As part of a class assignment, I have put together a presentation that is a culmination of personal experience and research on how non-profit organizations can garner more press coverage and be more involved in current events. The following is my presentation in podcast form.

Show notes for Week 1: Being a Part of the News

On this week’s show, I talk about how to form relationships with journalists and garner media coverage.

Introduction                                                     :0-:40

What’s interesting to journalists                       :40-2:40

How to sustain coverage                                   2:40-3:30

How to form relationships with journalists        3:30-4:04

Conclusion                                                       4:05-5:00

Special thanks to http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com for the free music clip I used.

I hope you enjoy this podcast and find the stories and information helpful. Thank you for listening, and I look forward to your feedback.

Podcast 1: Being a Part of the News

While reading Chip and Dan Heath’s “Made to Stick,” I found the chapter “Concrete” to bring up some excellent points about communicating a message. The Heaths scatter the chapter with, as they are suggesting, concrete examples to bring their point to life. They bring up an interesting argument that vivid details help ideas stick and resound with people. Whether it’s a solution to a social problem or a proposal for a new technology, by showing your audience an example, you speak a universal language that brings your idea to life and shows, rather than tells, your story.

Vivid storytelling has always been one of the keys to capturing an audience. As storytellers in the modern world, we in PR should employ and enjoy this tactic. In my experience, it seems to work well and certainly encourages more press coverage.

Last year during my internship I worked with a local non-profit that supplies cranial prostheses to children with hair loss due to illnesses. I was brainstorming with my colleagues one afternoon when one of them came up with a brilliant idea for a news story. I called a few local reporters and they were all in. That Thursday, a mere few days later, several local news outlets came to a salon to see a little girl with a thyroid disease get her prosthesis fitted. Our coverage included a story on the morning and evening news, as well as a full tabloid spread on the front page of the life section of a local paper.

We could have sent releases and made pitch calls about the organization for weeks, but instead we decided to tell a real story, give a concrete example, to captivate the community and create public awareness of the non-profit.

Our daily lives and experiences consist of concrete details, which is why this method helps to communicate stories and messages more effectively. It’s a way to connect and share our experiences, opening the gates for discourse and ideas.

Have you had any experience in using concrete details in communication? I’d love to hear your stories!

Just yesterday, I was doing homework while my roommate had CNN on and I saw a commercial for a non-profit. There was a woman telling the story of a little girl in Africa who couldn’t go to school because she had to haul fresh water from far away to her family. The woman then asked for a donation as a number appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Today, per suggestion from my professor Tiffany Derville, I checked out charity: water’s Born in September campaign that involves those born in September asking for donations to charity: water instead of birthday gifts. The goal? Raise over $1 million to build wells in villages all over Ethiopia. After watching the introductory video, I was nearly brought to tears. I explored the Web site, which offers videos and a virtual map of where the organization has built wells. It made me wonder: do personal relationships help non-profit PR campaigns?

Of course, as a PR student, I have to say yes. However, charity: water founder Scott Harrison’s idea is on a whole new level. Don’t send money, give up your birthday presents and celebrations. Ask your friends to help you improve the water quality in Africa. Who could turn down giving a loved one the gift of helping save lives? Harrison offers people the chance to be volunteers and heroes by spreading the wealth through personal relationships and sacrifice of materialism.

Most of us have done some type of fundraising or another. Think back, who was it that helped the most? Was it the neighbors down the street, or your best friend’s mom, who bought more cookies, raffle tickets, or whatever you were selling to fundraise? It doesn’t matter what it’s for. As human beings, we care about our loved ones, and if a particular cause is most important to them, we’ll do what it takes to advance it because our personal relationships connect us more than any other kind.

Recently, a friend from middle school passed away. I donated to his sister’s non-profit in honor of him and his memory. Without the connection, I would likely never have found nor donated to her organization. It was its importance to him that made me want to help.

This method is genuine, compelling and a great way to enlist people while creating a strong network for a non-profit. Born in September shows the power of relationships in all of its glory: connect to save lives.