Here is a link to a great post by John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing. He outlines ways to "stalk" journalists with the hopes of becoming a valued source.
He suggests thinking of journalists as a target market. In doing so, monitoring and observing their habits, likes and dislikes becomes as, if not more, important than just sending out pitch letters and press releases.
This is a great point that he makes. And, it’s a new(er) way to approach media pitching.
Rather than broadcasting pitch letters and screaming at journalists to tell your story, it is telling your story to journalists over time and building a rapport with them as a result.
It’s more along the lines of developing an ongoing conversation with the journalist prior to needing them for media coverage.
When I worked as a journalist, I would get mail from different people/organizations regarding different resources or events in the Twin Cities. Typically, the places and events weren’t worth covering as a stand alone story.
However, if those people would have made a better effort at creating a conversation — sent an e-mail about an article I’d written, placed a call to notify me why the event is worth covering, — I would have at least been aware of their organization, excited that they had seen my articles and known what types of stories to consider using them for.
It would have helped build a relationship and trust that Jantsch is speaking about.