Every journalist wants to be the first to cover a great story.
Securing an ‘exclusive’ is the best way to spike sales or views, so media organisations put a premium on this content. They can get very competitive to land one, and when then do, it gets more prominence and column inches than other stories.
So if you’ve got an ‘exclusive’, you’re sitting on valuable content. Make the most of this rare opportunity!
What makes an exclusive story?
Exclusives need to be new content - pictures, information, interviews - about something of public interest which no one has covered yet.
The best ones tend to relate to a story or pictures of something which has already piqued people’s fascination and received some coverage. A typical exclusive would be the first interview with a person who’s been the centre of a big news event, or a new piece of information relating to an ongoing story. There’s no hard and fast rule.
How do you know if you’ve got an exclusive?
Is your story news worthy? Here’s a rule of thumb; would you rush to tell a friend, or even better, a stranger at the bus stop? Would other people care, is it relevant to lots of people? Does it relate to a national event, issue or person? If yes, you might be on to something.
Obviously, the next thing to ask yourself is “has anyone reported this specific information”. Have a google.
Don’t sit on it!
Now’s the time to pick up the phone and call a newsdesk. Start with a couple of national papers. Print publications tend to fight hardest - and pay the most - for exclusives because they’re under more competition to get readers. TV programmes are also happier to follow print titles. If a story appears on TV, newspapers lose interest quickly.
Give a brief summary of the story - but don’t give your story away! See what interest there is, then play them off against each other. Which one’s prepared to offer best terms.
Who wins the bidding war?
You’re in a great position to extract more value for your brand. You might be offered more money from one paper, but get your brand a prominent mention in another. Which is worth more? Think about asking for credit on pictures (if you own/ have rights to them), name checks in print and on screen.
Also, think about your target audience; where are they likely to get their news? If they’re Daily Mail readers, that could be the best place for you.
When negotiating, see if you can also reach out to broadcasters. Often print and broadcasters are happy to cooperate - the publicity can be mutually beneficial. If you’re in a paper in the morning that could boost the TV interview later that day.
How to ensure you get maximum exposure after it’s made print/air.
Sometimes, if the story is big enough, every other news organisation will want to follow up. Be prepared for a deluge of requests.
Get ready to ride the wave of publicity. You’ll see a massive spike in online activity around you and your brand if you’re the centre of a story.
Make sure your social channels and website are up to date and reflect your brand values. Have new and fresh content ready to go. Do some short videos for your social channel. If you’re appearing on TV, promote that on your channels - tell your audience to tune in.
Pitch yourself to other publications - don’t forget to speak to specialist titles and local papers.
Pitch yourself everywhere your audience will be.
When you get caught up in a news whirlwind time will fly so make sure you enjoy it, but now you know how to capitalise when opportunities come.
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