Cracking the Morning Show Nut: Tips from TODAY, Good Morning America and More

Recently I was inspired by the chance to hear directly from producers at TODAY, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, The Meredith Vieira Show and more at a PR luncheon in New York City. The session was a great confirmation that there really are people on the other side of our pitch emails, and even national morning shows do want our pitches. (Trust me: This second part was said aloud—to a room full of PR people.) Whether you’re in media relations yourself or a business with a national story to tell, here are some reasons to feel good about your national media relations chances these days: 

• TODAY: Debbie Kosofsky, who has responsibility for the 8 a.m. hour, says she gets about 300 emails per day. But, she assures us that all the emails are read, even if she doesn’t recognize a sender’s name. And, if you have a great topic but perhaps a “mediocre guest” when it comes to television presence, TODAY might be willing to work around that with a taped segment. 
• Good Morning America: Sarah Kunin, who is in direct competition with Kosofsky also producing for the 8 a.m. hour, suggests that PR folks and companies really think about how on-air talent could participate in a potential GMA segment. On Wednesday’s show, for example, meteorologist Ginger Zee and correspondent Sara Haines wore “crazy pants,” which have replaced black yoga pants at NYC gyms.
• Morning Joe: Yes, we think of Morning Joe for politics. Producer Jesse Rodriguez—who incidentally says “I live on Twitter,” – gave examples of CEOs on treadmills and people working in mayoral offices as the type of folks you’ll find watching Morning Joe. Still, there are PR opportunities for authors with new books, including cookbooks, and sponsored opportunities like the week they recently did on energy topics.
• The Meredith Vieira Show: Melissa Lonner described this 4-month-old show as a variety show that’s still evolving. Look for more celebrity appearances, but there are still opportunities for a non-celebrity to be part of an expert panel. Of note, Melissa doesn’t want to hear your pitch via voicemail, where we PR folks “tend to keep on going.” And the moment our email says that someone “is the next…,” we have lost credibility. In all, it should take her 30 seconds or less to read a pitch email with “only facts.” 

My thanks to the Publicity Club of New York for organizing an extremely informative event and for the panelists for taking the time to give us some tips on how to better connect with them—and most importantly—what might be successful for their show in terms of our clients.