This guide is meant to help people in the community who have a story to tell but don’t know how to get CBC Ottawa to cover it.

Are you a small community organization that has wonderful stories about the challenges and triumphs of life in Ottawa? Do you want to know who at the CBC is interested and how to get their attention?

This guide will help you get started.

Jiawei Li How do you define a city? Is it about borders and boundries? Surely Ottawa is more than the Greenbelt to the south, the Ottawa River to the North and the Rideau River to the East? CBC Radio and Television here in Ottawa would like to think it's the people who define a place, the individuals in a community that shape the personality of our neighbourhoods and our city. Jiawei Li is an 11-year-old grade 6 student at Cambridge Street Community Public School. She's a fairly new member of our city. Here's her story...in her words. Listen (runs 3:22)

What makes a news story

First of all, look at the title. It is not by accident that the word “story” is there. The basic concept in determining what news is, is asking yourself (objectively) what you find interesting. Go over in your mind some of the more interesting news stories you have heard, read or watched in the last two days and try to pick out the key elements that made you take note of that story. Some, you will find, have similar elements.

The key elements are the criteria of what makes news.

• The first, and most important, is people. News is about people, what they do, how they do it, whom they do it to, and how something will affect them.
  
  
• News must also answer most, if not all, of the five W’s and the H – what, where, when, why, who and how.
  
  
• News must focus on an issue that the general public is interested in and that is likely to have an effect on them.
  
  
• News should also be timely.
  

What to do with the news story

Once you have determined what your news is, you need to take the proper steps in sharing it. One technique is writing a news release. Keep in mind deadlines. If you are hoping that something will be reported on a specific date, you may need to send your release earlier than you anticipated. Also keep in mind the huge number of news releases that a newsroom receives on a daily basis. A news release can easily disappear in the sheer volume of incoming releases.

To maximize your chance of receiving CBC coverage for your news story or event, you need to tailor your pitch to the destination that you are hoping for. In addition to our hourly news, at CBC Ottawa (91.5 on the radio and cable 8 on TV), there are five daily programs: three in radio and two on television. We suggest that you listen to and watch the programming to get a better feel for the kind of story that the programmers are looking for.

• Ottawa Morning runs from 5:30-8:37 a.m. Its bread and butter are newsy interviews about the city, the country and the world. It also includes stories about people and events in the community.
  
  
• Ontario Today runs from 12:00-2:00 p.m. It is a provincial program and includes a phone-in on current news or with various lifestyle and consumer experts.
  
  
• All In A Day runs from 3:00-6:00 p.m. The program does stories about the events of the day. As well, it focuses on culture and lifestyles.
  
  
• Living in Ottawa runs from 1:00-1:30 p.m. It’s a daily lifestyles guide to living well in Ottawa.
  
  
• CBC News At Six is the TV supper hour show. It reports on key stories about the city and the country. It also includes features about people and events in the community.
  
  
• There is also a Saturday morning radio program, In Town and Out, which focuses on cultural and lifestyle activities in the region.
  

How to pitch the story to a CBC programmer

Once you’ve decided which program is most likely to be interested in your story, you need to get in touch with someone on the programming team. Unfortunately, the CBC is not a supermarket. There is no one-stop shopping. To help you work your way around, we have prepared a list of program contacts with their e-mail forms and phone numbers. It is designed to make your pitch task a little easier.

Here are some tips from our programmers, as well:

• When at all possible, send an e-mail of the release or explanation of the story that you are pitching.
  
  
• Follow it up with a phone call the next day.
  
  
• Do not send your e-mail to every programmer in hopes that someone will pay attention. Target your information.
  
  
• If you get a negative reaction, ask the programmer for feedback. What additional information can you supply to make the story more interesting? Can the programmer suggest someone else to talk to who might be more receptive?
  
  
• Do not promise things that you can’t deliver. If you are offering an interview subject, make sure in advance that the guest has guaranteed to do interviews.
  
  
• Be clear and persistent. Don’t be a bully.
  

Request a workshop!   [ CBC Privacy Policy ]
Name
Daytime Phone
E-mail
Your Organization
Preferred Time	First choice ------------------------- Weekday Morning Weekday Afternoon Weekday Evening Weekend Second choice ------------------------- Weekday Morning Weekday Afternoon Weekday Evening Weekend
Comments
Required Fields