How to pitch a general assignment TV reporter

Ben Bradley, from the ABC News affiliate in Chicago, explains the skill set necessary to pitch TV reporters

How do you pitch a general assignment TV reporter, a breaking news journalist who spends little time in the newsroom and even less scheduling appointments with PR pros?

Very carefully and very selectively, said Ben Bradley, a general assignment reporter for WLS-TV, the ABC News affiliate in Chicago (the top-ranked station in the third largest market in the U.S.).

What is Ben Bradley’s beat?

Ben Bradley has worked as general assignment reporter at WLS-TV, ABC News’s Chicago affiliate, since 2002. In addition to general assignment reporting, Bradley covers Chicago’s Olympic bid for 2016 and politics (on occasion). He’s worked in TV journalism since 1994.

Read his complete bio.

“I never know what I’m doing from day to day,” he told Ragan.com. “I can line up stories or pitch stories or think I have the greatest story in the world … and then there’s an earthquake in the Midwest (which doesn’t happen very often) and all the plans go out the door.”