1) To paraphrase from the book, 1984, some stories are more equal than others.
2) Persevere. Find a media outlet that treats you well and run with it. If you get nowhere with one medium (newspaper, television, magazine), keep looking for one that is more suitable for your work.
Some Tips to Getting Into the Media:
Remember your medium. Not every story is perfect for every medium. VISUAL stories are good for television, SOUND stories are good for radio, and INFORMATION-PACKED stories are good for newspapers. Unless you have decent visuals, the story won't work on television.
Television:
1) Talk to the assignment editor. (Be polite and ask them for a moment of time.)
2) Know what you are going to pitch in 30 seconds. Make a point. Make your point quickly. Know your angle.
3) Offer to send a fax. Chances are they will agree to see a fax.
4) Pitch VISUAL, NEWSWORTHY stories.
5) Call in the morning after the morning news shows.
6) TV needs more than another talking head. They want people doing something interesting for the visuals.
7) Refrain from calling in the afternoon, or anytime after that. These folks are busy editing TV stories and preparing a newscast.
8) Being on television is not the end-all and be-all of media coverage. Television frequently covers events or stories that were already covered in the morning newspaper. There are other media. Sometimes in a small town, the local paper may be more influential than the television station 50 miles away. In short, understand what kind of market you are in.
Radio:
1) Refrain from calling at the top and bottom of the hour.
2) Pitch guest ideas to producers after their shows, and never all before a show goes on the air.
Newspapers:
1) Newspaper reporters drink coffee at their desks in the morning. Pitching time doesn't get any better than this.
2) Refrain from pitching story suggestions after 2 p.m. Everyone at a paper is either on deadline, or attending story meetings, or both, or full of caffeine.
3) At newspapers, it is okay to pitch to reporters. Although it is usually better to pitch to assignment editors.