Are you thinking of approaching the press, but are wondering ‘do I have a story?’
As the UK’s leading press agency, people contact us every day to see if they have a story, and to find out how much it’s worth. Lot’s of people approach us with the question of ‘do I have a story?’.
Every day we receive hundreds of story submissions. Last year we paid out over £100,000 in case study and story payments – so it’s safe to say there are a lot of stories out there to be sold!
Everybody has a story to tell, but surprisingly, a high percentage of people who get in touch about something which isn’t newsworthy – like a plumbing issue in their house or bad customer service at a retail store. After when we speak to them, we find out they have an incredible story all along – just didn’t realise it!
To give you a guide, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular stories we receive on a daily basis, if yours is on the list it’s likely to be a story. If it’s not don’t panic – it still may be a story so please get in touch to double check (we love anything that is original and exclusive).
Talk to the Press most popular stories
Weight loss
If you’ve lost over SEVEN plus stone it’s likely we’ll be able to place your story with a paper and a women’s magazine.
You will need full length ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures and we will ask to see these straightaway.
We will also need to know your height, before and after weight/ dress size and what was the trigger behind your weight loss.
Weight loss stories can be quite common nowadays so to give yours the best chance we need strong pics and ideally an interesting ‘trigger’ behind your weight loss or an unusual method behind it.
If you haven’t lost seven stone or more, don’t fret as it could still work if you have great pics or an unusual line to the story.
Why not contact one of our friendly team and we will let you know?
Love rat
These stories can be hard to pull off but when they do the magazines love them! But in order to make the story work for you we’ll need the details of your ex-boyfriend (we usually need it from the female perspective).
Legally, we have to contact the ex for a right of reply – which is basically a small comment from them.
Once we’ve got their details, one of our team will give them a call and give them the opportunity to comment.
Obviously, most people will get defensive when they think there’s going to be a negative story published about them, so we’re prepared for that.
But we’ll work hard to get a comment from them so you can go ahead and tell your side of the story.
Sometimes people worry that if their ex gets an opportunity to talk they’ll badmouth them – but that’s not the case.
The copy will be 95 per cent from your POV, and five per cent from theirs. We will always be on your side and make sure you’re happy with it. You’re our priority, not your cheating ex!
Once you’ve got this, we’re all systems go and will just need you to send pictures of you and him together.
Victims of sex crime
These can be recent victims or historic victims. Every victim of a sex attack is granted anonymity in the media, but if you’re over 16 you have the right to waive it.
Also, the case must have gone to trial and the perpetrator must have been convicted for the crime.
No publication will take a story unless there’s been a conviction.
Unfortunately, most papers will not run anonymous stories but a couple of the women’s weeklies will – as long as the perpetrator is not related to the victim (as this would identify the victim through the jigsaw effect).
When we’re interviewing victims of crimes we are extra sensitive and try our best to put the person at ease.
If the victim wishes to waive their right to anonymity then we’ll send a waiver for them to sign. We cannot print their story unless this has been signed.
When you’re caught up in a news event
People often get in touch if they or a family member has unintentionally become under the media spotlight. For instance, Maria Dennehy, female serial killer Johanna Dennehy’s sister, contacted us last year when the case was going on because she was being inundated by journalist requests and felt intimidated by the attention she was receiving.
TTTP editor Georgette started representing her and called all of the papers to let them know she was signed to TTTP and if they wanted an interview they’d have to go through us.
Georgette secured her a big fee for her exclusive story, which she placed with the Mail before going on to secure her two magazine deals, TV and even a book deal with publishers Penguin.
Kiss and tell
TTTP editor Georgette broke the story re Amir Khan cheating on his pregnant wife with glamour model Christie Hoyle.
Christie received a huge fee and was great to work with. If you’re going to sell a story on a celeb then you must have good evidence to support what you’re saying.
Generally, we’ll need photos/ text messages and for the case study to sign an affidavit to say what they’re saying is true.
Papers prefer the case study to go on record and be identified but we have worked on a few where they case study has remained anon – but the fee will be less if this is the case.
Health stories
These stories can range from illnesses, NHS failings, miracle babies, gastric bands, rare diseases etc. Please get in touch if you want to raise awareness or are campaigning to fund medical treatment to save a loved one.
Age gap/ unusual relationships
Age gap and unusual relationships are very popular.
On average, there needs to be at least 20 years between the couple and both parties need to be named and pictured.
Foreign toyboy loverats/ conman
If you have dated a foreign toyboy and have ploughed thousands into your relationship we’d love to hear from you.
We will need lots of pics of you together in happier times.
Animal stories
People love animal stories, especially ones which are funny and unusual pet stories.
TTTP did a story a few years ago re a woman who bought a trendy micro pig only for it to balloon to a 17 stone Vietense pot belly monster!
Xfactor/ BGT/ Strictly Come Dancing
Like kiss and tells these are great stories when the shows are ongoing. As the saying goes, it’s important to strike when the iron is hot with these sort of stories. Nobody cares about a contestant once they’re voted off so timing is crucial.
Whistleblowing/ exposés
If you’d like to lift the lid of any wrongdoing at a company or establishment get in contact and we’ll let you know if it’s something we can help with.
Usually, these sort of stories require a lot of groundwork and can take a bit longer than usual to stand up.
Cosmetic surgery/ gender realignment surgery
If you’ve changed your look dramatically through cosmetic surgery or have undergone gender realignment then get in touch. We’ll make sure your story is handled sensitively – whatever your goals or aims may be.
To read more about how to sell a story to the press, click here. You can also read about how to get your story valued here. Talk to the Press provide free story valuations.
You can see some of our recent stories and posts here:
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