NPR host says pitch your idea to one show at a time

National Public Radio, with its hundreds of shows, offers opportunities galore for people to pitch a story about their product, service, cause or issue.

But here’s an important caveat: Don’t pitch to more than one show at the same time.

That was one of several tips from (Ms.) Alex Cohen, a reporter and local host for “All Things Considered,” at KPCC-FM in Los Angeles, in an article for Bulldog Reporter.

“Don’t send the same pitch to a bunch of reporters in the same general area. If you send me something and I like it, but discover it’s already been pitched and accepted by one of the talk shows on my station, then you’ve wasted my time and put me in an awkward situation with my own colleagues.”

Are you listening, authors? Eager publicists who are pitching your book, particularlyone that ties into a hot breaking news story, might be tempted to pitch multiple NPR outlets concurrently.

“If you pitch a book to both ‘Morning Edition’ and ‘All Things Considered’ at the same time and both shows are interested, one will have to back down.”

Book publicist Lissa Warren, who I interviewed during a teleseminar on how to get booked on National Public Radio, says one of the best ways to find shows that are good candidates for your pitch is to use the search box at the NPR site. NPR will deliver a list of shows, and you can spend your time listening to them to find out which are the best fit.

Make a list of shows you want to pitch, with your preferred shows at the top of the list, and then pitch one at a time. If, within several days, you hear nothing, pitch another show.