A press release telling about "Stevie,
Water-Skiing Squirrel" will never get that talented mammal on
TV news. But that same press release, accompanied by video of Stevie jumping over mini-ramps in an inflatable pool, will make
news nine days out of ten.
Words on paper or screen alone do not make a TV story. If you want to crack
TV news or
talk shows, you must demonstrate that you have a “visual.”
A visual is
images or video that accompanies
words. TV needs something that moves or talks to tell its stories.
If it looks interesting or nice, that’s a plus. They will shoot
video; you don’t need to. But often you do need to suggest what to shoot.