Notes

How to Get a Story About You or YOUR ORGANIZATION in USA Today
I am often asked by clients to target USA Today for media coverage, sufficient reason for good reason: USA Today coverage can have a significant impact on businesses and organizations. Here's why:

1. Circulation of USA Today: USA Today is the largest U.S. daily newspaper, with a Monday through Thursday circulation of over two million, and a Friday circulation of 2.7 million.

2. Additional Media Coverage Resulting from a tale in USA Today: Many media outlets -- TV in particular -- follow USA Today stories closely and do TV segments predicated on USA Today articles. So, if you are featured in USA Today, there's a good chance you'll receive coverage in other media outlets.

What are USA Today journalists searching for?

Here are some tips:

1. Visit the hot news story. Sometimes, t here 's one story that the news is concentrating on heavily (Hurricane Katrina, the Runaway Bride, etc.). Many times there are ways for your business to tie into the news of your day, which is virtually all the media really wants to cover. For instance, Hurricane Katrina is a hot news story at the time of this writing. In a USA Today story on gas prices linked to Hurricane Katrina, your small business, gasbuddy.com, was quoted. In a tale linked to the financial impact of Katrina, a small business, Stone & Youngberg, a firm that deals in municipal securities, was included as a source.

2. Tie your business or organization right into a current trend. USA Today rarely profiles individual businesses or organizations. But they will often include you in a larger trend story. For instance, if you make diamond jewelry for babies, you might not get your personal business profile, but you may be included in a more substantial trend story about companies offering "Baby Bling," in accordance with Lifestyle Editor Kim Willis.

3. Offer several sources, notes SMALL COMPANY Reporter Jim Hopkins. You may have a great trend idea, but if it's hard for the reporters to find sources, the story idea may die. Offering sources is one method to make the story happen -- and you may control the names you give.

So if you are seeking great media coverage, consider concentrating on USA Today.

Copyright 2008 - Margie Fisher

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher PR, is the writer of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. To find out more on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit
Here's my website: https://ccm.net/profile/user/nissenlohmann43