Television

Perhaps the most influential of all media sources, television allows its audience to experience news in the most realistic way. When we turn on the TV, a reporter stands in the midst of the scene, allowing us to hear, see, and feel (emotionally) what is going on around him.

His description of the events cannot compare to what our own eyes and ears consume. Thankfully, news shows don’t only have to report on the worst life has to offer. They bring us the news about everything that will directly impact our lives for the better or worse in the timeliest fashion.

Like an editor, a producer will be the one who decides what is newsworthy to his audience. But for a producer, the value doesn’t end there. A producer wants to know if there is live footage he can shoot when the report is brought to the eyes of the public.

Is there any way for him to directly interview one of your contact sources for his show? Even better, can it be an exclusive? News competition is fierce, with some starting their broadcast earlier than others, just to be the first to bring you the information.

Local news is dramatically different from cable news channels. Stations such as CNN, a 24-hour news source headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that has up-to-the-minute coverage of everything from International terrorism to sports and entertainment, are strong competition for local channels. If your news makes it on CNN, chances are, it’ll be on your local channel later that evening.

Like the newspaper outlet, television stations have current, constantly-updated Internet websites devoted to keeping their customer’s informed at all times. If your press release makes it to the news, then it will also probably be included on their main website as well.

Since the producers are trying to keep their audience tuned in to see their advertisers, the press release introductions they receive will be written in a completely different style than the print form. In a print form, you have to get to the point quickly, in order to maintain your reader’s interest, and keep them tuned into your message.

The opposite is true for a television broadcast. It’s unlikely that any reporter is going to tell you all of the facts in their very first sentence, when they could string you along for the rest of the broadcast.

The producers are much more concerned with the live feed going into your home than they are the actual content, although that, too, is of great importance. A producer’s job is to bring the news to the public in an interesting, aesthetically pleasing method. So he has to concentrate on putting a scene together with your content.

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