By
Jim Hart
If you are thinking about initiating a public relations/media
communications effort it makes sense to understand the media markets to
help formulate a communications strategy. In this article we will
discuss the major media markets and practical considerations associated
with a low budget communications plan.
THE TOP-30 MEDIA MARKETS
As mentioned in (Part 1) of this series, there are 30 major cities in America known as the TOP-30 media markets. They are called major media markets because the population levels exceed over one million people across a wide demographic audience and they are:
Atlanta, GA
Milwaukee, WI
Baltimore, MD
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN Boston, MA
New Orleans, LA Chicago, IL
New York, NY Cincinnati, OH
Philadelphia, PA Cleveland, OH
Phoenix, AZ Columbus, OH
Pittsburgh, PA Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Portland, OR Denver, CO
Sacramento, CA
Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO Houston/Galveston, TX
San Diego, CA Indianapolis, IN
San Francisco, CA Kansas City, NE
Seattle/Tacoma, WA Los Angeles, CA
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL Miami, FL
Washington, DC
These media markets represent the biggest bang for the buck if you get booked for newspaper, radio or TV interviews because of the sheer volume of readers and radio and TV audiences. Each of these cities have at least one anchor newspaper organization located in them (The Boston Globe, The Columbus Dispatch and the Chicago Tribune, etc), for example, and even smaller newspapers can reap a substantial amount of response from a simple mention of your project. Do not underestimate any media in these cities or the surrounding areas within a 100-mile radius. If you are looking for big time coverage and major public awareness, these cities are they place to focus your time and resources.
SMALL CITIES
Smaller cities, those that do not appear in the list above, can still generate significant results in areas with populations ranging from about 250,000-750,000 people. While not considered a major media market, coverage by TV, radio and newspapers concurrently can create quite an impact on public awareness. Again, these cities should not be overlooked in the communications planning.
SMALL TOWNS
Small towns include population centers from about 25,000-100,000 people and many times only have a local newspaper organization, some local magazines and a few local radio stations. TV broadcasts are often received from neighboring cities and through cable.
TALKING TO THE MEDIA
Every city, no matter how small or how large, has a natural order within the media; Newspapers organizations are headed up by editors and specialty column writers and the electronic media (radio and TV) all have producers and hosts. When dealing with newspaper organizations you want to target your calls to the appropriate reporters covering your story idea. For example, if you were trying to promote a book on cars, then you would want to talk to the reporter covering the auto motive section, if your story deals with real estate, the real estate reporter, and so forth. In the electronic media (radio or TV), you can either do research at the library, or order a Bacon's media directory or call the target stations directly with your story idea. Many times the receptionist can guide you to the appropriate producers of the shows most inclined to cover your story idea. A key is to make friends with the receptionist, who is your eyes and ears into the organization. One way to establish a dialog with the receptionist is to simply ask "can you help me" and then briefly describe your story idea and ask to speak to the best producer according to the receptionists opinion. The receptionists know who's who in these organizations and can save you a TON of time.
THINGS TO CONSIDER
1. If a newspaper has never interviewed you, relax, it's a breeze. Radio and TV is different though. Many times these are live and you will be exposing your self to a considerable audience. If the media event takes live calls this can be especially nerve racking if you have no experience. In order to be professional, you must know your topic. You must be an expert in your field. When you are on live radio or TV and they plan on taking live calls, it is comparable to sitting in the middle of a packed super bowl football field and having to answer questions from anybody in the bleachers and everybody will hear your answers. Not to much of a problem if you REALLY know your topic. If you don't know an answer to a caller's question, be honest and say you don't know--tell them to leave their name and number with the station and you will call back with an answer. It provides a professional way to maintain your dignity.
2. For this reason, it makes sense to target your first phase of communications towards smaller towns and focus on small newspapers and small radio stations. This way, you will gain experience in smaller venues and, if you make a mistake, you will not destroy your credibility in a large media market.
3. Concentrate your efforts into one city at a time unless you think you can handle a national PR rollout. I suggest focusing your efforts and money into a city because you want to "spin" the media all at the same time. I mean, you want all your media events to happen in a concentrated manner so that newspapers, radio stations and maybe TV cover you all within a week or so. This way you get in and get out of a city and analyze what happened, both good and bad including results.
Getting media coverage is most often a matter of being honest with everybody you deal with. You will need a professional release (the next lesson in this series) to get people's attention but beyond that, being friendly and honest is the key to success with media. As long as your topic is informative, controversial or sensational, getting media coverage is relatively easy to do. Stay tuned to these articles, they will be updated daily over the next five (5) days.
