When I was a young reporter, freshly graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, the number one thing that was ingrained in me was to find the “real people” in every story I covered. Find the people affected by what is going on, don’t just go with what authorities tell you. Question the facts. Question the “spin.” Question authority. That was the mantra I lived by in my 13-year career as a television news reporter and anchor, and my journalism roots are still with me today. It’s hard to get it out of your system, and many other former journalists often say they do the same thing.

Who are the real people in the story you’re sharing?

One way to exude credibility to a questioning journalist is to find them the “real people.”  Who are the real people in the story? If you’re a pet store owner who holds adoption events for an animal rescue at your store, the media doesn’t want to talk to you as much as the people bringing the adoptable animals to your store. The media is there for the animals, not you. The rescuers know the personalities of their animals better than you do. But it’s going to be great PR for you because the media will mention where the adoption event is taking place.  Score!  You don’t always have to be the center of the story to get great PR. 

When it comes to animal welfare, it’s similar.

If you’re celebrating volunteers, make sure your pitch to the media is not just the executive director or chief executive officer. The main interviewee should be one of your top volunteers, who you trust to represent you well in an interview. 

What about nonprofit and for-profit?

That has been one of the hardest things to stress to some government, nonprofit and for-profit businesses I have worked with. Everyone wants to feature their leader, but in reality, the media would rather have the people doing the actual work or job. If the leader is the expert in that area, then of course that person should be the one doing interviews. It was really hard in government situations, as it’s hard to tell an elected official who is campaigning for re-election that the media doesn’t really care about what they have to say. In my reporting days, I would often do a quick interview with the official as a courtesy to the public relations person I was working with, then NOT use the interview. That way my PR person would still look good in getting the interview and they could place the blame on me for their boss or elected person not getting airtime. 

What are the most impactful stories?

“Real people” storytelling just doesn’t affect a journalist writing for their print or broadcast station, it also holds for social media posts or website content.  Official speak is just plain boring. When I worked in Las Vegas, the television station there did focus groups on what their viewers preferred. The most impactful stories viewers liked were about “real people” doing real things. When you look at what articles and stories win awards, it’s usually about a unique person or group of persons. Using “real people” has always worked. It’s what the media and influencers want. As a good friend and former journalist used to say, “give the people what they want.”