If you’re pitching Chicago-area media like The Chicago Tribune, The Sun-Times and Chicago Public Radio, you have more opportunities than ever before to promote a particular cause, or state your opinion on an issue of community interest.
All three media outlets were represented on a panel at a recent meeting of the Publicity Club of Chicago. The panel focused on how news outlets are trying to remake the editorial pages for the modern age. Panelists agreed that the increasing demand for website coverage and community discussion has played a major role in how editorial and commentary pieces have evolved.
Cision’s ezine features a summary of the discussion and pitching tips.
The best way to get onto the editorial or op-ed pages is to take a strong position on an issue of concern to the community, media spokespersons said.
Even though new features such as blogs, audio and video at media websites offer opportunities to comment in different formats, asking for a meeting with the editorial board is still a powerful strategy that can help sway a newspaper’s opinion over to your side. (See “Special Report #33: How to Win the Support and Respect of Newspaper Editorial Boards.”)
During a teleseminar I conducted on “How to Use Newspaper & Magazine Editorial Pages,” I explained that Publicity Hounds frequently overlook these pages because they’re too busy trying to catch the attention of beat reporters. If editors can’t fit your letter in the print edition, they’ll often post it at their website.