Valley PR Blog

Pitch Me - Pamela Hughes/KTAR 92.3FM

By Charlotte Risch on March 12th, 2008 In ValleySource

How many Starbucks do we have in this town? If you have to meet someone at the one off 7th and Missouri, make sure you remember if it was AVENUE or STREET…because there is a Starbucks on both of them. Anyway, I almost missed a chance to sit down with Pamela Hughes, Managing Editor at KTAR-FM…and an opportunity to learn more about the Talk Radio world.

After apologizing for my lateness, we sat down and got down to business. I wanted to learn more about KTAR and how PR folks should pitch them. While Pamela’s advice mirrored other media (i.e. Have a good subject line, don’t keep calling when they say no, make sure its relevant) she also helped me understand the difference between KTAR and the other media in town. The news staff at KTAR don’t necessarily need the big “visual story, such as a fire or drug bust.”  They want to know what will get their listeners talking. What is the hot “water cooler” topic of the day?

 According to my conversation with Pamela, the economy is a bigger talker than illegal immigration right now. And a very current talker is the Powerball.  Who is buying a ticket? What will you do with the money? Or why won’t you buy a ticket? If your story has broad appeal and creates conversations, they want to know about it.

Pamela also clarified who to pitch. Basically, they all want ideas. But they don’t always share because news and shows are separate entities. It doesn’t hurt to send to the general KTAR email address, because everyone will get it (but not everyone will read it.) The news staff want ideas from PR folks, but really make sure that subject line is local, informative and relevant to a news talk format. Also, a talk show may focus on a certain topic for an hour (like foreclosures), but when you hear the news headlines at the top of the hour, you may hear a different angle and expert about mortgages/foreclosures, too.

If you are lucky enough to get a client on one of the talk shows and its their first time, make sure they are “radio friendly”. No one wants to hear a monotone geek. Personality, education on the topic at hand and ease at rolling with the punches is a must if they will ever be called upon again.

Name: Pamela Hughes
Title: Managing Editor
Outlet: KTAR-FM
Phone: 602-200-2683
Email: phughes@ktar.com

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