What Is Local TV News Booking?
Local TV news booking is the process by which a station's newsroom decides to cover a company's event or story, or to host its spokesperson as a guest, after a pitch to the assignment desk or a show's producer. The pages we read describe two routes: event coverage, handled by the assignment desk, and story ideas for a particular show, addressed to that show's producer. Both depend on timing, visuals and a person the newsroom can reach. Our guide What Is a Media Advisory? defines the document stations most often ask for.
How to Get Booked on Local TV at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find the station's published pitch route | The right address, phone line and form |
| 2 | Choose event coverage or a show story idea | The right recipient: desk or producer |
| 3 | Build the angle, visuals and spokesperson | A package a producer can picture |
| 4 | Send about a week ahead | Time for the desk to put it on the calendar |
| 5 | Follow up once, lightly | A reply, or none |
| 6 | Prepare the spokesperson for air | A short, clear interview |
| 7 | Say thanks and keep the contact | A route for the next pitch |
Time: about a week of lead time per pitch. Tools: email, a one-page advisory, photos or video. Cost: nothing to pitch; news coverage is not for sale. Skill level: intermediate.
What Do You Need Before Starting?
You need a timely local reason for the station to care, a person who can speak on camera, something to show, and a phone number. FOX 32 asks a story-idea package to include “the facts about the story, descriptions of visual elements, a rationale for WHY the proposed idea would make a good story and possible guests/interview subjects” (FOX 32 Chicago). WRAL's post says “the stranger your story, the more likely we are to cover it,” and that some of its biggest stories are about weather (WRAL).
Read each station's own page first, because instructions differ and some are old. WRAL's tips appear in an “Inside WRAL” blog post first published August 21, 2009 and updated June 8, 2018; WMAR's support article was last modified January 9, 2020. Both were live on the stations' own sites on October 19, 2026, but treat any address in them as something to confirm. For the wider picture of shrinking local newsrooms, see our guide to Medill's 2026 State of Local News report.
Step 1: Find the Station's Published Pitch Route
Use the address or form on the station's own Contact or Tips page, not a general inbox or a reporter's personal account. Three examples show how routes vary:
| Station | Published route | What the page says | Page date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOX 32 Chicago | Assignment desk email, newsroom phone or mail to “News Assignment Desk” | Send a release or advisory “at least one week prior to the event,” with a contact name and phone number | Live contact page |
| WRAL (Raleigh) | Assignment desk email for TV coverage requests; newsroom phone | Email is “the absolute best way”; best time to call is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday | Blog post, 2009, updated 2018 |
| WMAR (Baltimore) | Newsroom email for tips and story suggestions | Send contact information, “details of the situation and any documentation”; the team decides | Support article, modified 2020 |
The email addresses sit on each station's page (FOX 32; WRAL; WMAR). We do not copy them here because they change; take them from the live page on the day you send.
Step 2: Choose the Desk or the Producer
Send event coverage requests to the assignment desk and story ideas to the producer of the named show. FOX 32 spells this out under two headings: “Requests For News Coverage” go to the attention of “News Assignment Desk,” while “News Story Ideas or Proposals” go to “Producer” at the show for which you are proposing the idea (FOX 32 Chicago). By email, FOX 32 lists the same assignment-desk address for both, so name the show and the producer in your subject line; that is our recommendation, not a station rule.
Consumer complaints go elsewhere. WRAL sends them to its 5 On Your Side team through an online form, and says that team typically does not cover child support and custody issues, criminal cases, medical issues, used car problems or employee situations (WRAL).
Step 3: Build the Angle, Visuals and Spokesperson
Give the desk a complete picture in one short email. WRAL's checklist is a usable template: “WHO is involved? Also, who are you? How can we reach you,” what is happening, where (“what street or town”), when, “WHY is this something people need to know?” and “HOW MANY people are involved?” (WRAL). FOX 32 adds a rationale for why the idea would make a good story.
The following is our recommendation, not a station rule: lead with the local consequence, name the one person who will speak, and list the pictures a camera can get. If the story is not an event, pitch a segment idea instead. Our guide How to Pitch a Journalist by Email covers subject lines and brevity, and Press Release vs Pitch Email helps decide between the two forms. If one spokesperson needs to reach many markets in a day, a satellite media tour is the paid-production alternative, with its own disclosure questions.
Step 4: Send About a Week Ahead
FOX 32 asks for “at least one week prior to the event,” and WRAL says “Send the e-mail about a week before your event.” WRAL also asks for the event or story name, date and time in the subject line, and says “you can send a reminder e-mail a day or so before the event” (WRAL).
Even a well-timed pitch can be displaced. WRAL says that once the assignment editors like an idea, they add it to the calendar and “we'll do our best to be there. But, no promises. It all depends on what's happening in the news that day.”
Step 5: Follow Up Once, Lightly
One follow-up email is within what WRAL describes as acceptable: “feel free to send a follow-up e-mail. However, nonstop phone calls and e-mails can be a turn-off to our assignment editors” (WRAL). Keep it to two lines and restate the time, place and contact. WRAL's post also asks senders to be polite and warns that “ALL CAPS can be hard on the eyes,” along with “funky fonts, brightly-colored text and little or no punctuation.”
Step 6: Prepare Your Spokesperson
If a producer says yes, expect a short slot and little notice. Our recommendation, not a station rule: prepare three sentences that answer the likely question in plain words, check the person can be reached by phone on the day, and rehearse aloud. Our guides How to Run a Media Training Session for Executives and How to Prepare an Executive for a Podcast Interview include drills that transfer to broadcast.
Step 7: Say Thanks and Keep the Contact
Thank the producer and keep the name, show and route for the next pitch. If the segment did not run, ask only whether a different angle might suit another time. Stations choose stories, and the choice is the station's.
