| Media relations is a great profession. | | | | West Africans to conserve the majestic beasts. In a |
| On good days, I earn my living speaking to and learning | | | | month, they would end their training and begin working |
| from knowledgeable experts who ask for help in | | | | to protect the animals full-time. |
| raising the profile of their cause through the media. In | | | | That's when the idea hit. |
| the past few years, I've worked with billionaire | | | | I asked the scientist if we could call the group the |
| philanthropists, a Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist and a | | | | first-ever graduating class from "Elephant University." |
| world famous actor. Mostly, though, I work with | | | | When he agreed, I knew we were in business. |
| unknown but equally impressive professionals | | | | I drafted an e-mail with a few highlights to a reporter I |
| regarded as experts in their fields. | | | | had recently met from The Wall Street Journal. The |
| When I speak to them, I'm always listening for "the | | | | story pitch suggested that this story was the perfect |
| story." Some of the time, the story is immediately | | | | fit for the quirky daily front-page "Column Four" |
| apparent. But the most gratifying moments come | | | | feature. The reporter quickly wrote back. He agreed. |
| when a story seemingly devoid of news value | | | | Two weeks later, the reporter was off to Accra, |
| suddenly leaps out and surprises me. | | | | Ghana to report the story firsthand. When the story |
| Two years ago, for example, I was doing media work | | | | ran on November 27, 2002, the words "Elephant |
| for a Washington DC-based environmental | | | | University" - the ones we had happily stumbled upon |
| organization. Scientists from the group would regularly | | | | over coffee - were emblazoned on the front-page. |
| contact me regarding their latest field work, hoping I | | | | This story worked because we didn't pitch it "head on." |
| could convince a reporter to shine a spotlight on their | | | | Remember - the heart of this story was that West |
| project. | | | | African scientists were receiving training - not exactly |
| One day I met with a charismatic field biologist to | | | | front-page material. But by giving the reporter an |
| discuss his project while sipping coffee in a depressing | | | | unusual hook, he was able to convince his editors that |
| restaurant. As he told me about his project, I quietly | | | | the story deserved to be told. |
| became more convinced that he didn't have much of | | | | If you're speaking to an expert to assess a story's |
| a story. I felt bad, but suspected no reporter would bite. | | | | newsworthiness and it doesn't seem immediately |
| The West African forest elephant, he told me, was in | | | | obvious to you, keep talking. If they say something |
| trouble. The problem was largely one of capacity - no | | | | interesting, stop them. Ask them to slow it down and |
| West Africans had been formally trained in protecting | | | | provide more detail. Paraphrase their response into |
| the 7,700-pound mammals, which were being killed by | | | | something resembling a headline by asking, "Would it |
| the farmers who feared them. | | | | be correct to say it this way?" Finally, look for the |
| To help correct the problem, he said, they had | | | | nuggets. Ancillary parts of the story often jump out |
| established a program three years earlier to train six | | | | and become your lead. |