To your success! Copyright © 2006 James W. Hart, IV All Rights reserved
THE TOP-30 MEDIA MARKETS
As mentioned in (Part 1) of this series, there are 30 major cities in America known as the TOP-30 media markets. They are called major media markets because the population levels exceed over one million people across a wide demographic audience and they are:
Atlanta, GA
Milwaukee, WI
Baltimore, MD
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN Boston, MA
New Orleans, LA Chicago, IL
New York, NY Cincinnati, OH
Philadelphia, PA Cleveland, OH
Phoenix, AZ Columbus, OH
Pittsburgh, PA Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Portland, OR Denver, CO
Sacramento, CA
Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO Houston/Galveston, TX
San Diego, CA Indianapolis, IN
San Francisco, CA Kansas City, NE
Seattle/Tacoma, WA Los Angeles, CA
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL Miami, FL
Washington, DC
These media markets represent the biggest bang for the buck if you get booked for newspaper, radio or TV interviews because of the sheer volume of readers and radio and TV audiences. Each of these cities have at least one anchor newspaper organization located in them (The Boston Globe, The Columbus Dispatch and the Chicago Tribune, etc), for example, and even smaller newspapers can reap a substantial amount of response from a simple mention of your project. Do not underestimate any media in these cities or the surrounding areas within a 100-mile radius. If you are looking for big time coverage and major public awareness, these cities are they place to focus your time and resources.
SMALL CITIES
Smaller cities, those that do not appear in the list above, can still generate significant results in areas with populations ranging from about 250,000-750,000 people. While not considered a major media market, coverage by TV, radio and newspapers concurrently can create quite an impact on public awareness. Again, these cities should not be overlooked in the communications planning.
SMALL TOWNS
Small towns include population centers from about 25,000-100,000 people and many times only have a local newspaper organization, some local magazines and a few local radio stations. TV broadcasts are often received from neighboring cities and through cable.
TALKING TO THE MEDIA
Every city, no matter how small or how large, has a natural order within the media; Newspapers organizations are headed up by editors and specialty column writers and the electronic media (radio and TV) all have producers and hosts. When dealing with newspaper organizations you want to target your calls to the appropriate reporters covering your story idea. For example, if you were trying to promote a book on cars, then you would want to talk to the reporter covering the auto motive section, if your story deals with real estate, the real estate reporter, and so forth. In the electronic media (radio or TV), you can either do research at the library, or order a Bacon's media directory or call the target stations directly with your story idea. Many times the receptionist can guide you to the appropriate producers of the shows most inclined to cover your story idea. A key is to make friends with the receptionist, who is your eyes and ears into the organization. One way to establish a dialog with the receptionist is to simply ask "can you help me" and then briefly describe your story idea and ask to speak to the best producer according to the receptionists opinion. The receptionists know who's who in these organizations and can save you a TON of time.
THINGS TO CONSIDER
1. If a newspaper has never interviewed you, relax, it's a breeze. Radio and TV is different though. Many times these are live and you will be exposing your self to a considerable audience. If the media event takes live calls this can be especially nerve racking if you have no experience. In order to be professional, you must know your topic. You must be an expert in your field. When you are on live radio or TV and they plan on taking live calls, it is comparable to sitting in the middle of a packed super bowl football field and having to answer questions from anybody in the bleachers and everybody will hear your answers. Not to much of a problem if you REALLY know your topic. If you don't know an answer to a caller's question, be honest and say you don't know--tell them to leave their name and number with the station and you will call back with an answer. It provides a professional way to maintain your dignity.
2. For this reason, it makes sense to target your first phase of communications towards smaller towns and focus on small newspapers and small radio stations. This way, you will gain experience in smaller venues and, if you make a mistake, you will not destroy your credibility in a large media market.
3. Concentrate your efforts into one city at a time unless you think you can handle a national PR rollout. I suggest focusing your efforts and money into a city because you want to "spin" the media all at the same time. I mean, you want all your media events to happen in a concentrated manner so that newspapers, radio stations and maybe TV cover you all within a week or so. This way you get in and get out of a city and analyze what happened, both good and bad including results.
Getting media coverage is most often a matter of being honest with everybody you deal with. You will need a professional release (the next lesson in this series) to get people's attention but beyond that, being friendly and honest is the key to success with media. As long as your topic is informative, controversial or sensational, getting media coverage is relatively easy to do. Stay tuned to these articles, they will be updated daily over the next five (5) days.
To your success! Copyright © 2006 James W. Hart, IV All Rights reserved
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Top 10 Business Tips
Be Smart, Visit SBS. click this link http://smart67.com
SBS, Where Smart People Get Smarter Faster...
SBS is an online information resource for people. Our focus is real estate and business solutions through books, kits and ebooks. We also have free access to dedicated research center with some of the best government and business links you will find to help you get key information fast. Check us out now and learn how SBS can help you.
Don't forget to rate this article below! By rating this article you can help Jim Hart better serve your needs for quality article content. Thank you!
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