By Rob Fisher, PR Newswire
National Public Radio’s national business correspondent says your story pitch must “rise above the noise” to get the attention of NPR.
Jack Speer, who joined NPR in 1998, welcomes story ideas on such topics as employment trends, new developments in manufacturing, technology, automotive and the airline industries. He’s also interested in how changes in the political landscape will affect the business climate. Since his reports are longer than what you hear on most commercial radio stations, your story must have depth.
“We want people who can go beyond sound bytes, who really know their topic, who can drill down into something a little more deeply … people who can talk intelligently about their fields and can go beyond the surface.”
Although NPR is doing a larger number of shorter, breaking news stories than in the past, Speer says longer stories can run from three to seven minutes if they’re worthy. His longer pieces have included an award-winning series on securities regulation and the need for greater transparency in the financial markets.
“I’m interested in domestic business stories with people who are in business doing interesting and exciting things and ways that you can get into a business and make it more accessible to a general audience.”
He also does profiles.
“Interesting people in the business world, whether they’re with a manufacturing company, CEOs, or other types. We’re increasingly interested in profiles as a way to get into other stories.”
Other ways to reach Speer are with experts on breaking news.
“We may need experts on certain things quickly, and to talk to specific areas quickly and we keep a list of those kind of people but I’m certainly not averse to people with expertise in a certain kind of business area contacting me either through e-mail or phone.”
Speer is based in Washington, D.C., but will travel for the right story. He can also do interviews with guests by phone or from studios at NPR affiliate stations. The best way to pitch him is by e-mail (jspeer@npr.org), but he will take your calls at (202) 513-2762.
Speer’s reports can be heard on NPR News programs, including “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition” and “Weekend Edition.” National Public Radio reaches about 26 million listeners a week.