How to Pitch to Media Outlets

As a Business Owner, It’s Important to Know How to Pitch to Media Outlets, but Even More Important to Adhere to Your Faith and Values as a Personal Brand

Yvette Walker

Yvette Walker is a journalist, podcast host, and Dean of Student Affairs and Administration at Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma. She is passionate about Jesus, podcasting, and her students.

The key message that Yvette shares are that God is in every day, and His joy is in the details.

Adhering to values is very important to Yvette and something she teaches her students. During our conversation, Yvette shares her view on journalism ethics and her calling to start the Positively Joy podcast. She also shares how to pitch to media outlets effectively, so that they will tell your story.

5 Tips on How to Pitch to Media Outlets

First, surround a news peg.
a. Explain why the pitch is important at the present time
b. Holidays, current events, etc.
Second, have a Good Story.
a. A new book or the work you do are good, but you have to have a story around them because most journalism is about human interest
Third, have good artwork.
a. Provide artwork to save the newsroom and journalists time and money
b. Artwork includes photos
c. Personal Branding photos are fabulous if you are an entrepreneur pitching a story
Fourth, anticipate questions the outlet may have and answer them in your pitch.
a. Anticipate their questions and provide the answers to save them time
b. The easier you make it for the journalist or media outlet, the more likely they are to accept your pitch
Fifth, know the outlet.
a. Know who you are talking to
b. Be aware of the interests of the outlet
c. Know the audience of the outlet
d. Find the right person within the outlet to pitch your topic to

More on how to pitch to podcasts and journalists.

The Ethics of Journalism

Yvette shares her perspective as a journalist, an ombudsman, a professor, and a podcast host.

The daily news cycle has increased, and journalists are now limited on time. They are chasing stories and sometimes because of deadlines, they can’t tell the entire story. There isn’t enough time to spend on each story when deadlines are demanding.

Bias

Yvette shares that she has never met anyone who tried to cause intentional malice to anyone when telling a story. Journalists have a bias because they are human, however, when they are presenting material to the public, they have to follow ethics and share all sides of the story to make it as representative as possible.

Most importantly, stories have to be told in a way to reach all populations. Diversity is a form of accuracy and journalists have to be objective.

However, the “talking heads”, or show hosts, reporting the story can and will infuse their opinions into the story. As a result, the facts can be skewed and the perspective of the listener altered.

There are definitely media outlets that lean more left or right. But, the journalists working for the outlets should adhere to their code of ethics and report honest facts.

It’s important to differentiate between the journalists and the talking heads. Journalism is a complicated career. People don’t see the behind-the-scenes, they only see what’s shared.

Positively Joy Podcast

Yvette felt called to start a podcast. It wasn’t originally meant to be Positively Joy, she had other ideas, but God guided her to do this podcast.

She hadn’t shared her faith openly often but knew her gifts and talents were all from God. After going to a DIVE conference by Rita Springer, she was opened up and started writing songs and a devotional.

As 2020 unfolded and COVID hit, she finally had time to start the podcast she’d been dreaming of for the past 5 years.

Yvette’s goal with the podcast is to encourage and teach others to help them find joy. She believes God is using her to share His word and get his message out into the world.

“We look for God every day, and his joy is in the details.” Following your values, is key, and doing so can help instill joy in your life. It’s important to know what you stand for and what you are willing to do. Holding to our values helps us to make the right decisions, especially when faced with challenging decisions.

The Personal Brand and Values

Above all, no matter where you are working, you need to uphold your faith and values.

When people know who you are and what you stand for, they are more likely to hire you.

No matter if you work for yourself or as an entrepreneur, you have a personal brand, which is what other people think of you. Your personal brand is how you will build relationships and trust.

Choose Joy

If we spend time with God each day, we will be able to find joy. When we turn off for a little bit and let God enter our hearts, joy will flow within us.

Yvette has a special gift to help you find joy too.

Download Yvette’s 5 Steps to Choosing Joy by Building Systems and Creating Spaces to meet with God Daily.