The knack of the pitch: Media workshop with Britt Mann
It’s probably fair to say that no-one becomes a journalist thinking they’ll end up in PR. Or at least, no-one becomes a journalist and admits to it.?The following musings are from the wonderful Britt Mann, former NZHerald and Stuff journo who is very much a core member of the Heft team.
It’s probably fair to say that no-one becomes a journalist thinking they’ll end up in PR. Or at least, no-one becomes a journalist and admits to it.??
Starting out, you think you’ll be the exception to the rule, one of the few who’ll resist the Siren song of a higher salary and improved work-life balance. I certainly felt that way. Like so many others I know, journalism was a core part of who I was, playing a vital role in my self-worth, social life and my sense of feeling part of something greater than myself.
But so common is the switch from journalism to comms or PR that, despite that early idealism, it’s an unsaid expectation that many of us will ‘go to comms’ – end up on the ‘dark side’ – eventually.??
So here I am. I’ve been asked more than once whether I’ve suffered an identity crisis in the wake of taking on this kind of work, and I’ve been able to answer sincerely: “No.” It helped that I realised early on that I would still be me, with my eclectic interests and pitch-black sense of humour, outside of a newsroom. I figured that my friends probably didn’t like me only for my work stories. And I was proven right.??
I’ve been with Heft for six months, and it has been an at-times uneasy experience of backing myself in what just feels like common sense, and learning on the job. It turns out, though, that PR isn’t common sense for many of the clients I’ve worked with. That’s not a criticism, it’s just not often front of mind when, like every one of Heft’s clients, they’re busy trying to change the world for the better.??
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When I worked in a newsroom, there were a handful of PR people I found “good” to deal with, and plenty whose emails I deleted without even clicking on.
We’ve run our Tips from the Newsroom workshop for groups of attendees spanning the public, corporate and not-for-profit sectors, as well as for individual clients. And it’s this kind of common sense we’re trying to encourage in people who come along.?
Would you rather receive an email that’s spammed out to all and sundry clearly trying to co-opt you into buying something, or an email from someone who knows you, knows your interests, and is offering something that’s going to make your job easier? So it is with a press release compared to an email or phone call, tailored to a particular reporter.??
Similarly, supplied photographs. How often do you flick someone an image shot in portrait orientation? With most news websites designed to accommodate 16:9? images, you can make your pitch that much more appealing just by supplying a high-res, landscape oriented photo.??
When I worked in a newsroom, there were a handful of PR people I found “good” to deal with, and plenty whose emails I deleted without even clicking on. (I even had a filter for the worst offenders, ensuring their emails bypassed my inbox and went directly to my virtual Bin.) I don’t want reporters to have to deal with that – they’ve got enough to be grappling with on a day to day. And I don’t want people with great stories to tell going unheard because they made any number of missteps that unfortunately, are the norm.??
In our workshop, we cover what makes a story newsworthy (and how to make yours more so), how to give a great pitch, how to nail an interview, and how to build relationships with media – or at least not alienate them for life. It’s not a lesson in some kind of dark art. It’s a masterclass in making life easier for journalists.