News or Not? Find Out with Amanda Proscia’s ‘3 Is of Newsworthiness.’
Amanda Proscia, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Lightspeed Public Relations/Marketing and the author of “PR Confidential: Unlocking the Secrets to Creating a Powerful Public Image.”
September 13, 2024
The COO of Lightspeed Public Relations/Marketing shares her shorthand for determining if a story is newsworthy.
Those who work in the news media constantly must ask themselves the same question: What is newsworthy? The stories that capture the audience's attention are continually in flux, and what drove engagement one month can quickly become stale the next.
PR practitioners must also have a firm grasp of what’s newsworthy as liaisons between their clients and the media. It’s the difference between the pitches that become placements and those that get deleted.
On episode 220 of the “PR 360” podcast, Amanda Proscia shared an easy way to tell clients whether a development at their company is newsworthy. She calls it “The 3 Is of Newsworthiness,” which she developed with her business partner, Ethan Rasiel.
Proscia is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Lightspeed Public Relations/Marketing and the author of “PR Confidential: Unlocking the Secrets to Creating a Powerful Public Image.”
“A lot of clients come to us, and they say, ‘How do I know if I have news?’ which is a very valid question,” Proscia told the podcast. “You really don't want to hire a PR person if you don't have any news to share. So, we ask, ‘Does it fall into one or more of the 3 Is?’”
Amanda Proscia’s 3 Is of Newsworthiness:
1. Innovation
“If you have an innovation story, that's the first I. If you have new tech or a new thing that you're going to put out into the world that's innovative and different, we can almost always make news out of that,” Proscia said.
2. Impact
“Has your business done something significant?” Proscia asks. “Have you had a great financial year? Are you making some executive hires? Have you changed the way work is done in your industry? Is your business having some impact?”
3. Insight
“It's also known as thought leadership,” Proscia said, highlighting one of the most important topics in PR today. “So, do your executives have some kind of areas of expertise that we can promote? Can we get them speaking opportunities? Can we do articles on their behalf, bylined with their name? Can we put them on news programs where they discuss changes in the industry and speak as experts?”
As an expert on creating powerful public images, Proscia shared what makes a newsworthy thought leader. She says the most important thing is to provide value for journalists. “A lot of executives are where they are because they know a lot about their business and their industry and what's happening around them. Some of them can even comment on policy coming out of Washington or state legislature, and they know the shifts and changes that are on the horizon,” she told the podcast. “When you have someone who can genuinely help the news reporters report on the news in a way that they couldn't without you, then it'll be great.”
To Proscia, newsworthiness is all about value. When companies have something of value, whether they’re making an impact, changing how people do business, or providing a fresh way to see the world, they’re newsworthy. Likewise, when executives have unique insights and ideas that people can’t hear anywhere else, their genuine thought leadership is as newsworthy as it gets.
This interview has been edited for time and clarity.
