Trending News Stories: Jacinda Ardern, Alec Baldwin, 50th Anniversary of Reproductive Rights

When you're pitching the media, you need to have fresh ideas. One pitch email to 10 media contacts will not do. You need to keep pitching different angles. This is what PR professionals do, and this is what you must do too, dear Business Owner (or Communications Director, Marketing Director, or Intern tasked with this large task of getting organic (free) media coverage for your business).

One way is to piggy back on trending news stories. This is when a big announcement or development comes out, and your product or expertise may have just the thing to say about it.

Let the following stories inspire you. Then come into Tin Shingle's Pitch Whisperer to discuss how you're going to pitch it. Hold yourself accountable, and do it!

If you feel you're too late - ignore that voice. Your possible news story can keep the topic talking.

Trending News Stories Right Now

The 50th Anniversary of Reproductive Rights
Many news outlets picked this up and reported on this date. According to ACLU: "January 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that codified the right to an abortion. But this year on January 22nd, we’ll largely remember this anniversary as the one that wasn’t. For 49 years, Roe helped to allow people who could become pregnant decide what was best for them and their families, but on June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Since then, bans on abortion have taken effect in 13 states, and courts have blocked abortion bans in 9 others, according to the New York Times abortion ban tracker, though this is constantly changing."
How To Pitch:
Don't limit yourself here. Many businesses, creators, artists and other professionals have relevant stories to tell here. What's your angle?

• Authors: What part of your book touched on abortion? Was your book set in a time when abortions were illegal? Clip a quote from your book, find your angle, and email that to the media outlet you are targeting.

• Businesses: Perhaps you have a personal story to share. Very difficult to do for you, so only do this if you feel strongly.

• Organizers: Have you been working on projects that are collecting experiences from people? Share snippets of these stories to the reporter or producer you think is a good fit.

Alec Baldwin To Be Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter in ‘Rust’ Killing
While filming the movie "Rust," the gun Alec was holding and aiming at the cinematographer, went off. A loaded bullet was inside, and killed her. Interestingly, The New York Times carefully phrased it this way: "A gun that Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing with went off, killing the film’s cinematographer." The person responsible for weapons on set, known as the "armorer" also faces manslaughter charges.
How To Pitch:

• Authors: Are you a crime writer? How would you have written this? The author Mark Bello was on this right away, and published a newsletter about it. Mark is also a member of Tin Shingle. He made a great move by publishing his own article.

• Experts: Are you a legal expert in this arena?

• Organizers: Are you a union leader who advocates for workplace safety?

• Film Production: This movie is still going to complete. Should it?

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Announces Resignation
We watched her lead the world in her response to COVID. She's announced her resignation, citing many reasons including her new child, her desire to get married to her man, and admitting she "did not have enough in the tank to do [the job] justice," (read the transcript here). When the BBC covered it, they asked/headlined "Can women have it all?" In response, the MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin slammed the BBC, saying: "What an absolutely shameful headline by the BBC. When men politicians resign, does the BBC question or imply that somehow they fell short in 'having it all'. This is but one mere example of the reductive and frankly sexist headlines PM Ardern faced during her tenure."

What do you think? Write an article on it on your own company blog, and use that to pitch out to the media as you show your expertise.

Use Tin Shingle’s Pitch Whisperer To Help You

Tin Shingle’s community is here to support you. Pitching the media is often done in a vacuum. All by yourself. The Pitch Whisperer Forum allows you to have feedback, possibly tweak your pitch, and keep pitching.

Activate your membership with Tin Shingle today.

Ready To Stream: [PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media In July 2022

What To Pitch The Media In July 2022

Happy July!

In the PR and magazine world that means one thing: Holiday Gift Guide.

Not the holiday that is just around the corner that some people are canceling since people’s body’s just got canceled and put at risk. No - we are talking about pitching the magazines for those coveted editorial gift guide roundups.

The research and writing starts in July. Knee high in July with the beginning of products being shipped around for testing and inspecting by editors and writers.

In this monthly TuneUp, “What To Pitch The Media In July,” you will hear of the many themes you could be pitching for different types of outlets. These include National US Postage Stamp Day (because we know one of you is actually launching a US stamp!), Celiac Awareness Month, Adopt A Shelter Dog Month. These themes are not in July - they are later. This TuneUp will help you plan for where to pitch, when.

This TuneUp is open to all to listen to for free for the next 24 hours, and then it’s getting packaged back up for the Tin Shingle Members only to stream at any time.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Ready To Stream: [PR] TuneUp: Ideas For Pitching The Media For The Month Of May 2022

Ideas For Pitching The Media For The Month Of May 2022

Planning ahead for Summer and Fall media coverage - what should you be pitching the press right now? Print magazines are in long lead time, meaning they are working on August and September issues now. That means Back To School!

But the now for digital also means Juneteenth and Father's Day. And what should you be pitching for TV?

