(Jocelyn at Channel 8 with Nick Mitchell and me.)
This week we hit two TV ( CBS and FOX ) stations and Jamibeth got us a posting on Playbill.com. Also I did an NPR interview and a few more newspapers had stories in them. Nick Mitchell came with me to do both TV shows and we had a great time. Below are the links to the shows.
I was talking about this with Jamibeth and Andy. Now I see how all the things I have done in the last 20 years have led to this. The Miss Ohio experience and all the PR and public appearance, especially on TV, led to my being hired at NBC as a reporter/broadcaster years ago. I had no business being there as that was not my background education. I learned how to "pitch" stories to my producer so that she would let me cover them. Rapes, Fires and Murders were what they said the audience wanted back then. I wanted to cover the Arts. So I had to find creative ways to get my producers to let me pick up on the press releases that the arts groups were sending me. Between you and me the press releases were boring. So I would call the groups and ask for anything unusual, like a person in a wheelchair performing with the ballet, or a famous person making an appearance. I am proud to say that I got quite a lot of the arts in the Columbus Ohio area on the news! I was also let go after two years because they didn't think a "Miss Ohio" was credible. Now on TV things are different. :)
So that is how I approached the TV, radio and news stations here. Press releases don't work anymore. So I think of mine as "informational sheets" and then I follow up and follow up and follow up with phone calls. If one producer doesn't respond, I try another. They sometimes don't even see each other on a daily basis.
Just like theatre, some say yes, some say no. But we got quite a lot of interest because I pitched a couple ideas together. Whatever they picked up on was fine with me and as I spoke with them I could tell what they were interested in and drilled down into that.
1. Non profits helping non profits in the CT area (they like community, they like this newer idea of non profits not competing, but working together) So I used the United Way benefit "Broadway Babes" and combined it with our "So ya wanna be a Broadway Star".
2. I mentioned the Broadway names we have coming to CT in both shows. I mentioned Nick Mitchell American Idol performer who ALSO happens to be from CT. For the New Haven stations and papers I had to tie in that the United Way and I are both in Milford. For the southern Ct places I tied in Stamford and Greenwich. For the Hartford stations I tied in the University of Hartford teaching and students who have entered the competition.
Nick was great about letting me prep him for the interviews and you will hear us continue to tie all the answers to their questions back into the events, even though we know that they are interested in hearing about Broadway and American Idol.
The producers at both these TV stations were awesome and invited us back whenever we have anything.
While we were sitting in the FOX greenroom I booked us on the CBS station for next week. I know a producer there (former voice student) and she put me in touch with another producer, who put me in touch with a booking person there and finally after 4 calls and some more emails, we are booked for Thursday.
FOX TV;
