9 THINGS ABOUT PR THEY DIDN’T TEACH YOU IN COLLEGE

After over 2 decades of experience in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, there are still several things about dealing with journalists that I find new and surprising and I am sure that many of our young pros who have been to professional PR schools/colleges are not aware of.

This article of mine is an attempt to throw light on some of these situations/instances which might have eluded you unless your college faculty were working news people.

Embargo

Just because a PR firm distributes a press release with the words “Embargoed Until” atop it doesn’t mean that a reporter will honour it. Living in the age of ‘breaking news syndrome’ and stiff competition between media houses to seek exclusives, it's always good to have someone speak to the journalist/editor and request he/she agree to honour the embargo.

Scientific studies sent to specific editors are an exception. The same is true for releases saying “For Release After.” PR pros should know that once a release is distributed, when it is used is up to editors.

Off-the Record 

You can tell a media member that something is "off-the-record,” but it doesn’t mean a reporter considers it so.

Establish off-the-record ground rules upfront. Specifically, do so prior to conveying information you want kept off-the-record.

'If you don’t want it reported, don’t say it' is the advice, I always give to executives before interviews or when they socialize with the media. I have been fortunate to work with CEO’s who never believed in ‘off-the-record’ conversations. Whatever they said or shared was ‘free to reported’

We are well aware of the infamous incident of a senior political dignitary’s personal assistant, who “quit” or was fired after making comments during a dinner. The event supposedly was off-the-record.

Wheat and Chaff

Remember in PR ‘one size fits all’ never holds true. You will need to balance out with the wide universe of media outlets available at our use. Limiting high-ranking companies to the most-prestigious media and offering those lower in the pecking order to so-called lesser media is a great way to avoid building good relationships with reporters.

'Minor' outlets can save the day when major news organizations ignore your pitch. Treat the “minors” like the “majors.” In addition, good reporters at major outlets read the trades to find stories. Sometimes large papers buy articles from trades. Make sure executives know this.

After-Hours Availability

Many PR firms have normal business hours. Journalists work round the clock. After pitching a good story, the best way to cement media contacts is to let journalists know where you can be reached at all hours.

Similarly, you can turn off a journalist quickly when you send a pitch on a day when you're unreachable or on vacation.

Journalists Can’t Do Without Us

Too many PR pros think content creators can’t survive without their help. It’s the opposite. There’s enough legitimate non-PR-pitched news to fill editorial holes without the help of PR pros. They can survive without us. We can’t survive without them.

Your Executive

Just because your very important executive is in town and wants media coverage doesn’t mean that reporters will jump at the opportunity of doing an interview. There are several reasons for this.

The industry your executive works in won't interest every news outlets. Your very important executive is one of many to a content creator. In addition, even if a reporter agrees to a get-to-know session, he/she might not find anything the executive says important enough to warrant writing a story.

Your Agency

Even if you work at a top-five agency, journalists will not be impressed when you contact them. It’s the story that matters, not the agency that provides it.

For example, I recall this incident during my pitching days when an important editor at a major media outlet thought I worked for an agency other than the one that employed me.

She said to me, “If you know someone at (agency), ask them to tell (employee X) that I delete all her email pitches without reading them." The editor did so because employee X always spelt her name incorrectly. Little did the editor realise that the bad speller was also my colleague. I replied, “I’ll tell her. She sits few cubicles away from me.” The editor was stunned. She thought I worked somewhere else.

Your Title/Designation

It might impress your family or peers or friends. However, please note that just an important-sounding title will not guarantee you an audience with the media.

Being Helpful and Being There

Over the years, I made many media friends. They introduced me to their colleagues. They did so because I made myself available. I also would like to believe that I was around weekends and holidays if a reporter needed information or was looking for a story on a slow news day.

I realize that doing so might interfere with one's home life. My experience shows that you will not be bothered much. And it might help your career to be media friendly.

Importantly, if I thought of a good feature story that didn’t work for my clients, I would give the idea to my reporter contacts. They always appreciated it and it worked to my benefit.