Anna Tarkov, Blogger
Chicago Tribune Chicagoland Extra

If you think the dwindling media landscape is narrowing your agency’s options to connect with audiences about your stories, think again. As traditional news outlets have reduced their newsrooms and placed an emphasis online news platforms, journalists are revamping their efforts to deliver important and dynamic narratives to the public.

So, how are they doing it? Think freelancing. Anna Tarkov and Jessica Pupovic are two of many Chicago-area freelancers who are intent on covering stories and issues that matter. Both agree establishing relationships with freelancers, even out of work journalists, can pay off in the long run.

“Don’t discount journalists who are out of work, because they will eventually be working and that relationship will last and could be effective in the future,” says Tarkov.

Tarkov covers the Wilmette and Deerfield village meetings for the Chicago Tribune Chicagoland Extra section. As a blogger, she muses about political figures, such as Sarah Palin and other issues. Connecting with bloggers who are receptive to your cause provides a niche audience as well as longer shelf life for your story, she says.  However, she says establishing a relationship with select bloggers is vital and shows discernment.

“When you blast [a press release] it says a) you don’t read my blog, b) don’t know what I write about or what my interests are,” she says. “ And c) don’t care and that A and B are true.”

Jessica Pupovic, Freelance Writer

Finding the best home for your story means a bit of homework is involved. For Pupovic, it always helps if there’s a timely hook or a project that is about to come to fruition. She says it can hinder her ability to take a story if the pitch is sent out before or on the same day.  Freelancers, who tend to give more in-depth coverage to an issue, should be pitched a week or so ahead so a plan of action can be developed, says Pupovic.

Pupovic, who writes for Mindful Metropolis, In These Times and The Crime Report, advices against discounting smaller publications because “they really are read by people in the industry who might have an larger audience” and “news does trickle up.”

“[Freelancers] get it out there and I promise you that I’ve had dozens of stories I’ve written that later have I’ve found in the Tribune or the Sun-Times,” says Pupovic. “The bigger publications are also out there monitoring… between the bloggers picking it up and the editors.”

Pupovic and Tarkov welcome pitches via email. You can check out Tarkov’s work at http://annatarkov.posterous.com, follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/AnnaTarkov or email her at tooter2@gmail.com. Pupovic can be reached at jessicapup@gmail.com and her on her google page.

Who are the people in your neighborhood? Well, if you’re on the North side of Chicago chances are Lorraine Swanson knows the what, when, where, why and how about them.

Swanson is editor and publisher of the Lake Effect News, an online community news publication, which recently celebrated its first anniversary.  Swanson says the current media shifts are offering new opportunities for gaining new audiences.
Read the rest of this entry »

People to Pitch
Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune Columnist

A recovering skinhead transformed by prison heading a multiracial youth group.  An African-American man seeking to improve the lives of black youth by 2025.  A pre-med student switches to make a difference in a classroom.

These are a few of the lives Dawn Turner Trice has profiled in her twice-weekly column at the Chicago Tribune.  While many of the persons she has chronicled are not connected to a nonprofit, she says issues and the work they are doing are can be a component of their stories.

“It’s what feels right in the moment. There are so many components for me that a story has to have,” says Trice.  “When I’m writing I start with the person and try to tell this issues as a part of the person.”

While Trice’s column focuses on people, she say she does like writing about nonprofits because of “the incredible work” she sees them doing, yet acknowledges it can be a challenge in profiling agencies in her column.

“[The column] is about people who are tackling issues and sometimes I construct issues wrapped around a person,” she says.

She suggests nonprofit communicators looking to pitch to her consider a person who is symbolic of their agency.

To pitch a story to Trice, it would be best to do it via email with “Column idea” in the subject line. Emails should provide a succinct idea of the person whose story you are pitching.

To contact Trice by email: dtrice@tribune.com or at Dawn Turner Trice on Facebook.

Who is telling your story? You can get online and on the radio and do it yourself–every day–as part of the  Vocalo.org/FM 89.5 Daily Thread, says editorial producer Dan Weissmann.

You’ll have a chance to share the personal stories behind your organization’s mission, which can help build your brand and highlight the issues your group is tackling.

“I would say the best way to use Vocalo is the same way to use blogging and social media as a way to project yourself out into the world,” says Weissman. The  online and broadcast station provide direct access to audiences, he says.

Each day, Vocalo has a daily thread where they collect stories based on topics in the news. If you think you have a story that would fit the daily thread conversation, then by all means, send it in. Unlike submitting a press release, contacting the editor or reporter of a news outlet, Vocalo participants can immediately share the narratives behind the work they do. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever considered the arsenal of sources you have in your rolodex when you pitch? Monifa Thomas, health reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times says offering a good menu of sources that can illustrate your story is what she seeks.

