PR Straight Talk

My first guest on Tuesday, June 28th at 7 PM Eastern is Rolland Smith.  Rolland  has nearly 50 years of broadcast and television production experience. He is former news anchor for CBS-TV in New York and at super station WWOR-TV in New York.  Currently he is writing and anchoring documentaries for independent television outlets. He also writes a daily blog on topics of interest from poetry to politics.Log into www.rollandsmith.blogspot.com.

Smith first joined WWOR-TV in 1988 from the CBS network where he was co-host of “The CBS Morning Program,” a 90-minute talk and news broadcast. Smith left WWOR-TV in 1993 to work for NBC in California. He returned to Channel Nine in 2000.

While with NBC, Smith covered the war in the former Yugoslavia and the OJ Simpson murder trial.

Smith calls himself a storyteller, but he is the consummate broadcast journalist. His skills as an anchorman, commentator, reporter, writer and producer have earned him numerous awards and honors.

Emmy Presentation
Rolland is the recipient of eleven Emmy awards. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored him numerous times with Emmy nominations. He has two Telly Awards and numerous other awards and accolades.

He is an author of three books of poetry and commentary. Quiet Musings, published by Sunscape Publications, was nationally released with critical acclaim in August 1995. Encore – The Poetry of Nature, also Sunscape Publications, was released in October 2001. In November 1996 he released a CD called “Syl.la.bles”. It is his poetry narration coupled with the original music of composer Tim Janis. His third book, a combination of poetry and commentaries entitled Stone Wisdom was released in December of 2008.

My second guest is with life coach, inspirational motivator and author Judy Winkler, and this is Judy’s second appearance on The Enrichment Hour.

“I remind people to recognize their value & think differently so they live their dreams. I offer tools to self-soothe, keep things in perspective & keep moving forward.  My goal is to bless every life I touch, to help create a world that works for everyone,” says Rev. Winkler, who is based in San Diego.

Judy and I will talk about “simple acts of kindness that make a difference; and how a tiny change in thought can change an outcome,”

Judy Winkler is author of “Get Unstuck – Live with Ease” (Sacred Life Publishers). and a wonderful CD, “Guided Meditations to Your Soul,” along with other inspirational products.  Get Unstuck is a book  filled with simple yet powerful affirmations that can get you on the road to healing.  It’s a potential liberator for those who feel stuck in their lives.  Judy is a natural-born teacher and healer.  For decades, she felt unlovable.  She experienced abuse, neglect, fear, and self-doubt.  As she faced inner dragons and demons (old memories and feelings), she learned how to move through obstacles.  

If you are stressed, confused, worried, resentful, feeling limited or unlovable…if anyone or anything kept you from being your true self…if you want to feel empowered, loved, have peace of mind and live your best life, then this interview,  applying the steps in this book can help you.

Get Unstuck includes 5-minute simple steps to change your life. You will learn to shift your focus so your circumstances change.  As Judy Winkler would put it, your focus sets into motion a change that is both waiting to emerge and draws to you that which you desire.  There are more than 75 topics within this book, which can generate inner peace, self-expression, and empowerment.

The techniques in this book are a compilation of the techniques that Judy Winkler used to live with ease and now uses with her clients.  Judy, based in San Diego, is a respected teacher, public speaker, counselor, and coach with more than 25 years experience.  For more information, visit www.coachjudywinkler.com

To listen to show, go to:  www.BlogTalkRadio.com/the-enrichment-hour

To call-in, dial:  917-889-8553

On my March 22nd show, it was my great pleasure to introduce my first guest, JOHN ROBBINS, to The Enrichment Hour. I first met John 20 years ago, when he and his wife joined me for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in Soho, not far from my then- home. My most vivid recollection of him were his eyes – big clear translucent eyes. If the eyes are indeed the windows of the soul, then John’s very old soul is big and clear in vision, and filled with Heart. John Robbins is currently one of the most popular bloggers on the Huffington Post. In fact he shared with me that over a million readers have read each of his articles.  He is also the author of six bestsellers that have collectively sold more than 3 million copies and been translated into 26 languages. His books include his latest, “The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less” - “Diet For A New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth” - and “The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World”. For further information and to contact John Robbins, visit www.johnrobbins.info   I suggested to my audience that John, in my opinion, deserves to be nominated for, and win, The Nobel Peace Prize.  His books and lectures represent a very important paradigm shift in consciousness for the whole world - a shift leading us to reverence for life for ALL life, healthier lifestyles based on compassion for all life, and a more unititive, kinder world.

