The Inner Circle Round Up: Media News You Can Use April 2020

By Elizabeth Harmon

Welcome to the April Inner Circle Round Up. For most, working from home and the constant feeling of uncertainty is the new normal. We’ll continue to be your resource for new media opportunities you can use, along with providing other helpful and uplifting resources. This month, we’ve been finding new podcasts, shows, and sites launching in response to the current pandemic situation. 

Follow us on Twitter and share any opportunities you came across this month at @ScottCircle.


NBC: ‘Nightly News Kids' Edition' Launches

NBC has launched a new news program targeting kids aged 6-16, hosted by Nightly News’ Lester Holt. The new program will live on Youtube and air at least twice a week as a part of Holt’s regular segment. Stemming from the current pandemic, the show aims to provide answers and empower young people. The show features NBC news correspondents and other experts and focuses on issues relevant to kids. 

The Inner Circle Take: “Nightly News Kids’ Edition” could provide a great opportunity for organizations trying to reach younger audiences. If your organization works on issues involving kids and would like to better engage youth, this new show is one to monitor.

Reader’s Digest: Vertical on Health and Wellness

“The Healthy”, Reader’s Digest’s first digital vertical, has debuted. The new site intends to be a center for health solutions and provide reliable, expert sourced information. According to Theresa Tamkins, editorial director of The Healthy, “Given the urgency of the current COVID-19 outbreak, trusted and authoritative health coverage is more important than ever before.” Topics range from mental health, nutrition, chronic conditions, in depth COVID-19 explainers, vaccines and more.

The Inner Circle Take: If you work in the health space, “The Healthy” could be a new outlet to add to your media list, especially as the site is a trusted, medically reviewed source for health related material. 

Buzzfeed: New Daily Podcast 

In partnership with iHeartMedia, Buzzfeed has launched a new podcast, “News O’ Clock.” The show will cover news and pop culture and aims to be a “one-stop shop” for listeners. The 20-minute daily show will cover top headlines like the 2020 elections and the coronavirus pandemic, along with pop culture and entertainment. The show is hosted by Buzzfeed’s Hayes Brown and Casey Rackham. 

The Inner Circle Take: Given the wide range of topics covered, the podcast offers a variety of opportunities. It mainly features Buzzfeed editorial staff, so if you want to get on the podcast’s radar for an issue you are working on, reaching out to a journalist in tandem with show producers could be a good start. 

And lastly, although there have been a lot of media outlets having to downsize or shut down during this time, there is a bit of silver lining. Good news is in demand and both traditional and non-traditional outlets are meeting the challenge. We’ve compiled a list of outlets sharing positive stories to help keep you smiling: 

• NowThis “In This Together”  

• Tank’s Good News

• Washington Post “The Daily Break”

• Some Good News with John Krasinksi

• National Geographic “Your Weekly Escape"

• Good Black News

• CNN “The Good Stuff”

• CBS News “The Uplift”

Building a Ladder of Engagement: How Organizations Can Attract and Keep Supporters

By Daniella Burgos

As we manage the COVID-19 pandemic and periods of social isolation, organizations are pressing pause on any physical events and enhancing their digital engagement. During this time, it is important to figure out how supporters are coming to know your organization - so that you can ultimately figure out how to continue this engagement beyond the digital landscape once things return to “normal.” Understanding how and why supporters come to know your organization is crucial to figuring out the next steps to keep them engaged and continue to be supporters of your cause. 

Did they learn of you through word of mouth from a friend who has been directly impacted by the work of your organization? Were they prompted to donate to your cause because they saw a post from someone they know through social media? Perhaps they saw your organization mentioned in an article and checked out your website to learn more. Or maybe they had already been following you on social media, but a certain type of message has prompted them to start sharing and engaging more with your online activity.   

Given the overall increase of digital activity coming from every direction, it’s important to evaluate what is breaking through the noise and having an impact. Creating organic and honest engagement (through sharing resources, virtual events, social media posts, etc.) is key when communicating about your organization’s mission during this uncertain time. This is an opportunity to create a plan and build your “ladder of engagement” that will lead your supporters through different levels of activity and interaction with your organization’s efforts.  

How to Create Your Ladder -

1. Engage your team members. First of all, this is a group effort! Everyone in the organization should have some involvement in helping create this ladder. It is important to have different perspectives and opinions to make sure that your ladder is realistic and authentic to your organization.

