Major national news media cover St. Louis via stringers based in our area. Representatives from the Associated Press, Dow Jones, Metro Network News, PR newswire and News USA discussed how their reporting requirements are different than the local media; how and when your organization or story might be of interest to them; and their professional perspective on the St. Louis media climate compared to other markets within their news organizations.

OPENING MODERATOR COMMENTS

Specific insights will be given on what's new, what PR professionals should and should not do, and the overall "rules of the game," said Jeff Waldman, PRSA President and moderator.

"Associated Press" - Jim Salter

St. Louis staff consists of four (4) persons from 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Everything from murder to sports is covered.
Because St. Louis is a very "newsy" city, there is not much time for features. Most feature stories come from the public relations industry.
They write for an audience almost exclusively outside of St. Louis.
Companies with international appeal are of interest.
The earlier you contact the AP, the better the chance they can get started on the story.
Two state Missouri/Kansas Bureaus have two offices in St. Louis and Jefferson City, and one office in Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia.
Jim Shur covers St. Louis, metro east and Carbondale.
Cheryl Whittenauer covers medical in St. Louis.
Helpful Hint: Jim encourages a block at the top of your media release with: who, what, where, when, why, and a contact number.

"Dow Jones" - Greg Edwards

Prior to employment with Dow Jones, Greg worked as editor of the Belleville News Democrat.
Greg's beat covers beer companies and large companies in general. His niche is Anheuser-Busch.
Greg is fairly active with writing during the mornings, in order to keep pace with New York's clock, and slows down by 4 p.m.
Dow Jones St. Louis is a one-man operation located in the Equitable building downtown. He is almost always in the office.
They publish 10,000 items each day and have 300,000 worldwide subscribers.
Dow Jones is a 24-hour operation with their largest locations in New York, London, and Singapore.
A retailer in New York covers St. Louis' May Department Stores Company.
An east coast writer covers St. Louis' Express Scripts.
They often profile what drives the company in less than 30 paragraphs.
He is sometimes tapped for their "Hot Stocks" section when he receives a call from New York to cover and write a short piece.
The Dow Jones also offer a daily "Tip Sheet."
Stories they cover about small companies usually represent a national trend.
"Market Talk" includes gossip information and analyst information. For example, "things that might move markets."
Helpful Hint: For large companies who hold conference calls, be sure to have someone available to answer questions during a Web cast.

Metro Network News" - Jill Endraske

Prior to work with Metro Network News, Jill worked with KFNS and KTRS.
Metro Network News is offers: (1) Distribution News Service (2) Traffic + News Service.
Story Pitch Tip: Cut to the chase. Keep it simple. The main idea should jump off the page. If the reporter has to dig, then the message may be misunderstood.
Story Pitch Tip: Always have an expert available (with quick and easy contact information).
Story Pitch Tip: Follow-up with the news source. Ask if they received the media release. In some cases, their server or fax may not be functioning properly.
Recommends 1 week press release notice for daily and weekly publication placements.
They appear on 29 local radio stations (i.e., WIL, KEZK, KHTS), and 2,000 nationally.
Metro Network News competes with the Associated Press.
Pet Peeves: "It's not all about you." Make your story appeal to the reader and/or listener.
Pet Peeves: Information that is NOT concise and does NOT jump off the page.

Bill Bowen

Bill has a background in music videos.
In the late 1970's, Metro News began as a traffic reporting service. It has led to news.
In 1996 the Metro News Network news wire began. Today, their service totals 2,500 reporters.
Metro News Network has the ability to reach people throughout the region and nation.

- Sarah Skerik

PRNewswire manages and distributes product services, and has links to 4,434 trade publications.
PRNewswire does NOT employ reporters. It takes stories from the PR community.
The service can send a message as broad or as narrow as you want it to be delivered.
In the last 10 years, the Internet has allowed the media to be better served. The Internet lets the outlets deliver messages to their audience.
You can reach reporters how and when they want to receive your message.
Now-a-days there are finer filters (i.e., search engines). Seventy percent click on
Language of the blogo-sphere.
R.S.S. feeds can be implemented on your corporate Web site.
When GM launched a new version of their corvette, they opted for a different approach. Instead of unveiling the car at the typical Detroit Auto Show, they tapped into a parallel demographic; namely rich guys who buy corvettes. They found this demo has pricey cell phones with video cast and Web cast capabilities. GM succeeded in communicating with their audience in the language they speak.
Maximize your Internet sites: Keywords and thumbnail photo links from press release to Web site.
Multi-Media: (1) Digitize high resolution b-roll and place it on your site. (2) Reporters look for photos!
Recommends 1 week press release notice for daily and weekly publication placements.
Photo Etiquette Guidelines: Provide a link to Web site photo thumbnails with a note at the bottom of the release.
Pet Peeves: Don't rely on spell check. Hand off your media release for a second set of eyes to review before it is sent.

"News USA" - Tim Loeffel

Tim has a seven-year background with RCA Records in Nashville, Tenn.
News USA is a paid media service. A news feature service. They guarantee you'll be in at least 100 newspapers across the country.
Editors use material from News USA when: (1) an Ad drops out. (2) they need to fill space. (3) the desire AP style. (4) staff is crunched.
Tim discussed the traditional "Matte Release" service from years ago. They still use a variation of the original concept, which they send to newspapers.
Their items have been placed in over 4,000 papers (mostly suburban).
News USA works with: Sony, Kodak, Russell Stover, and start-up companies. Other clients include the American Medical Association.
News USA takes a shot gun approach. It is not good for business-to-business targets.
News USA does a good job with placement of: food, gardening, and health-related items.

Notes Reported by: Dawn DeBlaze, PRSA-St. Louis Board Director