FBLA EXCLUSIVE: The Anatomy of a “Baby Story” (Or, Who Determines Who Gets The Scoop)

Samantha Harris can’t help it if she’s everybody’s “It Girl.” The Dancing with the Stars hostess works for ABC. But she’s also a correspondent for E!. So when she announced her pregnancy today, who got the scoop?

People.

“People breaks a lot of baby news and I have never been in the magazine, so this was a fun opportunity. We were excited that they wanted to tell the news in print,” Harris told FBLA.

It’s a fluid world of “breaking news,” where everyone gets to “break” the story their own way, Harris said.

“Of course, for broadcast on television — we wanted my family at E! to be the ones to tell everyone first,” she said. “It is also exciting that later the same night, I will be able to say something on ABC, which is such a family-friendly network.”

Is everyone pleased with the arrangement?

Harris guesses that there is no perfect solution. She was going to elaborate, but a family friend called on her other line — apparently, the networks weren’t the only ones who had to hear about the news from People and E!.

Mazel Tov, Samantha!

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.