What Do Stations Say They Will Not Do?
The stations we read promise nothing and name topics they avoid. WMAR says “It is at the discretion of the team on which stories they can report on as they receive a large number of inquiries each day from viewers” (WMAR). WRAL says that if you ask for help with a domestic or custody issue, “we'll probably say no,” and that routine items, such as cupcakes for a child's class, are “probably not something we'd cover” (WRAL).
None of the three pages mentions a fee for news coverage. FOX 32 lists advertising contacts separately from its news routes on the same page, which is the line to respect: news is pitched to the newsroom, airtime is bought from sales.
Is a Paid Segment the Same as a News Booking?
No. A segment bought from a station is advertising, and the station must say so on air. The FCC's sponsorship identification rule says that when a broadcast station airs matter for which “money, service, or other valuable consideration is either directly or indirectly paid or promised to, or charged or accepted by such station,” it must announce at the time of broadcast “That such matter is sponsored, paid for, or furnished, either in whole or in part,” and “By whom or on whose behalf such consideration was supplied” (47 CFR 73.1212).
The same rule requires the station to “exercise reasonable diligence” to get that information from the people it deals with, and it refers to reports made to a station “as required by section 507 of the Communications Act” when someone else was paid to get material aired. The rule also carves out services or property furnished free or at a nominal charge, with exceptions for political matter and controversial issues. Our reading, not legal advice: if your company pays a station, a producer or an intermediary to put a spokesperson on air, expect an on-air sponsor credit, and do not present the slot as news coverage. Ethics codes point the same way: the RTDNA code says “Commercial endorsements are incompatible with journalism” and that content should not serve “somebody who paid to have a product or position promoted” (RTDNA). For the advertiser's own duties, see what the FTC requires for paid placement. This is not legal advice.
How Do You Verify It Worked?
You have a booking when a producer or desk editor confirms a time, a place and a person. An automatic “received” reply is not a booking. After the segment airs, look for it on the station's site, but do not assume it was posted: FOX 32 says “Not every story you see on FOX 32 will be found on our website” and names outside services that sell copies of broadcast clips “for personal use only” (FOX 32 Chicago).
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No reply | Busy desk, or the day's news took over | One reminder a day or so before; try again with the next event |
| Told it is not a fit | Routine news, or nothing to film | Rework the angle toward a local consequence and add pictures |
| Sent to the wrong person | Used a general inbox or a reporter's social account | Use the station's published desk or producer route |
| Booking falls through | Breaking news | Offer a new date; do not argue |
| Pitch treated as an ad | Reads like a sales pitch | Pitch a local story with a person and a picture; buy airtime from sales if you want an ad |
What Not to Do
Do not call repeatedly. Consequence: WRAL says nonstop calls and emails “can be a turn-off” to assignment editors. Correction: one follow-up, then wait.
Do not send a sales pitch to the newsroom. Consequence: it reads as advertising, which the RTDNA code says journalism should not serve. Correction: pitch a local story with a person and a picture.
Do not pay anyone to get a guest into a newscast without disclosure. Consequence: FCC rules require paid matter to be announced as sponsored, and a hidden payment misleads viewers. Correction: buy clearly labeled airtime, or pitch for free.
Do not promise your executive airtime. Consequence: stations say coverage depends on the day's news. Correction: describe the pitch internally as an offer, not a booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my business featured on local TV news?
Email the assignment desk about a week before an event, or the show's producer with a story idea, with who, what, where, when, why, a named contact and visuals. The stations we read promise no coverage.
Who do I pitch at a local TV station?
FOX 32 Chicago sends event coverage requests to its News Assignment Desk and story ideas to “Producer” at the specific show. WRAL and WMAR publish desk and newsroom email routes. Check each station's own page.
How far ahead should I send a local TV pitch?
FOX 32 asks for “at least one week prior to the event”; WRAL says about a week, with an optional reminder a day or so before.
Can I pay to be on local TV news?
You can buy advertising, not news coverage. FCC rule 47 CFR 73.1212 requires stations to announce paid matter as sponsored and name who paid. This is not legal advice.
What should a TV pitch include?
WRAL lists who, what, where, when, why and how many people; FOX 32 adds visual elements, a rationale, possible guests and a contact name and phone number.
Does a station have to cover my story?
No. WMAR says story choice is “at the discretion of the team,” and WRAL says it depends on “what's happening in the news that day.”
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from three local stations' own pages, the FCC's sponsorship identification rule as published in the eCFR, and the RTDNA Code of Ethics, all read October 19, 2026. The stations are examples, not a survey; practices vary by station, and two of the three pages are several years old, which we date in the text. The reading of the FCC rule for paid segments is ours and is not legal advice. Steps marked as our recommendation are house advice, not station rules. We did not test response rates.
- live read FOX 32 Chicago, Contact Us. Event-coverage and story-idea routes, one-week lead time, package contents, clip copies, separate advertising contacts. Read October 19, 2026.
- live read WRAL, Inside WRAL: Top 10 ways to get our attention!. Email route, subject line, week-ahead timing, checklist, follow-up, topics avoided, “no promises.” Posted August 21, 2009, updated June 8, 2018. Read October 19, 2026.
- live read WMAR, Have a News Tip or Story Suggestion?. Newsroom route and editorial discretion. Modified January 9, 2020. Read October 19, 2026.
- regulator Federal Communications Commission via eCFR, 47 CFR 73.1212, Sponsorship identification; list retention; related requirements. Sponsor announcement, reasonable diligence, section 507 reports, nominal-charge exception. Up to date as of October 16, 2026. Read October 19, 2026.
- trade body RTDNA, Code of Ethics. Commercial endorsements and paid promotion. Read October 19, 2026.