A common complaint you'll hear is that the media is fixated on negative stories.

But, let's face it, that's what people watch. Jerry Springer and Maury Povich wouldn't make millions of dollars a year if people hated watching spouses fight and jilted lovers weep.

And have you ever heard of a publication or show that thrived on telling happy stories about good news?

The fact is, the media love problems. The more problems you help clients or customers deal with, the better.

People, bless their sick little hearts ? and by extension the media too ? love to hear about problems. Especially when you can discuss them intelligently. Especially when you can help them solve theirs over the media.

This leads to another of those 80/20 rules that seem to abound in the marketing field. You know, like: "80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients." There's a reason this rule has been around for so long ? because it's usually true.

Here's an 80/20 rule for publicity that I've found to be very effective.

Build 80% of your publicity messages around the needs and problems you help people solve. Devote no more than 20% to projecting yourself as the expert who knows how to best address those specific problems.

When you slice broad expertise into narrower, specific topics and stories, you are almost ready for the media folks to start listening to us! Take a look at some of my other articles to find out how best to contact them.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele's MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.