Window of Opportunity to Make News is Short

The Olympics have given me a lot of inspiration for a blog about media relations. There are thousands of athletes there who know that an Olympic medal can bring a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for visibility. They also know that such visibility will be followed by money in some form. It may be in the form of sponsorship for them, it may be increased funding for their sport as a whole, or it may be future career opportunities.

 

A small number of those thousands of athletes at the Olympics haven’t made this connection. But, the window of opportunity to get the most from a once-in-a-lifetime achievement is short.

 

Hard as it is to believe, I’ve heard of some amazing responses from athletes who are lucky enough to have this opportunity. For example, following a record-setting medal win and being asked to do an interview with a major newspaper, “How about sometime tomorrow afternoon?”. By tomorrow afternoon, today’s news is ancient history. An interview done tomorrow afternoon will appear in a newspaper two days after the news has occurred. Even long before electronic news sources, news travelled faster than that.

 

Another shocking response from an athlete asked to fulfill a media request was,  “Well, we’re all celebrating and drinking now, can’t we do this another time?” By “another time” another athlete will likely have done something equally or more newsworthy and all opportunities will be gone for the athlete who was celebrating. IF he or she has some luck (and/or a very good publicist), they will get coverage anyway.

 

There is a very short window of opportunity to capitalize on making news, especially when making history. This is especially true in a case like the Olympics where news will keep breaking and records will continue to be broken constantly over 16 days.

 

All those athletes who understand the connection between visibility and financial success would do almost anything for the opportunities that these less-sophisticated ones are willing to throw away. But sometimes it’s the less sophisticated ones who win or set records. That is why some sports continue to prosper and some continue to struggle with image problems and poor funding. It is also why some sport federations have mandatory media training and will sanction an athlete who fails to conduct themselves properly.

 

Yes, it’s tiring winning medals and setting records on the other side of the world. And it’s worthy of a personal celebration. But, it’s also tiring being a journalist covering it. As I’ve said in previous posts on my general media relations page, respect the journalist’s time and their work. It’s as important to them as what you do is to you. The same rules apply whether it is the Olympics or any other newsworthy situation. The window of opportunity to react and to capitalize is short. Then it’s gone, probably forever.

Schedule Yourself Like a Businessman

Most journalists don’t have a very flexible schedule. They have regular deadlines to meet, whether they are daily, weekly, monthly, or at irregular intervals. That is not always the case for athletes, in any sport. With horses, plans often change minute-to-minute. Show jumping tournaments, unlike some other sporting events, often don’t operate on a rigid schedule.

However, if you want media coverage for yourself or for your sport, be prepared to live by the journalist’s schedule. If you make a commitment to do an interview or cooperate with any media request, don’t take the timing lightly. By the time they book your time, they probably have a significant investment made. That investment may be simply the journalist’s time. It may be travel expenses to meet with you. It may be space they have reserved in their publication and there will be no time to fill it with something equivalent if you cancel. They may already have invested money in photos of you and need an interview to go with them.

If you want to keep a lose and casual schedule, it might suit your own lifestyle. But if you schedule something with the media, keep a strict schedule and always be on time.

Their deadlines are based on technical requirements of either printing a publication or editing a show for broadcast. Both are expensive undertakings.

Put yourself in their position. what if someone reserved your time or equipment and then cancelled? This is just another important reason to understand what journalists do and how the media works. If they want your time they are making an investment in you. If you respect their schedule, they will want to cover you again. If you don’t, you will reduce your chances of more coverage in the future.

Every Win is Not News

Show jumpers compete more often than many athletes. That’s true even if you exclude lower-level competitions for young horses. A top rider and a top grand prix horse compete more frequently than other Olympic and professional athletes. While this is necessary due to the training and development of the horses, it means that every win is not newsworthy – at least not to all news organizations.

News for mass-market media, like newspapers, must be of public interest. Whether or not something is of public interest is a subjective decision. That decision will be made by their editor. However, they will appreciate it they don’t get spammed with news that will clearly not interest their readers or viewers.  If you have the courtesy to do that, they are more likely to read your news release when you send them something that will interest them.

For example, the winner of the Welcome Stake at a tournament in a small city is not news to the major daily papers in big cities. But, it probably would be to the newspaper in the city or town where it took place. And it probably would be to the newspaper in the town where the rider lives. 

Even with a big win, it is more newsworthy if you find a strong “hook” to make it a story. Whenever possible, tailor that hook to the type of media outlet you are targeting. One of the biggest mistakes people make in an attempt to get media coverage is having one standard e-mail list. The same rider winning the same competition can constitute two or more entirely different stories for different media outlets. It’s up to you to present it to them in that way. They may not find those stories without a guide.

If you are involved in organizing tournaments and have been disappointed that every day’s winner isn’t covered by some media outlet, don’t be. What’s news in the equestrian community is not always news of public interest. But it can be more often if good stories are recognized and targeted in the right way. It’s all part of learning how the media works.   

 

Facts, Information and Accuracy

Whether you are an individual, an organization or a special event seeking publicity and exposure, it is vital that you be armed with an arsenal of facts and figures and background information.

Journalists are in the information business. Therefore, so are those of us who provide them with potential stories. It is surprising how many representatives of organizations and events can’t cite vital facts and statistics about their own organization. It is equally surprising how many athletes don’t know important statistics about their own career.

It is not enough to simply feel knowledgeable about the your sport. Facts and figures and statistics must be accurate, up-to-date and easy to understand. This takes on-going research.

A sport, an organization or any other group can easily lose credibility to the extent that it undermines and deters media coverage, if they develop a reputation for inaccurate facts. A lack of a good, credible information source will have the same effect.

Good journalists take their credibility seriously. Their subjects should do the same when providing them with information. If you cause a journalist to lose his or her credibility, they will not be anxious to cover you again. If you give them interesting facts that make a good story, they’ll probably come back for more.

Media Relations for Equestrian Show Jumping

This section of JH Media Tips contains tips that are customized for a niche sport market served by JH Media. This includes equestrian events and organizations, as well as equestrian athletes. Up-and-coming equestrians who want to be more media savvy, make their sport more media-friendly, and learn to be a better interview can benefit from learning about the media early in their careers .

All of the media relations tips on the JH Media Tips main page apply to this group, as well as any group or organization, interested in better media relations.