So You Want To Be On TV

By Deborah Mitchell

Veteran television producer Deborah Mitchell works with your brand to find the heat, the meat and the angle of your story or message, then shares it socially, online and with the power of television. If you want to be on television or work in it, Deborah walks readers thru the behind-the scenes world of TV production and reveals tips on how to master every aspect of it.

Whether you are fresh out of school, making a career change or working with a brand whose marketing plan includes TV exposure, this book So You Want To Be On TV, provides you with practical tools to make it in the television industry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Deborah Mitchell
• Release date: Dec 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310372964

Deborah Mitchell

Emmy-nominated network television producer Deborah Mitchell is a veteran of ABC and CBS News, a member of the Producers Guild of America, and a board member of the James Beard Broadcast and Media Awards Committee. Through Deborah Mitchell Media Associates she will create your online personality with a customized website, book you on the right television show, manage your social media profiles and finally connect you with the best and brightest digital influencers. Deborah is a weekly contributor for Entrepreneur.com and author of So You Want To Be On TV.

Book preview

FOREWORD

When I used to watch lots of television as a kid, I never dreamed that one day I would build a successful career in the TV industry. I was lucky enough to find my professional passion at an early age. By 21, I knew what I wanted to do.

When I tell people that I am a television producer, one of the first things they ask me is, How do I get on TV? It’s a question I can answer with extreme confidence. My blog, Ready4Air, has given me the opportunity to share 25-plus years of experience and knowledge about the ins and outs of producing television before and behind the cameras. This ebook, So You Want To Be On TV, is for anybody who cares to take a backstage peek. The contents of the ebook are taken from blog posts I have written, as well as from articles that I have published on different websites.

I must thank my mom, Rita Mitchell, for always dreaming big and being such a go-getter every day of her life. She sets a great example. I also want to thank my late dad, Sylvanus Mitchell, who taught me never to take crap from anybody and to always handle my money responsibly. Great advice, Dad!

Throughout my personal and professional career, I have met, been inspired by, and received mentoring from some extraordinary people. I hope they know who they are, but I am sending a special thank you to my TV guides Dru Gibson, Dean Lynes, Lynn Redmond, Caroline Everette, Geraldo Rivera (love you GR), and Lyne Pitts. They all saw something worthwhile in this little girl from Brooklyn.

To my Deborah Mitchell Media Associates team: thank you copy editor Alexis Trass Walker for catching all my typos and grammatical errors here and daily online. And finally, this book would still only be an idea if it were not for Ms. Nay Ayache. She saw the potential and quietly nudged me along to make this book a reality. Nay and Alexis I am thrilled to have you on my team!

Ladies, thanks for everything!

SO YOU WANT TO BE ON TV

TIPS FOR PITCHING YOUR TELEVISION SEGMENT

It does not matter whether the idea or story is being pitched to advertisers à la Mad Men or to producers of a real-life television show, pitching is an art form —one that can make or break your chances of being booked on a program or landing the big client. Publicists and personalities are constantly trying to pitch segment ideas to producers in hopes of being booked as a guest on a program. If you are lucky enough to get a producer on the phone, you only have a few minutes to pitch your idea and make your personality stand out.

If a producer likes your pitch enough to take it to the next level, then he has to pitch the idea to the show’s senior producers or executive producers in hopes of getting a time slot in the show. Since it is television, the goal is to present an idea in the most interesting, creative, and visually appealing way.

When you are preparing to pitch an idea, remember that you are competing with hundreds of other possible candidates to appear on a program and producers are busy. Time is of the essence—keep it concise and clarity is key. Here are some ideas:

Know your show and audience. It is a good idea to know the show’s programming history and format. One of my pet peeves is listening to a pitch that is clearly the wrong fit for the broadcast. I often ask the representative, Do you watch our show?`

A national morning show begins with a hard news hour and then transitions into lighter news and entertainment topics. Most of the time, shows will feature topics that are time sensitive and relevant to events of the day or news cycle.

Staying on top of current events is helpful. Evergreen topics are not time sensitive and their air date is flexible. If your story is booked, it can and will be bumped out of the line-up if a timelier story comes along. You really do not want to be an evergreen segment because there is a good chance the segment will not get on air.

Morning shows have a large female audience, so try to think about why your story might be interesting to the viewer and pitch it with that in mind.

Focus your idea and be prepared. Send your idea pitch by mail or email to the producer, then follow-up with a phone call. With more and more producers using social media, I urge you to approach via Twitter and the show’s Facebook page. Your email subject line should be attention-grabbing. This is a good time to use your witty Twitter skills and create a headline in 140 characters.

Start your pitch with an overview of the segment. A segment has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your intent is to grab the attention of the producer in the same way you want to grab a viewer’s attention. If there is a current study, survey, or videotape or audiotape that is related to the story, present it at the top.

I like to cover at least three main points in a pitch, and I always start with the strongest piece of information first.

If your story has a guest, make sure that he or she is ready to do the show and is accessible to the producer. Before you talk to the producer, try and think of every angle or question he or she might ask about your story (who, what, where, when, and has this story been featured on any other show or is it an exclusive?).

Provide viewers with news they can use. Since information is available 24/7 on so many different platforms, people are bombarded with news and ideas. However, if you can provide a nugget of information that hasn’t been seen or heard anywhere else,