This TuneUp will teach you how to hook a reporter, producer or intern, to pique their curiosity to compel them to write about you or your business.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Ready To Stream: [PR] TuneUp: Editing Email Pitches For TV

Editing Email Pitches For TV

During this TuneUp, Katie went over 3 email pitches intended for a TV segment. Listen in to hear how she edited them. What did she keep in mind? What kind of changes did she make?

Plus, get a minute of motivation to start it all off, as per usual. Because getting the word out is hard to do, and requires gumption and courage.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Ready To Stream: [PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media In October 2021 For 2022 Coverage

What To Pitch The Media In October 2021 For 2022 Coverage

The Live Broadcast of the TuneUp is back this week!
Listen to this TuneUp for ideas on what to pitch the media during October 2021 that you can see in print in 2022! Pitching the print media is all about spotting news trends right now, and predicting how they would play out 6 months from now. Also in this TuneUp get media ideas for what to pitch now to get short-lead news coverage from digital editions of your favorite media outlets and TV.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Ready To Stream: [PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media This Month: August (For January 2022 Coverage)

[PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media This Month: August (For January 2022 Coverage)

Hello Hello!

Tin Shingle's planning ahead programming continues, with this broadcast of the monthly TuneUp "What To Pitch For August 2021 (For Media Coverage In January 2022).

During this TuneUp, we focused on standard themes you can rely on for pitching angles that could land your media placement in January 2022 (think "New Year, New You!"...you know the drill). We also focus on "short leads" and "medium leads" ideas, which are story angles you can use now to land your media coverage tomorrow or in a month from now.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

When Roth IRAs Trend: How To Create Meaningful PR During A Groundbreaking Story From ProPublica

Photo Credit: Screenshot of article at ProPublica: “Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank”

“When Roth IRAs were trending in Twitter…” says no one over.

Except the phenomenon of the sleepy lifestyle topic - retirement planning - did take over Twitter when ProPublica published their article chronicling how the mega-tech-investor Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal, investor in Facebook, donor to Trump, among many other choices), used - very creatively - his Roth IRA to build and hold $5 billion tax free. Roth IRAs, according to ProPublica, were designed as retirement planning tools for the middle class, and have income restrictions.

The angle of ProPublica’s story - and the audience reaction - was how mega-wealthy investors with mindsets like Peter’s are using Roth IRAs that normal people have access to, in order to spike the way it grows money. While the first impression may be: “WOW, that’s a lot of money to shield from taxes….,” the next reaction of a Roth IRA holder might be: “Wait, how did he do that again? What am I not doing in my Roth IRA to grow it that big?”

And there you have the opportunity for a financial expert to step into this trending news story - while respecting its message of how people game a system - to help others actually pay attention to their Roth IRA, instead of letting their Roth IRA be dormant behind some login somewhere, languishing from no one paying attention to it, depositing any money into their Roth IRA, or tweaking its levers to grow that money on trees. Which is what IRAs were intended to do.

Roth IRA At Its Basic - And How Peter Blew It Up To $5 Billion

According to the ProPublica article, Peter deposited $2,000 into his Roth IRA in 1999 and grew it into $5 billion, “using stock deals unavailable to most people.” According to Vanguard, an investment management group, “A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that offers tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA rules dictate that as long as you've owned your account for 5 years* and you're age 59½ or older, you can withdraw your money when you want to and you won't owe any federal taxes.”

There are limits on the maximum you can put in, and that amount can change depending on who is the President of the United States. For instance, David Rae, CFP, wrote for Fortune magazine: “It is important to point out that the Roth IRA may become more valuable to you because of the new Trump Tax Plan. At least that has been the case for many people. Tax-free growth and tax-free income might be quite appealing to current and future retirees. At the same time, more money in your pocket to maximize today could be extremely tempting as well.”

How A Finance Expert Like You Can Perk The Interest Of A Reporter To Get Your Own PR

This was a trending news story. While attention may have moved on, the relevance is still there for a bit longer afterwards. Here’s how you can pitch yourself to a reporter who might be a good fit for this story:

• Set the Mood: Mention in 1 sentence the story and the article at ProPublica. You don’t need to link to it in your email. That may trigger spam filters, and you want to save your link for a link to your own website. But you’ll want to remind the reporter about the story, or inform them for the first time.

• Say What You’re Going To Do: Further the mood by telling the reporter what you are can inform them about, based on this article. The urgency here is that X number of Americans have a Roth IRA (bonus points for finding and including this statistic!) and don’t do anything with their Roth IRA. They are missing out on any free money, let alone $5 billion.

• Love The Bullet Lists: Put in a bullet list the topics you can speak to. For instance: Kids who can start Roth IRAs now and get that early financial education and growth; Why starting a Roth IRA as a 50 year old may still be a good idea; How to work it into your strategy if you are already retired; Best retirement strategies to take advantage of if you have a low income; How the gears of a Roth IRA churn - how does this thing work and how can people tweak the levers to grow more money from it?

