As an associate producer of “Fox & Friends,” Jess Todtfeld has heard it all from people who have no clue how to pitch. Particularly annoying are authors who call and want to spend the entire time asking him about topics that the show covers. “Then they follow that with a book title pitch,” he says.… Read More
TV & Radio
Pitch stories for TV’s warm & fuzzy finale
Just before the local evening news is coming to an end, you hear the TV anchor lead off the final story of the night with the same two words. “Finally, tonight…” What follows is a warm and fuzzy finale, a 60-second slice of fluff that makes you smile as you head to bed. It might… Read More
How to clinch radio interviews
Alex Carroll says that if you want to get onto radio talk shows, the host or producer probably won’t book you for an interview unless you can do one of these 6 things: –Tell listeners how to save time or money –Give them information that will make them rich –Tell an amazing story –Make them… Read More
Authors can sell, sell, sell on talk radio shows
Want to get booked on top radio shows, sell hundreds of books, give great interviews and be invited back? Learn how when book marketing guru John Kremer sponsors a free teleseminar at 8 PM Eastern Time on Monday, April 11, featuring Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com The number to call to participate is 580-474-3600 and the… Read More
Slow weekends a great time to pitch TV
Publicity Hound Sabrina Gary Anwah, public information officer at the McLean Community Center in Fairfax County, Virginia, writes with this success story: “Thank you for coming and speaking to the Fairfax County Government Communicators group. “Inspired by your talk, I decided to approach a local TV reporter about our Moroccan festival. Amazingly, she agreed to… Read More
Oprah’s audience might not be right for you
Not a week goes by that somebody, someplace, doesn’t ask me “How do I get onto ‘Oprah’?” The question comes from some of the most unlikely candidates. They’re people with dry business topics that would lull Oprah’s viewers to sleep. Or they’ve written a boring book that just wouldn’t appeal to the demographics of her… Read More
Cable TV shows draws clients for Illinois PR pro
Publicist Robert Smith wanted something more than the standard brochure to set himself apart from all the other public relations practitioners in the U.S. So after seeing a tip in this newsletter about starting his own TV show, courtesy of his local cable TV station’s public access channel, he tried it. “I had never heard… Read More
Use drive-time radio to promote church spaghetti supper
You volunteer to do PR for your church, and the job includes generating publicity for–groan–the annual spaghetti supper. A morning drive-time radio show in your community would be the perfect place to promote the event. It’s a fun show and everybody listens to it because the deejay is a real character. But what can you… Read More
Put limitations on sensitive TV video
Night after night, we see stories on the local and national TV news about topics like obesity, alcoholism, drug abuse and mental illness. The reporter’s narration accompanies generic film footage of people walking on a crowded sidewalk, or students making their way to class on a college campus. No problem–except if the story happens to… Read More
TV Weatherperson’s Day
I’ve received so much great feedback from Publicity Hounds who have used my tip about “TV Weatherperson’s Day” on February 5 that I’m mentioning itagain. When it comes to celebrity status, the TV weather people are at the bottom of the totem pole. While the news anchor is invited to host a glitzy charity ball,… Read More