May 26, 2026 · 26 min · 9 segments
Your press release is not getting picked up because it's written for you, not for the journalist. In this episode of A Modern Nonprofit Podcast, Tosha Anderson talks with Mickie Kennedy, founder of…
Oh, absolutely.
So let's dive right into the, I think the million-dollar question that everyone listening wants to know.
Why do you think most nonprofit press releases never get picked up by any media?
I think that, um, a lot of people, um, nonprofits and outside nonprofits know what's important to them, but they aren't able to articulate it to make it important to a journalist.
Mm-hmm.
At the end of the day, the journalist is the gatekeeper on behalf of their audience, and it's like, what information is going to be entertaining or educational enough, or sometimes a, a marriage of both, f- that my audience is gonna find it engaging and useful and, and receptive to it.
And, you know, I tell people that sometimes, uh, PR and press releases works like, uh, you know, c- feeding a pill to a dog.
You have to bury the pill in some cheese or something that, uh, is going to make it a lot more appetizing.
Mm-hmm.
And so sort of reverse engineer what's important to you and your announcement-
Mm
... and how can you add, um, information and value to it, uh, that will make it more interesting, um, to an audience.
Um, a lot of times it's, uh, making it personal.
Um-
Mm
... you know, news is a lot of human interest elements.
Uh, you know, the best tech news is the ones that shares these little enduring stories of, uh, you know, the inspiration.
Uh, you know, everybody that goes on Shark Tank, they don't start with their numbers, they start with the, you know, "I lost my job," or, "I'd just been divorced," or, "I lost my father and we used to do this little craft, and I thought, 'Could this be a business?'" And it, it really breaks down and gets us to care.
And in the nonprofit, uh, sector, there's so much caring that I think that it's lumped together and generalized, and it's not made, uh, personal, and it's not made human interest.
Um, you know, some of the ways in which you can sort of bridge that is, is there a way to sort of personalize it? And I know that it gets to an area, um, sometimes the charities are, uh, and nonprofits are uncomfortable about is spotlighting individuals.
But it's one of the most valuable things is, uh, you know, a, a, a case example of this is, uh, uh, someone who is an example of the type of person, um, that we're helping, or this is an effort that we do, and here is a specific effort that we did in this, um, area or this region or, or with this individual.
And, you know, a lot of nonprofits are like, "Well, we helped so many." But by taking a few example, um, individuals or, um, projects and spotlighting that, it makes it much more personal and brings in that human interest element because, um, you know, that's kind of how the way, the way we're, we're wired.
Uh, you know-
Mm-hmm
...
Oh, absolutely.
So let's dive right into the, I think the million-dollar question that everyone listening wants to know.
Why do you think most nonprofit press releases never get picked up by any media?
I think that, um, a lot of people, um, nonprofits and outside nonprofits know what's important to them, but they aren't able to articulate it to make it important to a journalist.
Mm-hmm.
At the end of the day, the journalist is the gatekeeper on behalf of their audience, and it's like, what information is going to be entertaining or educational enough, or sometimes a, a marriage of both, f- that my audience is gonna find it engaging and useful and, and receptive to it.
And, you know, I tell people that sometimes, uh, PR and press releases works like, uh, you know, c- feeding a pill to a dog.
You have to bury the pill in some cheese or something that, uh, is going to make it a lot more appetizing.
Mm-hmm.
And so sort of reverse engineer what's important to you and your announcement-
Mm
... and how can you add, um, information and value to it, uh, that will make it more interesting, um, to an audience.
Um, a lot of times it's, uh, making it personal.
Um-
Mm
... you know, news is a lot of human interest elements.
Uh, you know, the best tech news is the ones that shares these little enduring stories of, uh, you know, the inspiration.
Uh, you know, everybody that goes on Shark Tank, they don't start with their numbers, they start with the, you know, "I lost my job," or, "I'd just been divorced," or, "I lost my father and we used to do this little craft, and I thought, 'Could this be a business?'" And it, it really breaks down and gets us to care.
And in the nonprofit, uh, sector, there's so much caring that I think that it's lumped together and generalized, and it's not made, uh, personal, and it's not made human interest.
Um, you know, some of the ways in which you can sort of bridge that is, is there a way to sort of personalize it? And I know that it gets to an area, um, sometimes the charities are, uh, and nonprofits are uncomfortable about is spotlighting individuals.
But it's one of the most valuable things is, uh, you know, a, a, a case example of this is, uh, uh, someone who is an example of the type of person, um, that we're helping, or this is an effort that we do, and here is a specific effort that we did in this, um, area or this region or, or with this individual.
And, you know, a lot of nonprofits are like, "Well, we helped so many." But by taking a few example, um, individuals or, um, projects and spotlighting that, it makes it much more personal and brings in that human interest element because, um, you know, that's kind of how the way, the way we're, we're wired.
Uh, you know-
Mm-hmm
...
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