My guest in the second half hour was Hollywood producer RANDY ROGERS. Randy has written a new book, “The Key of Life: A Metaphysical Investigation.” He is the president of Telefilm, Inc., a Los Angeles-based production company handling the promotion of Hollywood blockbusters like The Matrix, Harry Potter, Pearl Harbor, Batman, Superman and Indiana Jons. A career spanning four decades in newspapers, television and motion pictures - working with such companies as NBC News, Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal Pictures, MGM, Lionsgate, SONY and DreamWorks - has earned him several Emmy nominations and numerous press club awards. Randy resides in Los Angeles, California with Michele Kohse and their son Kyle. Randy’s book is described as “a gripping, true story about who we are, why we are here and how we are all connected.”  It presents a strong validation for reincarnation.

This interview with John Robbins and Randy Rogers is archived in two places:  www.sedonatalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour, and www.blogtalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour.

I’m happy to announce that I am now hosting a new Internet radio show called “The Enrichment Hour” on The Sedona Talk Radio Network.  Here is the link:  www.sedonatalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour.  My show airs every other Tuesday, from 7 PM to 8 PM Eastern, and 4 PM to 5 PM Pacific.  You can call into the show at this number:  917-889-8553.

The Enrichment Hour is loosely based upon my spiritual/human potential/humanitarian web portal, www.Enrichment.com.  Its slogan:  “Enrich Your Life…Enrich Our World”.

I’m interested in speaking to authors, celebrities and opinion leaders on topics that can inspire people to enrich their lives inwardly and outwardly.

If you have a guest for The Enrichment Hour, you can e-mail me at:  mikemaven@comcast.net, or call me at 954-423-4413.   Thank you.

I’m glad to announce the launching of two new YouTube videos today.  Part I - “The Power of the Wire Services…and National Publicity”.  Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EEWxX9elh0&feature=related

Part II - “Values in PR” - which articulates the basic values that drive my search for clients.  Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7_op2Bslgo&feature=related

I’d be happy to hear your comments about these YouTube videos.  Indeed, you can rate and comment on each video at YouTube itself; and you can leave your comments here, or write me at:  mikemaven@comcast.net

Thanks and best,

Mike Schwager

Walter Cronkite passed away last week.  I’ll admit it.  I hate to use the word “died.”  He was so much a part of our culture.  So much an anchor for us as this nation moved through tumultuous times:  World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Civil Rights, the Moon landing, the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bobby Kennedy, the elections of American presidents, the Vietnam War…and so much more.  He had an avuncular style, he was centered as the anchorman of the CBS Evening News, he exhuded confidence and concern.  I would say even more, he conveyed the sense that he cared.  He cared about our country, the principles and values upon which it stood, its journey through time and its history.  His patriotism was genuine but not in any way jingoistic.  One had the sense with Walter that he viewed the American experience as an ongoing narrative with meaning, with some kind of unfolding purpose that had no end point - and that he viewed our nation as a positive force in the world.  Having said that, one could sense his disappointment and even pain when things did not go well.  Vietnam, which he eventually saw as a failure (and which brought Lyndon Johnson to say, “If I’ve lost Walter, I’ve lost middle America”).  The assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby, and more.  And he exulted with joy and ebullience when we landed a man on the Moon.

Walter Cronkite brought a sense of comfort and stability to the American psyche.  Whatever the news of the day, with its ups and downs, Walter conveyed reassurance that the Republic was moving forward.  He conveyed a sense of hope in the future because he embodied the American story and the American dream.  He was a kind of glue that held things together - that held us together.

In my view, he was the greatest news anchor in American television news history.  He carried a Spirit that was contained in his very energy. There was no one like him.  And though he may have politically leaned on the liberal side in his personal views - I think he was probably a moderate - he really never showed it on-the-air.  And yet, more than 20 years after his retirement, he is known to have expressed the view that we were missing something in the war on terrorism.   He in no way condoned the ferocity and cruelty of Islamic extremism - for he was a witness to many ferocious ideologies - from Nazism in Germany to the Kmer Rouge in Cambodia - but he was deeply concerned that as an affluent country we were not sensitive enough to the plight of the poor in the developing world.  I saw and heard him say that if he was a parent ensnared in the trap of deeply entrenched poverty in one of those countries, seeing his children hungry and feeling frustrated and anguished about being unable to help them, that he would feel resentment towards those in the West whose prosperity was so self-evident on the television shows and movies that came from America.  He talked about the poor being fodder for the terrorists’ agendas. 

