FIVE WAYS TO GET ON THE RADIO
Here are five basic methods of fitting your group into the programming atradio stations:
1) Spot messages
2) Feature stories
3) News
4) Interviews
5) And becoming a reporter.
Here are details on each method.
Spot Messages
Spot messages are short public-service announcements that most stations arerequired to carry as part of their license agreement. Getting a spot is notdifficult; you must simply fulfill the program manager's criteria for the types ofcharitable organizations the station is willing to sponsor.
If you are approved, some radio stations will write the public information spotfor you. You need supply only the grist, the basics about your cause and yourorganization, and perhaps some flesh -and-blood examples of how you'vehelped.
But don't count on getting such assistance. In the majority of cases, the staff istoo busy to do this work for you. And even at stations where they're preparedto help, supplying them with copy that requires minimal alteration makes itmore likely your spot will eventually get made and aired.
If you need to write your own spots, here are basic tips for making your spotappealing.
1. First, remember that spots are typically only a minute long, so the messagemust be conveyed in a tightly wrapped form, with the accent on getting thelistener's attention from the very outset.
2. Spot messages can be informational, telling listeners about the problemyour organization seeks to alleviate and how you go about doing it. In thiscase, you need to accent the human dimension of things: a story aboutsomeone you've helped, or an individual volunteer's experiences, for instance.
Alternatively, a spot message can be motivational, urging listeners to getinvolved and help give the problem a cure. These kinds of spots demand a toneof enthusiasm and challenge. They're pitched directly at the listeners,summoning them to respond personally.
The appeal should be frank, candid, direct, yet upbeat, not an exercise in guilt- tripping. "You have what it takes to help a child in need," is a good example ofa positive way to appeal to someone's best instincts.
In contrast, a downbeat tone, intended to shame people into helping yourcause, doesn't conform well with the radio medium: People are listening forenjoyment and entertainment, and a public information spot that hits adiscordant tone is likely to cause irritation- a switch of the radio dial.
3. No matter what station the promotional spot will run on, keep the languageconversational. Don't write in long, run-on sentences. Use short, activephrasing. ("We want to hit a home run against hunger," for instance. Not: "Thesocietal disorders evidenced by homelessness should give us all pause forconcern."
4. Write with directness to take advantage of the immediacy of radio. Speak tolisteners as if they were your friends. Be personal and friendly, projecting arelationship between your organization and your listeners with liberal use ofwords like "you" and "yours."
5. Avoid jargon, slang, acronyms, or unfamiliar words that might cause peopleto scratch their heads instead of focusing on the important things you have tosay.
6. If the radio station runs your spot, be sure to write a note of thanks. "Stationpersonnel are like everyone else," says Pete Weitzner of Century Cable. "Theylike to feel appreciated, and organizations that show appreciation are morelikely to be helped by people at the station again in the future."
Feature Pieces
Feature pieces are another form of programming that can provide you anopening to a station. Your feature piece could be an interview or a report on anevent you are sponsoring in your community. Feature pieces are usually moreanalytical and in-depth than spots or news stories.
If you identify a local radio station that does occasional features, call to findthe names of the producers who oversee them. Write to these people aboutyour project, and the social problem you are covering. Give solid examples ofpeople being assisted by your efforts. Say that you would be happy to help thestation with your experience and expertise should they be interested in doing afeature dealing with your issue.
As with newspapers, I also recommend following up your letter with a phonecall, telling the producer you "just wanted to make sure" the letter arrived, andyou'd be happy to answer any questions he or she might have.
Again, as with follow-ups for standard press releases, it's useful to haveadditional noteworthy facts to offer when you make phone contact, to sparkmore interest.
Feature stories are most interesting when they include real people. If there'ssomeone whose life has been turned around by your charitable organization,that's the kind of story people like to hear-and radio can convey it effectively.So make sure the producer knows if there is such a potential story about yournonprofit.
News Stories
A charity can be proactive in its approach to radio news, attempting togenerate news stories about itself with press releases. Those releases shouldbe geared to the style of radio news writing, which gets the basic point of thestory across in the first sentence or two, adds some descriptive imagery, andends fairly quickly.
