Your news doesn't have to be "breaking news" for journalists and the public to find it interesting.  A story can be newsworthy for several other reasons.

• A good news or feel-good story
• A unique story
• An inspirational story
• A "news you can use" story

Here are some recent examples in the news:

• A  13-year-old Michigan boy saved the day when his school bus driver passed out.  He jumped up, grabbed the steering wheel and hit the brakes--safely bringing the bus to a stop.  The heroic act was captured by the on-board camera. The video, the boy and his parents were  featured on social media and on broadcast media.
• In Oregon a woman used her life savings to open a sports bar that airs only women's sports.  The aptly named, Sports Bra, is the first of its kind.  The bar is thriving with help from a Kickstarter campaign.  This is a unique story that many found newsworthy.
• You can't get a more inspirational story than Jeremy Renner's one-on-one network interview with Diane Sawyer.  His remarkable first hand account of his accident and long road to recovery was compelling TV.  Interviews with witnesses and his family pulled at more heart strings.
• WNBA star Brittany Griner held her first news conference since her release from ten months of Russian detention..  The world has been following her story from the beginning.  But there was something particularly gripping when she took to the mic.  It's no wonder that some 100 people were on hand.  
• This week's recall by General Mills of some of its flour definitely falls into the "news you can use" category.  So do the severe weather alerts on local and national newscasts.  But good news can also fall in to this class.  Local media outlets and social media are great platforms to spread the word about community events.  

If you are a business owner looking for media coverage, determine if your news falls into any of those categories.  Perhaps one of your employees has an inspiring story to share, or you are having a grand opening and offering fee-bees and entertainment for your community.  It never hurts to invite a local celebrity (think TV weather person or sports figure) to your event.  

In our media training sessions we not only help client prepare for media interviews, we also help them develop good media relations.  When you are ready to pitch to the media, it is so much easier if you have learned the basics of dealing with media.

www,WomenMediaPros.com