What fascinated me about this is that it confirmed for me that Walter had empathy for people, even with the objectivity he presented as a news anchor and reporter.  He cared.  He cared about America and the American people - but his caring reached out to people and peoples everywhere.   He had seen the Earthrise from the videos that came back from the Appollo missions.  We were one planet - and our species, the human species, was one species.  Walter’s vision was global, and that global vision was not inconsistent with his love for his country as real and deep.  As a great observer of events, he saw connections - he saw the relationships between those events. 

The greatness about Walter Cronkite was that as a professional he was objective.  As a human being, he cared.  He gave a damn.

Walter had a commentator on the CBS Evening News - Eric Sevareid.  Eric was a giant too, for like Walter his view was wide and deep.  He saw the little things, but like Walter, he also saw the larger picture.

There is no one on television today of the stature of Walter Cronkite and Eric Sevareid.  The void is real, and hopefully it will not take too many years for that void to be filled.

Tim Russert died today.  He was 58.  When I heard the news, it was felt as a huge loss.  My eyes filled with tears.  Tim was a presence, a force on television and in the news.  He was indelibly etched in our consciousness - certainly in my consciousness - as someone who could be trusted to ask the kinds questions that would get us closer to the truth…a journalist whose research and thoroughness could be counted on to reveal the wider and deeper aspects of any given issue. 

Tim was also was fair and balanced, and a superb listener.  He was the most brilliant and savvy interviewer on tv or elsewhere.  It wasn’t just that watching Meet the Press every Sunday morning was part of my morning staple - it was my morning ritual. 

I never knew him personally, but I counted on him to make sense of the news by digging underneath it with his perceptive and probing questions, as only Tim as anchor of Meet The Press since 1991, could do.  No one could outshine Tim as an interviewer and interrogator. 

What impressed me as much as his great skill as a journalist was his humanity, and his deep abiding affection for his son Luke and his Dad, Big Russ.  He wrote a book about that relationship with his Dad called “Big Russ and Me.”  Big Russ, a World War II veteran from Buffalo, Tim’s hometown, a former sanitation man, and a man who Tim depicted as the salt of the earth and as someone whose simplicity and wisdom helped Tim in his upbringing and even during his years as a famous journalist. 

Tim just put his Dad, Big Russ, in a nursing home - and now the thought of Big Russ learning about his son’s passing is almost too unbearable to contemplate.

Tim Russert was an honest man.  He had a big heart, as many charities on whose behalf he diligently supported, will attest.  He was larger than life.  He was a patriot.  A devout Catholic and spiritually humble.  He loved politics and saw that discipline as the essence of Americana.   He was a huge fan of Buffalo, his hometown, and his favorite team, the Buffalo Bills.  He was a family man and loved his family deeply.  He was a great journalist - and perhaps the greatest broadcast interviewer of our times.

Fifty-eight is too young to go - but what a life Tim lived…to the fullest.  The impact he has left on journalism, and on the American Spirit, will be treasured and endure for a long time to come. 

C-Span interviewed Roger Mudd this past week, former CBS News weekend anchor and Washington bureau chief for CBS.  During the interview, the subject of Eric Sevareid came up.  Mr. Sevareid was the highly respected commentator on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.  His commentary came at the end of the broadcast, and ran for just a few minutes. 

Sevareid was a sage.  In running a snippet of the last interview with him on C-Span, Eric said the following about his mission as a commentator on the nightly newscast, which then was the preeminent network newscast, reaching 25 million viewers on an average night.  I’m paraphrasing.  Sevareid said:  I saw my role not as a judge, but as a teacher.  My mission was not to advocate, but to enlighten.

There is no one like Eric Sevareid in television news - or for that matter, in radio news - today.

Sevareid was like a beacon of light amidst the turmoil and seeming chaos of the daily news.  He was able to shed light on an event, a crisis, a national or world leader - not so much as a critic, or a loudmouthed tattler and gossip-monger - but to put a situation or person in context, revealing the underpinnings of an event, unravelling the complexities of a situation in historical perspective, looking at motives, evaluating a happening or utterance from the standard of high-minded universal, humane and respected values.

