What Makes a Good Media Pitch?

Media relations is all about leveraging the reach of business, legal and industry media to expand brand visibility and strengthen your firm’s reputation in the marketplace. But how do you know which of your law firm’s stories are worth telling? And once you have identified a topic, how do you package it as a persuasive pitch to the media?

Successful media relations hinges on understanding what constitutes newsworthiness so you can win over reporters and editors. While newsworthiness can be subjective, practically all media outlets subscribe to a few key factors. 

• Timeliness: How relevant today is the news item you are pitching? The news cycle travels at lightning speed, so you have to make sure your topic won’t be stale within 48 hours.
   
• Impact: To what degree does the topic have an effect on the outlet’s audience? The greater and farther-reaching the impact of the subject matter, the more likely it will get the attention of an editor.
   
• Credibility: What separates the lawyer from other possible sources? For example, if the story concerns the Department of Justice, consider offering a commentator who formerly worked there.
   
• Uniqueness: What unique perspective can your attorney give on the news of the day? What novel story does your law firm have to tell? Reporters might receive dozens of pitches in a day; you need to make sure yours stands out from the stack.

How can Jaffe help you with your media pitches?

Jaffe’s media relations team has strong contacts at national, regional and local media outlets, from general business publications to niche industry trade magazines. We know the types of stories editors and reporters want, and we know how to pitch them persuasively. Our publicists work with our law firm clients to identify unique perspectives and viable topics that are of interest to the media, sussing out the newsworthy elements. We then craft compelling pitches that add timely context to further pique interest. Our results speak for themselves: Our efforts have helped our clients land widespread media attention and raised their national profiles, giving them a leg up on their competition.

Do you want Jaffe to help share your law firm’s stories? For more information, contact Vivian Hood, Owner/CEO, Public Relations, at vhood@jaffepr.com.