156 N 6 S TEPS TO F REE P UBLICITY a yes. After your first yes, read Chapter 15 especially carefully so that you make the most of being a guest on the airwaves. A PPEARING ON THE N EWS Although much of radio and TV news focuses on governmental and political developments, it includes coverage of business, scien- tific, and entertainment innovations; profiles of community problem- solvers; and stories about special events--indeed, most of the topics you'd find in the newspaper. You'll do best on radio and TV news with either a happening-right-here-this-very-week hook or what me- dia people call an "evergreen" topic, such that there's no more reason to run it this week, last week, last month, or even last year. Timeless topics such as what to do about varicose veins come in handy when a station has several gaping minutes to fill on a slow news days. I remember a piece at the very end of the evening news on one of the networks about a professor who runs a grammar hotline, where