Those few minutes with Sevareid was something millions of Americans tuned in to absorb.  He was an illuminator and an integrator.  He helped make sense out of seeming nonsense.  He crystallized complexity into profound simplicity.  There was no one like him.

We need a man or woman like that today, especially in the world of ratings-driven network or cable news.  But there is no such person.  Instead, we have news mixed with commentary.  We have Lou Dobbs, an intelligent and able news person turned advocate, mixing it all up simultaneously, in a soup of both news and vigorous, passionate and often angry commentary.  Objectivity has been thrown out the window.  And we have the plethora of talk show commentators, with their highly subjective and biased views hurtled onto the American consciousness, as if their utterances were gospel.  They are not -but the effect is to turn minds without providing context, objectivity, sanity.

We need to have more objective reporting, and respect for commentary not so much as advocacy, but as enlightened teaching.   Will another Eric Sevareid ever grace our experience?  The way things are going, it doesn’t look good, at least as far as the money-driven news rat race is concerned.

Two postings ago, I wrote about the importance of being perceived as “real” and how this realness is conveyed through a candidate’s connection with his or her values and beliefs, and how “personality” is the prism through which  voters perceive not only the more superficial persona but these deeper attributes of self.

I also wrote that while I cannot teach a person how to be “real” - I can help facilitate a greater confidence about staying true to one’s core values.  This is true not only for political candidates, but anyone preparing for a media interview. 

The complication factor comes in when someone is preparing to act as spokesperson for his or her company or non-profit organization.  Here, they are not speaking solely for themselves, but for their organization.

Most media training workshops relate primarily to messaging.  The better ones help participants identify and learn to communicate essential communications objectives clearly, effectively and proactively.

In my 20 years of training executives about how to get their messages across, the one key area that has been more challenging to teach concerns presentational style, and more specifically, the “likeability” factor.

So…if you’re not a political candidate, but instead are speaking for your organization, are there tools you can use to enhance your likeability among viewers?  What if you are concerned you may not come across well?

While it is true that personality traits are inherent in the individual and not always conducive to pliability, the effects of the worst traits can be mitigated, at least in structured settings such as debates or television interviews.  Here are some points to consider:

“THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE…”

Most human beings consist of both light and shadow.  Those of us who’ve done some work on ourselves have learned about our darker sides.  Often stemming from negative belief systems and unresolved conflict formulated in our formative years, tools are available to begin the process of healing these more negative aspects of our emotions.

Whether that healing process is well underway or less so, we can use our intelligence to keep them contained, at least in a debate or interview setting.  Some careful introspection and feedback from family and friends will allow us to identify the more extreme negative emotional patterns, and to consciously counter them with more positive substitutes.

For example, if one is an interrupter, the common-sense solution is not to interrupt.  Here, during the training session, work must be focused on the art of listening.  If we consciously intend to listen to the interviewer, or to the debate opponent, waiting for this person to complete his or her thought before responding, allows us to be perceived as considerate.

If volatility and extreme reactivity is part of our nature, learning the art of unattachment from another person’s positionality, allows us to address the opposing point-of-view without being perceived as hostile, or uncentered.  Opposing points-of-view must be addressed with rational and intelligent argument, explaining their lack of common sense, workability and potential adverse impact on human lives. 

On all counts, avoid insults or invectives.  If your interviewer or debate opponent insults you or your organization, you can simply reply, “I take exception to the way you’ve characterized me, my intentions and my company.  Then, go on to explain your good intentions and actions, and the positive trackrecord of your company.  This way, you’ve put the spotlight on the other person’s poor behavior, and highlighted yourself as a person who takes the high road.

Equally important – never get personal with the interviewer or your debate opponent.  Deal with issues, with arguments, with the validity and sense of the statement put to you – but never hurtle diatribes at the person him or herself.  You simply will be seen as an ogre, and unlikable.

Humanize yourself and your organization.  People don’t want to hear cold statistics or facts with the simultaneous absence of expressions of humanness.  Use statistics sparingly only to emphasize the strength of the point you’re making.  Make more use of anecdotes.  Tell a story.  Make the story human.  If you’re illustrating the work of your company, talk about people, about your customers, and about your employees.  Cite examples.  Let the audience know about your work within the community, about charities you support, and why you support them.

