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Writers and Editors (RSS feed)

Does Radio and Television Interview Report work? Is it worth the money?

Is RTIR worth spending money on? It depends on your topic, your budget, your marketing moxie, and whether the planets align. On Thursday, 3-19-09, Debra Sanders wrote in her blog, "I have been running ads in The Radio and Television Interview Report (RTIR) since September, and let me tell you, these are not cheap ads. RTIR is one of the mainstays of the radio and television talk show industry—every month it contains almost a hundred pages of tabloid type ads, all clamoring for the attention of talk show hosts ranging from the likes of the guy running the little radio station up the road, to those in charge of finding guests for Good Morning America and Oprah." Debra was writing about a small subset of head injuries: concussions. And in five months she got not one call. Then Natasha Richardson died of an untreated head injury and Debra's phone started ringing.


Her main message: "Anyone…I mean, anyone and everyone who sustains a jolt to the head (note that I said jolt, not crack or bump to the skull) needs to be carefully watched for a minimum of twenty-four hours, with the absolute understanding that slow bleeds which cause swelling, can cause death if not treated. The subdural hematoma that killed Natasha Richardson was easily enough treated had it been caught. Physicians treat it all the time—they open up the skull and make room for the swelling, and rarely does the injury become fatal. Left untreated however,the outcome is nearly always tragic." Without a celebrity death, the media weren't interested.


If you have a book topic or personal story that the media ARE more likely to be interested in, listen to "Rich Guy" Robert Kiyosaki talk about how marketing, not good writing, was the key to his success selling Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! This is basically a plug for RTIR, and a knock on the publishing industry, which said "no thanks" to the book, which the author and his wife self-published. It sold 26 million copies.


For yet another take on RTIR, read the exchange (especially "Manny) on the Absolute Write forum on how Manny (presumably Stuart J. Smith) tried three ads on RTIR and reported some success getting media attention for The Russian Bride Guide.
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