You got this, Small Business Friend. Even if you run a huge business, these strategies will work for you. Use Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Idea Center to browse names for which reporters or producers would be a great fit for this story. Use Tin Shingle’s Google Group to test your pitch on us. It’s the group of Members who can see your pitch and submit feedback. Feeling a little shy? Hire one of our PR Pros (Katie, Beth or Olivia) to review your pitch in private during a Private Training Session (discounted 25% with membership).

All of this can be yours with a Tin Shingle Membership.

Whatever You Do:

• Don’t mass-pitch. Don’t send the email to a group of BCC emails. Now the media can see you are blanketing this pitch everywhere, and they may compete with each other for the same story angle.

• Do include the reporter’s name in your email pitch. Personalize it!

• Do change up points you are making to different reporters and producers. Their audiences are not the same. You need to do some work to make this pitch different.

• Tin Shingle wants to hear from you! We share financial insight with our small business readers. Do include us in your pitching! Our audience is a diverse group of old and young creative thinkers who turn ideas into action. Our crowd are business owners, communication directors working for them, and PR professionals seeking to further their education.

Good luck!

What To Pitch The Media This Month: July 2021

WHAT TO PITCH THE MEDIA THIS MONTH: JULY

HELLO!

We did this! We brought back Tin Shingle's monthly series, "What To Pitch The Media This Month: July 2021"

We went over ideas for national print magazines (6 months ahead), local (2-3 months ahead), and trending news stories right now. (HINT: This is the time for Holiday Gift Guide pitching! That coveted print space in November/December issues.)

This TuneUp is a menagerie of ideas. Not only did we go over monthly themes you could spin your business pitching into, but we also covered:

• Trending news stories you could latch onto.

• (ex: Refinery29's obsession with Mom Jeans- why?! why are they stealing our sexy?)

• How to make your own news.

• Did you participate in a protest? Tell someone about it - outside of your Instagram.

• Different ways to pitch.

• What to do when you get press coverage.

• Why Instagram isn't enough.

PS: This means Office Hours were closed, as we did the live, free, open to all TuneUp at 3pm instead.

PPS: If you couldn't make it to this free broadcast, Tin Shinglers with the Media Membership get 24/7 access to watch any TuneUp whenever they want. Activate your Tin Shingle membership today to get access!

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Why We Talk About Hair Blowouts During TuneUp Office Hours

Not gonna lie, sometimes during the TuneUp Office Hour, we discuss COVID hair blowouts, and how that can become a media pitch idea. Because that is what makeup designer mixologist @nycluckychick has mastered for her curly hair during the shutdown. This is a media pitch that isn’t a feature on her business but can keep her name and company name in the news lightly.

We also discuss things like Grammy makeup themes as seen on the virtual red carpet and how to incorporate that into her customer newsletter to increase sales. In the past, @nycluckychick showed up and we discussed short, quick, and really effective ways of getting her new makeup brand in front of editors. Makeup artists love her brand and have reached out to use it for the Grammys!

Want in on this fun? Office Hours at Tin Shingle is a special opportunity for members only, where they call in with their questions, concerns, doubts, big ideas.

Tin Shingle Members can attend this TuneUp Office Hour session as a way to have a micro-brainstorming session on their own marketing needs. The time will be shared and moderated. Come join us if you haven't yet! Private Training is always available with a discount to Tin Shingle Members, and group connections are always appreciated. www.TinShingle.com/tuneup

[PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media This Month: January

Well wow, Tin Shingler! This was quite a news day.

To get you back into the groove of your business, we are keeping this TuneUp open for all to stream for the next few hours. Today's performance and insurrection was a culmination of the distraction that we have all been dealing with for the past 9 months. Ironically, during this TuneUp, Katie pointed out that the media is getting into its groove with the pandemic and social revolution, being that it was not operating in crisis mode during the last few weeks. Crisis mode is where the media cycle is interrupted by crisis and planned news stories are dropped in favor of what is happening right now.

On the other hand, how the media handled today was not very reassuring, as they asked the current president to show leadership and tell his people to "go home." This president has been consistently encouraging today's actions to happen. So for the media like CNN not to recognize that, was disappointing, yet not surprising to the Black community, who have watched and endured this type of coverage for a long time. Or since forever.

Shaking our heads, and enraged that there has been little news coverage of any arrests of those who rioted, trespassed, and stole or lifted government property. Was anyone arrested? Sadly, it is being reported that one woman who stormed inside the Capitol was shot by police and has died.

Social media giants did take action. Twitter and Facebook locked him out of his accounts, and YouTube removed his video telling his people to stay peaceful, in which, he could not have looked happier. Read all about it here at Deadline.com.

At any rate. Get many ideas for how to pitch the media this month. And energy! This was a great TuneUp, and will jazz your brand. It's free for all to stream for limited time, and then will be available to Tin Shingle Members to stream 24/7.