If you've got a video news reel (or VNR) that's angling auto-safety, there's a good chance broadcast news hounds will run it. This is according to stats from New York-based
video production company Medialink, which revealed that five of its top-ten news-generating video news reels for 2000 had something to do with safer cars and trucks. Medialink's
most popular VNR, however, was all business. A spot on the AOL-Time Warner merger reached 168.5 million viewers in nearly 2,000 airings.
Douglas Simon, President of D.S. Simon Productions (a production company also based in New York,) anticipates VNRs becoming more widely used as budget-slashing TV stations
squeeze more out of their news teams. Simon says a recent survey of stations his company conducted reveals a whopping 86% of them are airing "the same amount or many more" of VNRs
than last year.
Simon offers a few tips to get your own VNRs into this group. First, you may have better luck pitching weekend news directors, because news is typically slower then and fewer
publicists are throwing their VNRs into the mix. Also, it's a great idea to have follow-up tapes at the ready. For example, Simon recently produced a spot on a new anti-virus
technology from software site McAfee.com. Knowing that viruses are as inevitable as a new reality-based series, Simon produced an additional VNR with some basic information on
what to do after a virus hit. When the next one did, his VNR beat others to the punch in many media outlets. "Anticipating news events can create strong opportunities," says
Simon.
(Susan Macaluso, Medialink, 212/812-7034; Simon, D.S. Simon 212/736-2727)