Although it seems less common these days, there are still a fair number of us public relations practitioners who enter the business by crossing over from the journalist's side of the notebook.
When you make that transition, you become something of an oracle. Colleagues and clients expect you to be the walking, talking answer to the Rubik's cube puzzle of how to gain the attention of the media. If only it were that simple!
Landing media placements is at least as much about art as it is science.
But it's also about you and who you are as a PR person. What did I learn in two decades of writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and news services?
First of all, a PR pro doesn't need a journalistic pedigree to succeed with journalists.
But you do have to possess something else: knowledge of what journalists really want from PR people. I'm not talking about what journalists want from your story ? that's another subject.
I'm talking about you. Do you know what journalists want from you, as the individual who's e-mailing, faxing, calling and (too often, I fear) pestering them?
Here's my short list of attributes that will get you a hearing from journalists (and that's all you want ? your story will sink or float on its own merits):
1. Honest brokers
Journalists know PR people have something to promote ? a company, a product, a point of view. That's not the issue.
It's whether the journalist trusts that the story is coming from someone who won't waste their time ? someone who has invested the effort to understand them, their organization, their boss, and whether the story might interest the audience the journalist serves.
Trust is fundamental ? but it's also earned. Becoming an honest broker requires more than one conversation with a journalist. It requires enough dialogue that a relationship and a history of honest dealings can be established.
2. Facilitators
Face it, journalists don't want to talk to PR people ? at least not on the record, and not as newsmakers.
Good PR practitioners know they're not newsmakers. They recognize that their role is to make stories happen, not be part of them. So good PR pros focus on being matchmakers, putting journalists together with the sources who make stories come alive.
For the PR pro, as well as the journalist, it's all about the story. It's not about you, or the institutional challenges you face in making the story happen. It's about making the story real. And that leads me to what journalists really, really want from PR practitioners (and what we should strive to be):
3. Advocates for communication
No journalist wants to deal with a PR person who's primarily unavailable, and when he or she is available, has a vocabulary limited to phrases such as "no comment."
All other things being equal (including working for an organization or a leader who doesn't communicate) journalists still give the benefit of the doubt to a PR person whom they know to be an advocate of communication.
That doesn't mean someone who's going to speak at inappropriate times about subjects that aren't in the best interests of their organization. It means someone who understands deadlines, editors, the competition and the other pressures that journalists face while trying to do their jobs.
It means someone who understands that the best interests of their organization always include good relationships with the news media, the trusted purveyors of independent information for the customers, employees, investors and other audiences that the PR pro wants to reach.
In the end, that's what all of media relations is really about: A good journalist and a good PR pro want to serve their audiences first.
It's not always possible for journalists and PR pros to achieve that objective from their respective viewpoints in every interaction. But over the course of time, in a relationship of trust, respect and understanding, honest brokers who facilitate the story and advocate for communication will succeed in landing media placements.
Paul Furiga is president of WordWrite Communications LLC, a Pittsburgh-based virtual agency. He is the former editor of the Pittsburgh Business Times, and has also covered Congress, the White House, edited magazines and written for publications ranging from Congressional Quarterly to Frequent Flyer magazine.
Culver prom limo ..What else, for goodness sake, could you as a business,... Read More
A reporter's job is to get the most accurate and... Read More
Have you ever heard of the saying, "One person's trash... Read More
"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly... Read More
Is your business looking for new and creative ways to... Read More
There'll never be a better time for a manager working... Read More
You have been if you're a business, non-profit or association... Read More
They say that image is everything and some of us... Read More
If you have had any experience in public relations or... Read More
You are a spokesperson for your company, representing it for... Read More
Since the major part of a small business typically comes... Read More
It's not unusual for clients of service providers to insist... Read More
Can your PR do something positive about the behaviors of... Read More
When it comes to launching a new business or product,... Read More
Getting a press release published in a newspaper or magazines... Read More
"Advertising is what you pay for. Publicity is what you... Read More
As a business, non-profit or association manager, any tool that... Read More
More than half of America skips the Super Bowl, the... Read More
I believe this about public relations.People act on their own... Read More
You never want to inundate a reporter with information, but... Read More
Because it can alter individual perception and lead to changed... Read More
As you start getting more media-savvy, you'll find yourself coming... Read More
You know, where you do something positive about the behaviors... Read More
For business, non-profit or association managers like yourself, survival pretty... Read More
China's media is booming creating opportunities for marketing-savvy businesses. But... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..PRESIDENT BUSH TELLS A STORYOn March 18, 2005, President Bush... Read More
If you're trying to promote your store, but you don't... Read More
When special events and communications tactics rule the PR roost... Read More
The VIP databases are fun to create and can be... Read More
Although repetition is extremely important, there are times when advertising... Read More
The notion that a business, non-profit or association manager can... Read More
Lots of theories out there about public relations.Everything from "publicity's... Read More
Your public relations effort really should involve more than press... Read More
About a year ago I read a feature story in... Read More
What else, for goodness sake, could you as a business,... Read More
The power of PassionPassion is an extraordinarily powerful spring. Without... Read More
We'd all like reporters to ask us about our career... Read More
This is the ending to my previous article, How to... Read More
Managers, please take a minute and read two sentences: People... Read More
Yes?Good!Still, as a business, non-profit or association manager, if you're... Read More
Strong for business, non-profit and association managers when they use... Read More
Do it by restructuring your business, non-profit or association public... Read More
In competing for a piece of business not too long... Read More
UNDER FIREA friend whose organization is often in the media... Read More
If you want to know the best way to approach... Read More
Sure, as a manager, you have a talented member of... Read More
A press kit is an essential press relations tool. While... Read More
We rely on all kinds of tools and advice to... Read More
Non-news professionals often have a hard time understanding why their... Read More
The public relations goal and strategy make sense; the message... Read More
Public Relations |