Last month, we had a fantastic evening engaging with esteemed local broadcast journalists. Brianna Borghi, Reporter at WCVB, Nichole Davis, News Anchor & Host at WBZ Radio, and Cayle Thompson, News Anchor & Reporter at Boston 25 News joined us for an insightful discussion about the inner workings of broadcast media and how to best get a reporter’s attention. 

Some of the top tips we discussed were:

• • Think visually: TV thrives on strong visuals. When crafting your pitch, proactively describe the visuals that will bring your story to life. 
  • Make it skimmable: Bullet points make your pitch easier to read and digest, increasing the likelihood that a busy producer will engage with it. 
  • Direct subject lines: Get straight to the point. Clearly state what your story is about in the subject line to grab attention quickly. 
  • Emphasize relevance: Align your pitch with trending topics and what’s currently resonating with the local community. Health and money are consistently hot topics that news outlets are looking to cover. 

• Highlight when timely: Call the assignment desk or newsroom (or DM friendly reporter on social media), directing them to look at a timely email with more details to break through the noise.
• Always on air: Consider pitching on Mondays, Fridays, early mornings, late nights and more – this may be able to help fill additional air time during early morning shows that need additional stories. Avoid pitching when the journalist you’re pitching is live.

A big thank you to our panelists for sharing their expertise! 

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This blog was written by Allison Logano, PR Club Board Member and Programs Co-Lead