Bad time to get media attention, but when's good?

Bad time to get media attention, but when's good?

28 June 2017

Anyone trying to generate some good publicity in the New Zealand mainstream media over the last week will have been completely out of luck.

Why?

There’s been so much big news, meaning there has been little space for anything other than political scandals and the Americas Cup victory. Often people who have good news to tell approach media without thinking about what else is competing for the limited space that’s available.

The last week is a great example of when it would have been a good idea to hold back anything you thought may have been of interest to reporters and producers. Obviously this isn’t possible if it’s time sensitive, but if it isn’t, hold it back.

Both One News and 3News last night devoted 20 minutes to the Americas Cup win, while it has also saturated other news outlets. You could even say that the National and Labour Parties had a quick breather from the negative attention they’ve been getting.

What does this mean for you?

If you are someone who recognises the benefits of positive media coverage and actively seek it, it’s always important to see what else is going on in the news before you approach media. This isn’t just for national media either. Sometimes it can beneficial to approach niche or local media.

But even these have busy and not so busy periods. For example, a local newspaper could be full with stories about an annual event at a particular time of the year. You need to do your research. I’m sure lots of people will have been disappointed over the last seven days.

A good tip

One great time of the year to get media publicity is around Christmas. That’s because there’s nothing else happening but newspapers must still be published and news programmes need something to feature.

If you’re interested in my upcoming workshops on how to attract positive media attention, contact pete@mediatrainingnz.co.nz

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Filed under Media Skills \ Media Training

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Written by Pete Burdon

Pete is a leading New Zealand media trainer and regular blogger for his company, Media Training NZ . He has helped leaders from all sectors of society communicate with the media and other stakeholders. Pete is a former daily newspaper reporter and press secretary in the New Zealand government. From these roles, he understands the media process from both sides of the camera.