2. Identify your levels of engagement. These levels may vary depending on your type of organization, but the levels usually follow the following steps: awareness, engagement, involvement, promotion. For example, a potential supporter becomes aware of your organization through an event they attend, in which your organization may have participated. They engage with your organization on social media by following you and commenting on a post. They then may connect with one of your volunteers and would like to get more involved. At the next event they attend, they volunteer and bring a friend, promoting your organization through their network.

3. Set goals for each level. Start with realistic goals like posting content on social content three times a week on all your social media platforms or getting a quarterly newsletter out to your already engaged supporters. Make sure that each goal can be evaluated and is feasible given your organization’s resources.

4. Create tactics and materials. How you will get supporters to move up from each rung of the ladder? Tactics are strategic actions that will help reach your end goal – they can be as simple as updating your website regularly or creating a social media campaign and putting on a virtual event, like a webinar. You must remember to create materials that help supplement your tactics. For example, you might want to create a one-page sheet or FAQs on your organization’s history for newer supporters. For a fundraising campaign, you might want to collect stories and videos from volunteers that would showcase how important your mission is to the community.

5. Create a schedule to evaluate your tactics and goals. Give your organization some time to learn this engagement ladder and put your tactics in place. Then set up monthly meetings to evaluate your tactics and goals for each level and see which tactics might be working better than others. It might be helpful to invest and learn about different analytical tools that can make the evaluation process easier – such as a website analytics tool, Twitter analytics, MailChimp newsletter analytics, etc.

a. Please remember that collecting data as supporters enter and move up your ladder is equally important – this can be in a Google form spreadsheet, AirTable or in a CRM platform. This type of data will also help you evaluate your goals and create new ones!

You want to make sure that you keep in mind that your organization’s specific ladder of engagement is a framework designed to help with your changing goals – it is a structure that should constantly evolve! 

Another Round with The Hill’s Maggie Miller

By Elizabeth Harmon

There is no right answer on the best way to pitch a reporter.  Reporters and their outlets have different processes, deadlines and expectations. At Scott Circle Communications we value journalists, their work and time, and strive to make their jobs a little easier. In an effort to highlight the importance of the PR and journalism relationship and learn how PR pros can improve and build our relationships with reporters, we are introducing a new series: Another Round. Our first interview features star cybersecurity reporter at The Hill, and my friend, Maggie Miller. 


Describe your job in one sentence.

I report on cybersecurity policy, very specifically congressional issues -sometimes I am the unofficial election security reporter!

How many PR pitches do you get a day?

I get a lot, probably between 50-100 a day, on top of other emails. My email inbox can get overwhelming.

About 30% of these pitches are pushing experts. These pitches can be super helpful - for example I was working on a story recently, and got an email in my inbox for an expert that would be a perfect fit for the topic. Sometimes it is serendipity!

How do you balance such a busy inbox?

To the credit of PR professionals, around 90% of pitches are relevant to my beat. I’ve gotten better at looking at PR pitches and evaluating if the pitch could be a story that will work for The Hill. As my editor says, our audience is everybody, spanning from well-informed cybersecurity professionals to someone who doesn't have a computer. When I get pitches, I ask: “Would the average American be interested in this, and would this get clicks?”

I receive a lot of studies, for example, that I find interesting, but have to think about it as a larger story. Unless it is an explosive report, I know if I pitch the study to my editor as a standalone story it won’t work-- but the findings could be used in a larger story! 

What is a regular day on the job for you (pre-pandemic)?

At The Hill, we’re encouraged to be out in the field. Normally, I spend 3-4 days of the week working in the press rooms on Capitol Hill. The first thing I do in the morning is check my emails and Twitter to get a run down of the day’s news and make sure I haven’t missed any breaking news overnight. Editors send out requests for two types of stories- longer stories that publish around two times a week and shorter, more frequent blog posts. The longer stories I work on showcase larger trends we are seeing and I spend my day speaking with multiple experts. I also work with our social media team that monitors the news 24/7 and shares relevant news for potential stories. These stories are usually shorter breaking news posts that do not require a lot of outside reporting. 

On the Hill, I’m going to votes, talking to members of Congress, setting up coffee dates with press representatives, and trying to get some writing in there to meet my deadlines (usually around 4-5 pm). Overall my day is a lot of multitasking. One thing I can say about this job is I am never bored.

What makes a pitch stand out to you?

Big companies and major names related to my beat stand out. If Google or Amazon are named in the pitch, I will probably read it closer. But it’s also okay if they don’t! 