“You don’t want to interview a different name but the same story told over and over again,” says Thomas. “You want a range of experiences and voices for a story.”

The best way to reach Thomas is via e-mail. She says emails should be succinct with the main points in your subject line and initial parts of your email. Emails should also give her a sense of what you are offering- a personal antidote, a contact and/or data. “It helps to know so I can streamline for the story. At least give me a sense of whom I need to call and where I need to go,” she says. Read the rest of this entry »

Next time you’re considering a pitch, consider doing it in a tweet. Kyra Kyles, the Red Eye columnist and Chicago Now blogger of the “Kyles Files” says Twitter and other social media tools are fine ways of gaining attention for your issue.

“It’s actually better that way, because it’s more immediate. It’s actionable,” said Kyles about using Twitter for pitching.  Kyles has been using social media tools to find sources, events in the city and often combs through her friends’ walls on Facebook and Twitter feeds to find out what’s hip and new. She’s found the blogosphere to be helpful in mining for news tips.

However, she says the simple practice of establishing a relationship with her and other journalists works just as well.  Kyles says a basic introduction of your organization to a journalist you know who writes about the issues you can address will “open the way to get you on their radar.”  But in the initial stages remember to stick to simplicity- introduce yourself and your organization, and offer the ways you can help. Also, packing your information with another nonprofit says a lot.

“Rather than being self serving, you broaden it and it’s effective in pitching people,” says Kyles.

She welcomes emails (minus attachments), or a direct message sent on Twitter (one will do) but don’t fax, mail or send a message via Facebook. She will take phone calls only after an email has been received and she’s determined that a conversation is necessary.  Kyles warns against “attack[ing] from all angles” with social media to get a response.  A plus? Using links in your communication to illustrate your point is good, she says.

Email: kkyles@tribune.com

Facebook: Kyra Kyles

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kyrakyles

Chicago Now: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/kyles-files/inside-the-kyles-files.html

Kyles also appears on the “Stan  & Terry Show” (105.9 FREE FM) on Fridays at 11 a.m., the “According to Kyra” on CLTV segment which airs weekdays at 7:45, 8:45 and 9:45 p.m. and weekly on WGN-TV at 5:45 p.m.

2010 Studs Terkel Community Award winners. From Left to right: Master of Ceremony Cheryl Corely of National Public Radio, Thom Clark President of Community Media Workshop, Kate Grossman of the Chicago Sun-Times, Natalie Moore of Chicago Public Radio, Angela Caputo & daughter of Progress Illinois, Mitchell Wenkus Columbia College scholarship winner, Josh Kalven and & Adam Doster of Progress Illinois. Photo by Olga Lopez

View the Photo Gallery |  Read more about the 2010 Studs Terkel Community Media Awards |  Watch Columbia College student Mitchell Wenkus’ award-winning video

Wednesday night at our benefit, Mary Mitchell said it best: our Terkel winners – Kate Grossman of the Chicago Sun-Times, Natalie Moore of WBEZ and Josh Kalven, Angela Caputo, and Adam Doster of Progress Illinois do their work “…with compassion and class. And did I mention, style?”

Actually, Mary was introducing Kate Grossman, her colleague at the Sun-Times. But her choice of words was apt for all the honorees. We did not take great notes—it was our party, after all, and we floated through it—but paused between sips to scribble down some quotable quotes. Read the rest of this entry »

“Rocket science is important, but what makes it interesting?” says Garrard McClendon, host of his own ChicagoLand TV  show  Monday through Saturday for a half-hour at 6 and 9:30 p.m.

McClendon uses every new-fangled new-media tool in the playbook, but says old-fashioned pitching tips still apply: be persistent, make sure your topic is newsworthy, and have a good answer for what makes your issue interesting. “Tell us what you do that’s great,” he says. “What is your content?”

Once-a-year pitchers (you know who you are) may not make their way onto McClendon’s show: he suggests you pitch early and often. Would-be sources should consider sending releases several times a week to gain his producers’ attention. “Tyra Banks sends out 2,500 press releases to the media on a daily basis,” he says. To grab his or his producers’ attention, nonprofits should send out their message on a constant basis with attention-grabbing subject lines and first paragraphs.

Specifically, he says news releases should be sent to wgntvinfo@tribune.com, adding “ATTN WGN” and “ATTN CLTV” to the subject line (CLTV is a property of Tribune Corp). When sending your press release make sure your issue is in the title and/or headline, said McClendon. Read the rest of this entry »