick to email.
• Make it quick -> if you do call to make an introduction, make it brief. Although the media prefers email, quick introductions (during a time when they’re not busy) are fine, but remember to make it quick.
• Don’t be picky-> if you want your story to run in print, but it only goes online, be happy with that. Something is better than nothing and having your story online is just as good.
• Personalization is key-> send your releases and pitches to the reporter that covers that beat. Don’t send it to a list of reporters.
• Join social networks -> social networks are great tools for getting to know folks in the media. In addition, if they’re working on a story and need sources, they could potentially post it on Twitter or Facebook.
• Localize your news -> make sure the stories you’re pitching are relevant to the area. If you’re pitching a story that’s not local, chances are they won’t use it.

Thanks again to the San Diego Daily Transcript for putting on this informative event!