In the United States, many TV networks will broadcast a supplied full story from a company or PR agency, but that is not the case in Australia. However, also producing a completed story may be attractive to internet news organizations. If you do provide a full story, it does need to contain an acknowledgment that this story has been produced and paid for by or on behalf of an organization that does have an interest in the story.

The majority of Video News Releases produced in Australia contain specific interview grabs and supporting overlay footage called B-roll footage. It is produced with the intention of assisting a journalist produce his own story in his own words. The average duration of a Video News Release is 8-10 minutes.

It is important to have your Video News Release produced professionally by a video/TV team familiar with TV news requirements. They are able to assist greatly in the planning and structure of the Video News Release to give you every chance of success. A professional team will ensure the picture and audio quality is up to broadcast standard, including lighting and that it is edited in a way that allows the journalist full flexibility to craft his or her own story. A professional TV news production crew will know the style and requirements, as well as what is needed for B-roll footage, helping to make the journalists job as simple as possible. By taking this approach it also helps you maximize your exposure by meeting the needs of the TV networks. Remember, a TV newsroom has at its disposal a world-wide network of resources for stories and they have no problem filling their 30-60 minutes each night. Your Video News Release needs to be compelling enough and professionally produced to command some of that precious air time.

Although producing a Video News Release does allow you a greater degree of control on what is finally put to air, you should never take the attitude that you are trying to do the journalists’ job for them. Your role as a supplier of a Video News Release is to supplement their coverage of a story. If you fully understand this point you will greatly enhance your chances of claiming valuable exposure for your TV story, product or service.

The Media Game provides a fully professional Video News Release production unit with over 20 years of commercial broadcast and news experience.

> Distributing Your Video News Release