Sometimes it doesn’t take breaking or hard news to attract the attention of local TV news. In fact, just the opposite may be a better pitch. These days, news casts are full of what I like to call, “doesn’t make you feel good” stories. TV news assignment editors are always on the look out for “feel good” local stories, often referred to as “filler.”

I recently issued a Media Alert for the first annual Seattle AIDS Walk Pub Crawl on Capitol Hill. The event was basically a clever way to promote a fundraiser for the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. After follow up calls to TV, radio and print, I received a call from KING 5 news. The result was a live standup interview with the CEO.

A long shot turned out good for both parties. Although not every event is worthy of a Media Alert, consider the exercise the next time a “feel good” story comes along regarding your company, clients, products and services.