Getting Media Coverage for T’ai Chi Chih Classes: Overview

Media coverage can be a great way to increase local awareness of T’ai Chi Chih® so that more people enroll in your classes and then benefit from the practice.

There are a variety of ways to get reporters’ attention, so decide in advance whether you want to try to attract newspaper, magazine, television, or radio reporters because each will want slightly different information. You can send the same press release to all five kinds of reporters, but your follow-up calls to each one will be different.

Newspaper reporters: Your best chance to get newspaper coverage is by contacting a lifestyle or features reporter or editor, someone who is likely to cover topics similar to T’ai Chi Chih. Though we all believe T’ai Chi Chih is important, a news reporter – someone who covers the local police, schools or courts – probably won’t have the time or focus for this type of story. Instead, read your local paper and see who writes stories about health, yoga, aging, or similar topics. Send a press release about your upcoming classes and follow-up with a phone call (see “Pitching a Story to a Reporter”) to try to catch that reporter’s interest.

Most likely your students, especially if they’re new, will not want to be on display to a reporter. Instead, you – and the background information I’m providing for your press kits – will be the focus of the reporter’s attention. (See “Pitching Your Story” for more information.)

Magazine reporters: The approach for magazine writers and editors is the same as for newspaper staff, but the benefits of getting magazine coverage are sometimes greater because the writer often has more time and more publication space to tell your story in more detail. Your release can still tell about upcoming classes or a demonstration, but the writer may be more interested in a general story and so less inclined to file a story exactly linked to your event and timeline. Good places to contact are any magazines that write generally about trends and lifestyle topics in your city. Be prepared to furnish a lot of background information (see “Materials to Include in Your Media Kit”).

TV reporters: To get the attention of a local TV reporter, you’ll need to provide a strong visual aspect. The best time to send a press release to TV reporters is when you’ve scheduled a demonstration or other public event where a TV crew would be able to freely film something that would be interesting to TV viewers. Local cable TV stations are often interested and may devote more on-air time to your story, but their audiences are much smaller than the local ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and Univision broadcasts, so your time is best spent trying to get major media attention first.

Radio reporters: The best way to get coverage on the radio is by listening to local shows and finding out who reports on topics like T’ai Chi Chih. Is there a local show on health, seniors, recreation, or New Age topics? Choose a reporter carefully, once you know he or she has an interest in this kind of story; then send your press release and make your follow-up call.

Newsletters: Don’t overlook newsletters issued by churches, senior centers, recreation centers and other locations where you hold classes. A well-placed article in one of these publications might reach the very people you’d like to recruit into your next class. Check inside the newsletter for the editor’s name and contact information, send a press release, and let him/her know you’ve been teaching a class on-site. If your students included a member of that particular church or senior center who would be willing to be interviewed for the article, your chances of getting an article placed are greatly increased.

* * *

Most people instinctively divide life into two parts: first, the “reality” of everyday life, such as paying bills and wrestling with problems; then, if there is time, a brief period for spiritual practice. It would be hard for people to realize that both periods merge into one. There is no duality, no dichotomy. Right in the middle of the problems is the time to feel the Essence.

– Justin Stone