“If it bleeds, it leads.” It’s the adage that the news has lived by for as long as I can remember. But I – and I know I’m not alone here – get so tired of hearing so much bad news. Yes, there are issues and crises going on in the world that we need to be aware of. Absolutely. But there are positive things happening out there that we need to know about as well.
And last week, I had the joy of being a small part of one of those wonderful things – members of the Aurora Police Strategic Response Team dressed up like superheroes and rappelled down the side of Children’s Hospital Colorado (one of our clients) multiple times so that sick kiddos could watch them from their hospital windows. How amazing is that??? They then gathered in the hospital’s Seacrest Studios to visit and take pictures with hospital patients who were well enough to come downstairs. And do you know what’s really cool? The media was there in droves! This feel-good story received amazing coverage locally – and while these stories may not have made the front page or run in the first five minutes, they were still there in newscasts and newspapers and on news outlet websites to brighten people’s day.
Speaking of Seacrest, I’ve recently become aware of Ryan Seacrest’s “Tell Me Something Good” segments, and I love them. The best part is, people don’t have to share hugely significant stories – they can be little things – as long as they are good. It is so refreshing to hear even the small, positive things that are happening in people’s lives. At the risk of sounding like a complete sap, it helps counterbalance all of the doom and gloom we are constantly bombarded with every day.
I think telling positive stories is actually one of the greatest things about working in PR. Yes, we have to deal with the occasional crisis, but we also get to work with clients to pitch fun stories, share exciting news and introduce audiences to really amazing people and innovations. We may not always get front page coverage for the good stuff (although sometimes we do!), but we at least get to help put those stories out there.