A smile is worth a thousand words, and remember to smile when appropriate.  Also, use the first name of your interviewer, or opponent.  When you transmit a smile, or use someone’s first name, you’re energizing the empathic cord between you and your audience.  You become more likeable.

Use humor when appropriate.  Humor instantly can relieve the heaviness of a moment, and illustrate to others that you can lighten up and put things into perspective.  However, for some of us, humor doesn’t come naturally, so don’t apply it if it isn’t natural for you to do so.

Admit mistakes.  If you or your organization has done a misdeed, ‘fess up.  Admit the mistake.  Apologize for it. If someone has been hurt, express remorse.  Let your audience know you or your organization will learn from the mistake and never repeat it.   Many people are inclined to forgive, if given the opportunity.  Give it to them.  You’ll be seen as a better person for so doing.

Remember, you’re not really talking to your interviewer or debate opponent.  They’re just vehicles for your message.  You’re really talking to the thousands or millions of viewers or listeners on the other side of the television set or radio.  Remember that before you begin. 

Be yourself, but be your best self.  If you’re smart, don’t come across like a know-it-all.  If you’re impetuous, slow down and learn to think before you speak.  If you’re not a warm person, be conscious of ways to project more humanness.  Smile.  Use first names.  Use anecdotes.  If you’ve made a mistake, admit it and apologize.  Don’t overreact, and don’t get volatile. 

Think of someone you love or respect.   As you’re talking to an interviewer, think of someone you’ve been close to who you love and care about.  The interviewer will feel that positive emotion.  If you’re in a debate situation, think of someone you respect.  That respect will be felt by the debater, and possibly lessen the intensity of his or her opposition.  Most of all, the energy will be picked up by the audience – the people you’re really trying to reach.

Be strong, but allow some of the vulnerability you’ve been afraid to reveal, to present itself.  People will like you better for it.

Television again showed its power and impact after the winners of the Iowa Caucus were announced, and the leading candidates made their election-results speeches.   All major cable and broadcast networks covered the speeches of Senator Obama and Senator Huckabee, the Democratic and Republic winners, respectively, and in that instant, they became nationally known as never before.

As a regular follower of C-Span, I am following the more extensive and in-depth pronouncements and remarks of all the candidates, so I had been aware of Senator Obama’s gifts of oration and inspiration.  C-Span, however, reaches a more limited, politically focused audience - and does not impact upon the national electorate in the way of the combined power of all the commercial news networks.

In one instant, Obama and Huckabee were on the national stage as never before - and became national celebrities as never before.

It made me realize, once again, the power of television - and the power it has not only to raise awareness, but the potential power to act as a force for raising consciousness.

See my earlier post, “Why We Need to Transform Television,” to get my fuller view in this area:  http://www.prstraighttalk.com/why-we-need-to-transform-television/

Media placement is an art.  Practicing it often requires as much attention to approach and style as it does to the focus of your story.

