One time, as a young green member of a communications team, I had to call a newsroom. The company I worked for was opening a new store, and we wanted as much publicity as we could get.
A man answered the phone and asked what news I had. I put on my cheeriest voice and announced that a brand-new organic grocery store was opening nearby!
“Why should I care?” he asked.
My cheer faltered. I stumbled over my tongue explaining how unique our store was and how it was for the community…
“Not interested,” he said, and hung up. (I was mortified.)
Ahh, Past Eva. Here’s what you could have done:
- Google “how to pitch a newsroom”
- Prepare scripts for questions you might have to answer
- Gather key stats to contextualize your pitch
- Answer the “why should I care” question
Why SHOULD he care that a store was opening? Why should anyone care about anything? To answer this question you need to research, but you also need to call on your empathy.
Why do YOU care about it? How does it make you FEEL? And since not everyone is like you, what are the practical and emotional reasons they might care?
The third part is important, too: some people WILL NOT care.
