Your business may have doubled in size this year but for some reason the national newspaper doesn't care. It certainly can be a frustrating experience trying to sell your story to media outlets but understanding what makes news can go a long way in breaking down the media barrier. It has been said that news is what people are talking about. A nice simplification, but you need to know more. If you want a reporter to be interested in your story, you need to meet one of the following criteria.
Nothing beats breaking news.
Such news stories often command front page attention at newspapers and lead air time at radio and TV stations. Breaking news is immediate news about something that just happened and that matters to a defined audience, like the business community. This has to be news that people will talk about. Most media are first and foremost interested in stories with a local angle. The Ottawa Business Journal will be interested in a Newbridge announcement to create a grand Ottawa campus.