"PR is harder than it ever was," believes Dave Lieber, who pens The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's popular 'Watchdog' column. "Technology has sped things up so that you can't just be on top of the news of the day—you have to be tied into the breaking news of the moment," stresses Lieber, who also teaches writing, communications and storytelling techniques through his website.

"On the other hand, it's now easier to find the contact information for the person you're pitching," Lieber says. "The Internet also makes it easer to do your homework and pitch only the targeted information a reporter wants." Read on as Lieber elaborates on exactly how to practice such "due diligence" before you pitch, along with his storytelling secrets—which he assures will help improve your hit rate:

1. Practice "stop, search, send"—Google targets before pitching." "If I were pitching you at Bulldog Reporter, I would go to your site, find your byline by using your search function—and then I'd read the last twenty or so stories you wrote. After that, I'd call and reference a story you did last week," Lieber continues. "If that didn't give me enough, I would 'GoogleNews' you and then search the blogosphere to see if you had a blog or MySpace [site]. Finding a journalist's blog can be a great way in," he assures.

"For example, if you went to my blog, you'd see that I have a video column online, that I'm a speaker, that I've written for thirty years and that I teach PR and journalism," Lieber says. "You'd also see my book about my dog. Then you'd be able to personalize your call with something like, 'I saw you did a presentation on how to use humor . . .' or 'How's your dog doing?'"

2. Leverage your LexisNexis account—or some equitable service. Ultimately, Lieber says he'd rely on a more costly option: "If nothing else worked, I'd use my LexisNexis account to pull your most recent stories." For those without an existing account, consider low-cost options such as MediaBistro's exclusive LexisNexis deal, which offers the organization's AvantGuild members access to the database for $59 per month.

"The big point, really, is that any online research these days is better than just sending out an auto-generated email blast with no personalization beyond 'Dear Dave,'" says Lieber. "People see through that, and it's a sure way to lose credibility with the person you're pitching.'"

3. Break out of the inverted pyramid—occasionally pitch features. "Most PR people—and many journalists—don't realize that even the best 'news' pieces follow the rules of storytelling, not news-writing. The human brain processes information through 'story'—not through PowerPoint and bullets points. People pay attention when you say, 'Once upon a time, there was a hero who encountered a villain.' That's how people think."

"To be more successful, pitch the compelling stories behind your product, company or idea, not just a litany of facts or features," Lieber suggests. "To do that, you need to have these five key elements, which I call the rules of storytelling: 1. a beginning, middle and end; 2. characters, consisting of heroes and villains, which can include things like negative trends, pollution or even apathy; 3. a dramatic arc of conflict where each scenes builds on previous scenes to lead us to a resolution; 4. a turning point or turnaround where the main challenge is overcome; and 5. a denouement (or resolution)."

4. Grab your reporter's notebook and dig up human details—not just the 5Ws. "How do you get a large newspaper to cover something as minor as, say, a church bazaar that was almost canceled?" Lieber asks. "Let's assume that this bazaar has been around for thirty years and the money goes to an orphanage. Well, you don't call the paper and say, 'Our bazaar is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary.' So what? Nobody cares about 'just the facts' or the 5Ws in a story like this. Those are for sidebars, not cover stories.'"

What works: "Dig into the human side of the story and go beyond the usual who, what, where, when, why and how," Lieber advises. "Tell the reporter why the bazaar was at risk. For example, perhaps the woman organizing the bazaar this year picked it up after her mother who started it thirty years ago died. She did it in honor of her mother. When you get that information, call the paper and say, 'Our organizer's mother died and she persevered and held the bazaar anyway.' That would get my attention, especially if it had a picture of her looking up at the church steeple in front of the bazaar, thinking of her mother."

5. Eschew "everything's great" pitches—peg to challenges and obstacles instead. "Nothing gets a reporters' attention—or a reader's—like a challenge or obstacle to be overcome," says Lieber. "We're hard wired to hear about the hard times—that's what 'stories' are: people rising to the occasion. Pitch around those elements, not 'feel good' announcements."

However, "This is a problem for many in PR," Lieber concedes. "Basically, they want to put on their best face. Well, there's no story there." Better: "Don't hide when things go wrong. Get out there and show how you're turning things around. For example, don't pitch your entrepreneur as a 'visionary.' Pitch your entrepreneur as someone who started a business, experienced various challenges and overcame them to be where she is today," Lieber suggests.

The upshot: "Take advantage of the fact that many journalists are either lazy or under severe time constraints," Lieber concludes. "That means you have to do the work for them. Call them up and say, 'How would you like a story about a man who faced X challenge by doing Y and Z.' That's how to pitch us. Those are the kinds of stories that walk across the newsroom floor and onto the front page," he assures.

Brian Pittman; bpittman@bulldogreporter.com