Most journalists really mean well and know work goes into the pitches. As much as I would like to, I don't have time to read pitches all the way through. I usually read the subject and the first line or paragraph. If you attract a journalist’s attention in the first few lines, they will 100% read your entire pitch. 

What is one thing you would change about the PR journalist relationship?

The sheer amount of pitches? While my PR relationships are essential to many of the stories I write, the amount of pitches I receive can be overwhelming. It is always apparent when you get added to a media list. Be more judicious on who you are reaching out to. Search the journalist's name and look at the last five stories they wrote. If your pitch is out of left field for them, don't send the pitch because they likely won’t respond.

Also, be aware of timing when you pitch.  Unless it’s breaking news, I do not recommend sending pitches between 5 and 6 pm. That’s when we are filing stories, newsletters - kind of a busy time!

Turning the table - What is one question you have for PR pros?

What is one thing you wish journalists knew about how PR pitches are put together and the process of reaching out to journalists?

Who is your dream reporter that you’d want to get “another round” with?

Katie Couric- I've always admired how she pursued different ways of looking at the news and informing people. She is an amazing role model - a woman who has been in the business for a long time. I would love to get her take on her career, how she has covered different areas and maybe cry a little.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Monitoring, Measurement and Metrics: Tackling the Media Reporting Landscape

By Matheson Sharp

Monitoring, measurement and metrics. Keeping tabs on the media landscape allows communications pros to follow what is being said, where a client may fit in coverage, identify key influencers or experts and understand the types of stories that are picked up. Media monitoring and reporting often only tells half the story on its face, but it takes a trained eye to pick out the themes, trends and key findings. The vast amount of information available can be overwhelming, especially when looking to present to a client, but fear not - we have put together a primer to help navigate the media monitoring landscape!

Establish Success and Understand Your Client’s Goals
Start off by asking questions, establish what success looks like to the client and what their goals from media engagement are. Is the client looking to gauge interaction on a certain topic, track brand mentions, follow competitors’ coverage or identify news opportunities where they could contribute to the conversation? Understanding client needs will inform decisions in media monitoring that lead to successfully meeting goals. 

Choose Your Platform
There are a multitude of platforms that provide monitoring and analytics services covering all mediums, regions and trades. Options include all-encompassing solutions, like Cision and Muckrack, social platforms like Sprout Social, and keyword alert aggregators like Talkwalker Alerts or Feed.ly, - and everything in between. It is important to find the system that provides the best ability to accurately collect clips and provide analytics that are useful to the client. If the project is primarily on social media, Sprout Social would be a good option, while print and online campaigns may be better suited to Cision, Muckrack or Feed.ly. A mix of platforms is generally advised as it can help assure that all stories are pulled in and do not fall through the cracks. 

Create a Baseline
It is always harder to add data after the fact, so decide what you ultimately want to present to the client to demonstrate success. Before monitoring begins, work with the client to identify key terms related to their goals. Which words, phrases, themes or individuals are important? Set up monitoring terms, preferably two weeks to a month in advance to create a baseline. This baseline provides a starting point for comparison down the line.

Manage Expectations
Managing a client’s expectations is critical to helping find their space in the crowded media landscape and understanding what success realistically looks like. If the client wants to reach a niche audience, the media that will deliver the best exposure to the target demographic may be a smaller publication. Identify quality outlets and reporters who engage with the target audience, not necessarily those with the biggest reach.

Structure The Report
Create an outline for the report, visualize how you will organize the metrics and understand how you will communicate the report. Use a combination of descriptive writing, charts graphs and tables to explain your coverage. The way you represent the data should provide an overall benefit to the presentation, so identify the best chart or graph to demonstrate each section of the report. Laying the groundwork by identifying keywords and selecting metrics that accurately represent findings will result in insightful reporting. 

Think Like Your Client!
When you present your findings to the client, eliminate jargon or industry specific language when communicating data. Make information easy to understand and digest by explaining coverage clearly using simple language. If you can’t easily explain what a chart is showing, your client won’t understand either. Furthermore, understand what matters to the client: how will the coverage impact them and why is it impactful? The how and the why informs analysis of coverage and recommendations for next steps.

With a plethora of platforms and publishing mediums it is natural to feel daunted by the sheer size of the task, but don’t let the numbers get the better of you. Approaching media monitoring with a plan will yield helpful information and reveal key trends. Media monitoring tells a story in numbers, it is up to you to translate findings into language the client can understand and demonstrate the value of your hard work.