• Always tell the truth.  Make sure your product or service does what it says it does and your information is accurate.  If a question is put to you that you do not have an answer for, indicate to the reporter you’ll get back with the information.  If you don’t, the info will come from someone else–and not necessarily from a source that will help your organization.  Never “imagine” or “fudge” an answer.  Remember, candor equals credibility.  If your organization has taken an action that has reaped negative consequences, counsel your client to admit the mistake (unless the client is constrained from doing so by legal counsel).  Negativity can also be mitigated if you can anticipate a reporter’s tough question, and frame an answer that puts the action into historical perspective; or by developing a positioning statement that lessens the harshness implied in the question.  (For example, when a poisonous substance infiltrated Tylenol bottles, the company issued the statement that “we are victims too”).
• Know your outlet before you call.  Have you read the magazine or newspaper in advance?  Have you watched the tv program? Have you listened to the radio show?  With print media, do you know the specific beat of the editor or reporter you intend to make contact with?  Have you read his/her stories?  It’s fine to cold call but don’t cold call blindly (unless there really is vagueness about that person’s turf).
• Attitude.  There are some p.r. people whose emotional lives seem to count on an editor’s acceptance; and who feel like failures when the editor says “no.” “Unattachment” is the best attitude.  ”Unattachment” doesn’t mean “detachment” or “apathy.”  It means coming from a centered place, with self-confidence in yourself and your ability to communicate a story effectively - but without being attached to the outcome.  You’ll find this a liberating approach, one that disallows you from becoming intimidated by an editor or producer, and one that enables you to return to the same person in the future with no regrets. When an editor perceives that you are not overly emotionally invested in a story, you may actually get a better hearing.  Be warm & polite, professional…and clear.  See that individual as a peer and colleague.  If they’re brusque in the moment, they may be having a bad day.  Simply ask if there’s a better time to get back to them.
• That said, believe in your story and believe in yourself.  The best p.r. people see themselves as resources of news and information who work with journalists to fill valuable time & print space.
• Be more empathetic than sympathetic.  Being empathetic enables you to build on what was said and respond with alternate approaches.  Being sympathetic means you’ve agreed with the journalist’s conclusion and have foreclosed the possibility of an alternate approach.
• Get out of the reporter’s way.  When you’re providing a reporter, editor or producer information where the story is time-sensitive, relay the information and get out of the way. There’s a time for pitching an idea, and there’s a time for simply relaying information.  In the case of the latter, act like an editorial assistant. Do your job and get out.  You’ll earn the journalist’s respect when you do so.
• Don’t waste their time.  When you call, communicate in sharp and crystallized fashion, the essence of the story.  Keep it brief, respect deadlines and ask in advance if the moment is ok for that editor/ producer.  NEVER call when you know an editor is under deadline pressure.  Keep your message on-point and as brief as possible, but craft it in a compelling and creative way that will earn attention.
• Personalize.  I’ve seen too many impersonal, photocopied pitch letters, whether via e-mail or snail mail.  If you send something in advance to a call, or as a follow-up to a call, personalize.  Don’t be overly chummy (unless you’ve been on good terms with that journalist for a long time).  But keep sensitive to the fact that you’re a human being, and you’re communicating with another human being.  For e-mails, craft a provocative phrase in the “subject” area.  Too many e-mail messages get unread without a compelling lead.
• Get out from behind your desk.  If you’re in the same city as the journalist, take them out to breakfast, lunch or dinner, if they’re amenable.  If not, make sure you acknowledge them anytime they give your placement coverage - minimally by e-mail, best by snail mail card.  Occasionally, but sparingly, when you see them produce something not necessarily connected to your own client, but noteworthy, acknowledge them for the story as well.  Cultivate the relationship in a friendly and professional way - but do not inundate them or make yourself obnoxious.  Timing and tastefulness are key here.
• Listen to the editor.  It’s as important to listen as it is to talk.  Be sensitive to any verbal feedback, cues or clues that can assist you in fine-tuning your pitch.  Keep your antennae fully extended.
• Respect the ‘no’ and be prepared for it.  Ask quick, important questions: What is it about this story that doesn’t seem right for you?  Is there anyone else for whom this story might work better?  Suggest how the story can be adapted to the outlet’s needs.  Best of all, suggest three to five different angles in advance.  This reduces chances for rejection.
• But when you get your final no, let it go and release it.  YOU haven’t been rejected, just your story.  And if you’ve handled the approach professionally and cordially, you’ll always be able to come back with another story at another time.  Regard your list of cultivated contacts as resources and investments for the long-haul, not for quick fix purposes.
• Contact another editor with a different beat within the same outlet.  Sometimes, if you receive a “no” – you can pitch your story with another editor with a different beat at the same outlet, if the story you’re presenting has applicability to that person.
• Occasionally, pass along an item of interest that lies outside your own sphere of self-interest.  Be someone who’s not always out to get something.  Also, supply your most important contacts with your home phone number.
• Getting beyond voice mail.  I like to try to reach a producer or editor directly, live, on the phone.  If I’m able to reach them, I give myself less than 60 seconds to pitch the story.  Skill in encapsulating the story in very brief but provocative terms is essential.  Based on the feedback, if there is an opening, I then send an e-mail.  If I get voicemail, I leave the same succinct, provocative, targeted message, then follow-up with e-mail.  If I don’t hear from them in two days, I either send a forwarded e-mail back on top of the prior original e-mail pitch (“Tom:  did this story interest you?”) or I call early.  Sometimes I leave a message with an editorial assistant or colleague, live or by voicemail, and follow-up again in a day or two if the message was via voicemail. Call back that other person to learn if your message was received and if there’s a return message.