News Works Because It’s New

News is great for advertising because people will always pay attention to something they are told they don’t know yet.

If you want to get someone’s attention, try signaling to them first that you have breaking news to tell them. Not in an overly dramatic way, but at least in a “You’ve really got to hear about this” sense.

Be careful not to burn out the urgency. Also, be careful not to push too much nuance into the headline (or email subject line, or voicemail, or…). Nobody wants to come for the Daily Mail only to find The Economist. Especially if it goes dramatically against their worldview.*

Still, if you want somebody’s attention, take a lesson from the medium. Find the story and break it accordingly.

*just try showing a CNN person Fox News or vice versa.

BONUS: one of my favorite pieces of local-ish news from not too far from where I grew up. Make sure you watch at least until the local patron interviews.