There is also the possibility that your organization's work could be mentionedin the context of a "hard news" story. In fact, when you write to the radio- station producer for any reason, you might gain a special advantage by linkingyour organization's story with a topical story in the news that week or month."If your message can be wrapped into a news story ... that catches aprogrammer's eye, he or she is likely to add it to the end of an announcer'snewscast," writes Marty Schwartz, vice president of sales at New USA, a public- relations firm in Virginia. "Of course, not every message can be ... successful.There has to be some news value or public-service value inherent in themessage. If it just a 'product' pitch, programmers will make their own pitch- into the circular file-and be sore that you wasted their time. So this is wheresome creative thinking about how it can be presented is really valuable."
Even if an expanded feature program doesn't fit into the station's schedule, aproducer or news director who finds your story interesting might see theopportunity to broadcast an interview with you, or to let someone in yourorganization interview someone else involved with the charity.
Interviews
Radio interviews can be divided into three broad categories.
1. The first is akin to feature reporting-a longish interview, conducted bysomeone with the station, in which the subject matter and general questionsare known in advance. Such exchanges can even be scripted. But authenticity isenhanced when there is some spontaneity, so it is better to request a format inwhich you don't stick to a text, but only to an overall framework of questionsthat have been agreed to in advance.
2. There is the interview conducted by the charity itself. While these can beeffective, especially if done with leeway for ad-libbed conversation to boostcredibility, there is something more authoritative for many listeners when astation employee conducts the interview.
3. There is the news interview conducted by a reporter. These can be the mostintimidating exchanges for the interviewee, because the questions aren'treviewed in advance, so you have to be quick on your feet in answering.
If you have an opportunity to choose among these various formats, the onethat usually offers the most potential to show you and your organization tobest advantage is the first, because it is more relaxed and you're usually givena chance to know what you'll be asked about and to frame your responses inadvance.
If you are interviewed, it is recommended that you try to get to know theinterviewer before the tape actually starts rolling. This will help you relaxduring the interview itself. When the interview is under way, don't step on theinterviewer's questions, and pace yourself in your answers.
And when it is over, make sure get a recording of your appearances, just aswith any print stories that appear about your organization, you should collectyour radio "clips"-i.e., record your appearances-and assemble a little cassetteof your best sound bites. These can be used for an "audio press kit" to helpline up future radio appearances.
Becoming a Reporter
A last way you can gain access to radio is to become something of a reporteror commentator for a station in your area. If you play your cards right, you canturn into a station's local expert, who is called on whenever news relating to aspecific issue arises.
Gary Millspaugh, executive director of the Allentown Rescue Mission inAllentown, Pennsylvania, knows the value of becoming a resource to a radiostation. "I attended the Presidents' Summit on volunteerism in Philadelphia," hesays. "I thought hard in advance about how to turn that trip into publicity forour rescue mission, which serves up to eight hundred homeless men per year,and has a 70-percent success rate in getting people out of the debilitatingproblems that led them to the streets. Our graduates get into jobs and aresponsible, self-sufficient life."
To turn his trip to the Summit into more than just a jaunt to Philadelphia, hecalled his contacts at major radio stations (he is meticulous, he says, in alwaysnurturing relationships with key people in the local media) and he let themknow that he would be attending the Summit and could offer first-personperspective. His efforts won him two rounds of publicity.
First, he got coverage prior to the Summit for being a local service-providerwho would be going to the event. Second, he got publicity while he was inPhiladelphia. After President Clinton's speech, for instance, Gary called one ofthe largest Allentown-area stations, and was put on the air during drive-time(the afternoon "rush hour," when listenership is highest). "I basically becametheir on-the-scene commentator on the president's speech and the Summit,"he recalls.
This kind of vigorous courting of the media is "essential" for any charity thatwants "to survive in the incredibly competitive world of nonprofits today,"
Gary argues. "The inescapable fact is that if you're a nonprofit or a charity,you're engaged in a competitive activity. You have to view it as competitive. Asrough as it might sound, you're in a win/lose proposition. If you don't put yourresources to a winning use, you'll lose-and be out of the business of helpingothers."
