“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Walt Kelly
Pogo comic strip creator
There’s a renewed outbreak of “journalists don’t like us, we don’t like them” going around. Media people have problems. Public relations people as a group has problems. We can’t cure theirs but we have to cure ours.
Most of the journalists’ ills are beyond their individual control but if PR people are to be more effective they have to understand their media audience.
Journalists Problems
• The entire media industry is in upheaval. Publications are disappearing because of reduced ad revenues. Those that are surviving have fewer news holes. News web sites have fallen on hard times and are either being shut down or are restructuring. Radio and TV management recognize that internet-based audio/video news and entertainment are coming. The problem is that they can’t figure out how to make money in the new environment. Timeshifting – the recording and playback at any time – is gaining momentum which means networks and stations soon won’t be able to charge more for prime time because prime time programs may be viewed/heard at any time. It’s hard to justify premium charges for this new arrangement.
• Editors and writers just like everyone else are experiencing layoffs so there are fewer filling the same or reduced number of print or web site pages and radio/TV news slots.
In one way this can be viewed as good because the print, web, radio, TV news groups will try to keep the best people (writers) and shed the rest. That also means they know their job better and know what is good news and garbage. It also means these individuals have less available time so PR people have to be sharp and to the point because they often have 15-30 seconds to hook the reporter on the message he or she is presenting. That means the PR person has to be on target immediately because the reporter can’t waste his or her meager time trying to help the PR person do his or her job. They never chose their career to be teachers.
• While many of the best journalists want to – and often do – stay with the media there is always a certain number of “jump ship” and move to public relations which is often more financially rewarding. When weak writers/reporters stays they tend to hide their weaknesses by focusing on what is hot and/or trendy rather than digging into areas and developing meaningful pieces.
One senior technology editor complained that is was more difficult for him to find qualified people to do product reviews because a growing number of reviewers seemed to simply take the box they received, the data sheet and the reviewers guide and write their review. They would write negatively about the product’s documentation and the company’s customer support group because they almost universally fall short. He wanted people who actually took the product out of the box and used it just like a real customer. That takes time and effort and for people getting paid by the word or per project, the package copy and data sheet offered a fast, easy solution.
• In the business and trade media arena – web, broadcast and print – reporters, assuming they have a technical background, out of necessity are generalists. They may have “favorite” area such as mobile systems, Macs, video production or network infrastructure but they know little about video-on-demand, storage, MDU (multi-dwelling unit) applications, SONET, SAN/NAS or SS7/SS8 networks. That means the PR person has to have that expertise or be able to provide it quickly to assist the editor/reporter, assuming you can even get them interested in the subject.
Public Relations Problems
It’s great to get all of media’s problems “out in the open” because then public relations people can say, “See it’s not my fault. I’m doing my best it’s just that they don’t understand how good your company, your product or I am.”
Attention people…as Walt Kelly wrote in his famous Pogo cartoon strip, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Or to put it differently, the relationship between public relations and the media has always been an uneasy alliance. But as a profession we are increasingly making the bullets they shoot at us. We seem to ignore the bullets as they whiz by and seem to feel they are really meant for the other guy.
If you really are a professional, you know a number of people on your side of the Maginot Line that are making your life miserable. Unfortunately those people probably stopped at the end of the journalist problem section, assuming they even read at all.
If you’re already good this will either serve as a reminder or as something you can pass along to others. If you aren’t quite so good…take notes.
• We read an alarming note in Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter that PR people are frightened out of their wits about contacts with the press. They fear the wrong thing might get into print.
You have got to be kidding!
What do you think your job is? What was all your education and training for?
Granted if a 60 Minutes or 20/20 crew rolls up you had better think twice about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it but isn’t that why you make the big bucks?
But the vast majority of journalists are not out to do a hatchet job on your client…or you. They are going to do their job which is to develop a good news item and move on to the next story. They may make mistakes in their coverage of your company, your management or your products but that’s your fault, not theirs. That simply means you didn’t or couldn’t provide the information they wanted and needed.
Nature abhors a vacuum and so does the media. If you don’t provide the information…good journalists will find it. If you lie to them, they’ll find out and trust us…journalists have long memories. If you don’t explain the subject thoroughly – especially if it’s technical in nature – and they don’t correct your mistakes, is that their problem?
• Yet another event – MonsterBuzz – was recently held for technology-focused company management and PR people to learn how to improve their coverage. One of the questions we’ve heard at every such event over the past 20 years was, “How do we get your attention to cover us?”
Surprise folks, it’s not that difficult… do your job. What does that mean?
- read the publications
- get to know who covers what beat
- be an informed and response resource even if the specific query isn’t in support of your company or product
- dig deep and find the story hook or fresh idea that will interest and maybe even excite the reporter
- do something daring. Invite an editor to lunch at the company’s offices to talk with management and learn more about what the company is doing, where it’s going and its product plans/directions
- don’t be a gatekeeper for your management instead help them be prepared to talk with the press. Encourage direct contacts and relationship building
• Most PR people will only talk with editors, reporters when they need to pitch an idea.
