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There are plenty of programs covering the security field as part
of their broader news mission. But "CheckPoint CNBC," launched late
last year, offers a half hour of news (Monday through Friday) and
analysis exclusively focused on the security issues that have
become a part of the American mentality since Sept. 11.
The show examines security as it pertains to businesses, the
economy and people, and Alex Crippen, senior producer, says it is
targeted at the typical CNBC viewer - adults between 25 and 54,
skewing slightly toward the men within that demographic.
Crippen, who has spent 12 years at CNBC and "produced pretty
much everything, from 'Capital Report' to 'Business Center' to
'Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney,'" is
interested in hearing what the PR community has to say, but he has
plenty of loopholes.
Content/Contacts/Deadline
Any pitches should go to Crippen, and he prefers emails. "I
strongly discourage phone calls," he warns.
Content for the program will include anything from issues of
national security - how will a war with Iraq have an impact on
American businesses as more and more reservists (employees) are
called up for active duty? - to personal security.
Contact Crippen at [email protected]. Emailing
earlier in the day is always advisable since the show runs daily on
weekdays at 6:30 p.m. EST, and reporters and producers have to get
stories rolling quickly.
Pitch Tips
Crippen also advises that "CheckPoint" is very much driven by
the news of the day. So if the news is focused on anthrax,
"CheckPoint" will be looking at some angle of that news; for
example, what's being done to prevent an attack, or what are real
threats and what are imagined. While he is interested in hearing
pitches on security experts, because of the daily deadlines of the
show, the producers often initiate contact rather than the other
way around. So, watch the news of the day for angles that could be
a hook for your expert, then get the call in early.
Comments
Right now, Crippen and co. receive a good number of pitches from
very small companies touting their security products. While he
doesn't discourage this, he does say that the smaller the company
and the less broadly applicable the product, the less interested he
is in seeing the pitch.
Again, because the program ties into the security angles of the
news of the day, any product pitches should have some obvious link
to a relevant story in the news.
In The Pipeline
As the producers exhaust larger issues like the ramifications of
America's dealings in Iraq and the country's strained relationship
with Korea, Crippen envisions moving more toward some personal
security issues. For example, they'll be covering the fact that the
Los Angeles police aren't going to be answering burglar alarms
anymore unless there is some credible evidence that criminal
activity is involved since the force receives more than 150,000
false calls a year.
The team also will continue to cover national issues as they
develop, like the money flow through the Middle East and other
stories pertaining to the War on Terror.