If you're as successful as he was in winning an opportunity to become sort of afreelance reporter on a social issue, keep in mind some basics of radiojournalism. Facts should be conveyed clearly and accurately. Keep yoursentences short. Use words that carry color and meaning. Make thechronological presentation orderly and understandable.
THE GREAT WORLD OF TALK RADIO
In addition to the above methods of getting your message on the radio, thereis also an entire world of talk radio that offers you instant access to theairwaves.
In fact, talk radio offers excellent possibilities for organizations with a sociallysignificant message, especially if you have someone in your organization whocan be seen as an expert in a field.
(Ironically, the more you appear on talk radio, the more you become an expert,as one's expertise usually gains a heightened status from being on the radio.)
One advantage of some talk-radio shows is that their audiences may be moreaffluent, with more money to invest. This observation should perk up earsamong charities and nonprofits looking for donors.
But while talk-radio provides fertile ground for publicity, you should stillremember that radio stations operate not to perform charity but to generateratings so they can make money.
So they're not going to invite a spokesman for a charitable group on who hasnothing interesting to talk about.
They're not going to devote their time to conversations about next weekend'sfundraising car wash.
This means that your creativity is highly tested if you seek to get on talk radio,just as with all other aspects of promotional campaigns. When you contact aradio station producer to suggest focusing on something that has to do withyour nonprofit cause, the producer is going to ask what's unique andinteresting about your subject: What is it that will grab listeners and keep themfrom pushing another button on the dial?
That's the question you have to ask yourself about every idea you considerpitching to any media outlet. You have to be able to answer it again and againduring your marketing efforts. If you can't answer it, you have no businessdoing promotion in the first place.
One wonderful advantage of radio today is that you don't have be in the studioto perform your part. You can be on the phone, calling from your office, car, orfrom across the country. You are simply "patched in" to the show, with theaudience knowing nothing about where you are located.
Interviews on talk-radio programs can vary from fifteen min to an hour inlength. On many shows, guests are also asked to take calls from listeners.
If you have an opportunity to be on a talk, how, it is useful to give your host alist of ten to fifteen questions that you would like to be asked.
Although there is no guarantee your questions will be used, many hostsappreciate having your questions supplied because they interview such a widevariety of guests that they can't be well-versed on all the subjects underdiscussion. Your questions therefore act as pointers and cues that make themlook intelligent and knowledgeable.
On the other hand, be careful about getting too scripted. When anorganization seeks to get on talk shows, it is best to choose the person amongits staff or officials who is most knowledgeable and articulate about the groupand its work and can ad-lib.
Many shows like to be flexible, taking a diversion from the announced subject.After all, nothing runs as smoothly when it's scripted. The worst shows are theones where they just read off a list of questions. So be sure your spokespersonis comfortable talking on his or her feet.
Here are a few additional pointers for targeting talk radio.
? To increase your chances of being on radio stations around the country,submit your name and organization's project to Newsmaker Interviews, apublication to which dozens of radio stations across the country subscribe. Itlists potential guests and their topics in detail.
? Another publication to consider is The Yearbook of Experts, Authoritiesand Spokespersons, which provides an "encyclopedia of sources" tosubscribing hosts and producers from media outlets nationwide. It has a Website: www.yearbooknews.com.
Talk-radio producers are heavily worked, almost always busy lining up guestsand arranging the logistics of each program. You might not reach a producerthe first time you try calling. Persistence is usually required.
? When you call a talk-radio producer, show that you know somethingabout the program by mentioning a recent topic or guest.
? Try to link your idea with some issue or event that's in the news. Mostproducers look to the headlines first in trying to line up show topics.
? If you can inject controversy into your topic, you have an advantage intrying to get a guest spot. Talk radio generally thrives on dramatic issues andexchanges. It isn't supposed to be sleep-inducing.
Look for the third part of this article, next week.
Michael Levine is the founder of the prominent public relations firm LevineCommunications Office, based in Los Angeles. He is the author of Guerrilla PR,7 Life Lessons from Noah's Ark: How to Survive a Flood in Your Own Life. He is available as a keynote speaker. He can be contacted by email: Michael@guerrillaPR.net
GuerrillaPR.net is a resource for people that want to get famous in the media,without going broke. http://GuerrillaPR.net |
