Satellite (SMT) and Audio (AMT) Media Tours

Shoot from here (location) up to there (satellite) and down to there (broadcast station).

Satellite Media Tours (SMTs) are used to book a company expert, CEO, spokesperson or celebrity on television to be interviewed for the news. They are usually live, but can also be live to tape (meaning the interview seems live when it runs later.)

Organized, pitched and produced by a public relations specialist, these one-on-one interviews, are booked by news producers or talent bookers. In what are called windows, the producer works with the person pitching the tour to secure a specific time for the interview. The interviews are typically booked within five to 10-minute windows. The interview, typically from one to 10 minutes, takes place within the window and the hit time is the on-the-spot time that the interview is scheduled to start.

To organize all of the information, the specialist uses a tour production grid which is shared with the client, the talent or person being interviewed and the production staff. The grid is the Bible, plan, part and parcel for the tour production team.

A typical grid contains the following:

1. Number of windows (6:00-6:10, i.e. 6 a.m.-9 a.m. with 5 to 10-minute windows
2. Hit time (6:03)
3. Segment length (i.e. 2-2.5 minutes)
4. Station name, location and affiliation
5. Anchor, host, reporter or talent name(s)
6. IFB # (more on the technical stuff later)
7. Control room number
8. Producer's name, phone and email
9. A back up phone number
10. Key information about the station, producer, talent, etc.
11. Address to send b-roll (Beta or DVD) before the tour

Media tours get out a specific and news worthy message to millions and can target a key audience!

Check out posts on the recent SMT for the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 with Buzz Aldrin at Kennedy Space Center.

For more about producing a tour, pitching and booking your tour or to discuss your next Satellite Media Tour, contact me at 407-341-9866 or mmonte@hotmail.com.