NPR Wants These 2 Things

Issue #805 April 1, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

NPR Wants These 2 Things
Pitch Cold Weather How-to’s
15 Ways to Polish Your Copy
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

A few frozen water pipes, a dog that’s going stir-crazy because she can’t run outside, and a bruised ego over that devastating Packers loss on Sunday are minor problems compared to what some folks are experiencing in this Deep Freeze. Thieves were on the prowl yesterday morning and stole seven cars that the owners left idling in Milwaukee’s 15-below-zero temps.

1. NPR Wants These 2 Things

NPR is a perfect outlet if you’re trying to reach a more educated, upscale audience.

At the NPR website, you can search for programs by topic, listen to them in the archives, and get a good sense of what the talk show host wants. That will help you decide whether to pitch them.

Fast Company magazine’s profile of Liz Danzigo, NPR’s first-ever creative director, shows an emphasis on two important things this year: multimedia and new standards in storytelling.

Neither of those is new. But they’re important reminders if you’re pitching NPR.

Don’t just pitch an interview. Pitch a video clip to accompany it. Or pitch an NPR blogger with inforqaphics, like the ones I found at the Minnesota Public Radio’s blog post on Tracking the Polar Vortex.

Tell a story with your pitch. Tell a story in your pre-interview, when talk show hosts or producers call to “audition” you before deciding whether to book you. Tell a story when you’re on the air.

If you’ve done an NPR interview, tell me how you got on the show and what happened as a result.

2. Pitch Cold Weather How-to’s

You can still pitch cold-weather stories for TV during the next few days, when much of the U.S. will welcome slightly warmer temperatures and people will be less inclined to take precautions.

This past week, here are tips I searched for online while trying to stay safe from the cold, with my notations on who can pitch them.

–How long can you walk a dog in sub-zero temps? (Vets, pet stores, humane societies)

–How do you unfreeze water pipes? (Hardware stores, plumbers, building contractors)

–Do you really need to idle your car for 15 minutes like I did yesterday? Or do newer cars warm up much quicker? (Car dealers, mechanics, police departments)

–What are some quick tips to save on heating costs? (Utility companies, heating contractors, handyman companies)

–Is running or walking in sub-zero temps harmful to your health? (Doctors, physical therapists, fitness coaches)

Authors, if you’re an expert in any of these areas, pitch away. But don’t pitch your book. Pitch your expertise.

3. 15 Ways to Polish Your Copy

Content, content, content.

It should be one of your priorities this year.

Whether you’re writing your own blog post, a guest post, a pitch to an editor, a proposal for a client, a YouTube video description, a Facebook status update, or a chapter in your new book, it should be as close to perfect as possible. Here’s a list of “15 Final Polish Tips for Impeccable Content.”

4. Hound Video of the Week

Cute compilation of dogs who love snow.