Granted we’ve been in the profession for a long time – some might say too long – but we actually know a large number of editors, reporters and analysts as individuals. It doesn’t give us any special edge in pitching a story but it does mean we know what they want and don’t want as well as how they want to receive the information. It also means they we’ll deliver what they need, when they need it and in a form they can use.
Recently we’ve been conducting monthly technology briefings with one of our clients meeting with members of target publications to provide them with general and specific information on technology areas. We’ve been calling it the doughnut series even though we’ve been holding the meetings throughout the day starting at breakfast and going through the evening and dinner. The meetings cover a specific product category – tape storage, CD, DVD, monitors/color management, interfaces, etc. They are subject areas in which the company has products but we discuss all products in the category, not just our products. The first set of meetings was rocky because: a) the reporters were skeptical and really expected a veiled product pitch and b) we had to hone our discussions to each medium’s requirements on the fly. But now we can fill a conference room at each medium because they know we’re giving them a meaty and honest overview of the technology area.
For the past five years at various trade shows around the globe we’ve been coordinating dinners with members of the press (20-30) and members of client teams. The one ground rule was that it would be a quiet, enjoyable evening of dining with no product pitches. There’s no formal presentation. We pick the reporters, editors and analysts up at their hotels and/or the convention center; go to a quality restaurant; have a relaxed dinner and informal conversation and return them to their hotels. Do they talk about the company and products? Sure. But more importantly they talk to each other about their personal and professional lives, areas of interest and other subjects that interest both sides.
That’s how relationships are developed.
• Most PR people don’t have a grasp of good journalistic writing.
It seems as though fewer and fewer practitioners come into the business with any journalism experience. A great percentage has never been in a newsroom environment. The very foundation of good communications is not liking people, having good people skills or being able to speak well. The foundation is good writing.
PR people want to be management counselors, crisis management specialists or any of the other growing number of specialties we are developing as our society and lives become increasingly complex. At the end of the day something has to be written and it has to be written well.
• PR people are using the internet to abuse the press:
- They mass email press invitations or story ideas to 10s; sometimes 100s of people instead of sending each a message one at a time. That’s plain lazy and an insult to every recipient. There is no reason anyone should wade through pages of addressees just to get to the message…and most editors/reporters won’t. They simply dump the email.
- They send volumes of releases, entire press kits and animated invitation attachments. If an editor or reporter requests the material and are expecting it, they will open and use the information. In our virus-ridden world, most unsolicited attachments are dumped unopened. It simply isn’t worth the risk.
- They send inquiries for meetings – usually around convention time – that tell you how neat their company is, how wonderful their management team is and want to know when you want to meet with them. Notice in the above sentence there is no discussion of what is new or different that the company will be unveiling or why it’s going to be important for the reporter to take his or her meager time at the show to meet with the company. The press come to conventions to get news for their audience, not to help publicists fill a meeting schedule.
- If it’s an agency, they send a laundry list of companies they are representing along with a boilerplate explanation of the company and tell the editor/reporter to circle a day, indicate a time and fax or email the meeting request back to the agency.
If they got any lazier they could also send the company and product information to the reporters so they could write the announcements for the publicist.
• Companies and agencies have unleashed a horde of PR “bunnies.” We wish we had come up with that descriptive phrase but unfortunately the credit belongs to someone else. As PR professionals become pressed to get more coverage they give a product pitch or show meeting outline to the newest kids in the office. This individual hops from subject to subject or reporter/editor to reporter/editor making his or her pitch.
Can you possibly believe reporters, editors and analysts are that stupid?
The list could go on but you get the idea. One by one we’ve got to do a better job of doing our job so we can take the anti-PR ammunition away from journalists. When we do we’ll quit being practitioners and become professionals.
It doesn’t mean we’ll become close partners. But at least there will be an improved working relationship. Until then we’ve met the enemy and he is us.
############
Journalists vs PR People - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations,
networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business
ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|
Vwodek Wojczynski
Business Coach and Consultant Vwodek Wojczynski (pronounced Voy-chin-ski) brings fun, awareness, accountability and fresh perspectives based on his diverse experiences in life and business.
Born in Poland and educated in Greece and Canada, he is trilingual with 8 years experience in business development with clients in Canada, USA, Switzerland and Poland.
His approach is systematic and process-driven. He fuses the know-how of proven business methods with his commitment that entrepreneurs experience satisfaction and joy based on their values, motivations and strengths. He believes that businesses succeed based on their ability to generate value by providing what’s needed and wanted.
Ultimately, he trains executives and true business owners - people who work less, produce more, own businesses that run automatically after a while and make a difference globally.
His current research focus is the development of intelligent business systems and the application of emerging artificial intelligence technologies in business.
He is also an avid traveler, spoken word performer and visual artist. He resides in Toronto, Canada. - Visit Vwodek Wojczynski's Website |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
The title of this post is the name of a great free service. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is the brain-child of East Coast PR pro Peter Shankman. (I did a podcast with Peter that I will publish shortly, but I wanted yo...
