Push the wrong button, you do.
Are you a PR? Have you assisted a freelance journalist with product or quotes on a piece for a national newspaper/website? Are you now wondering when it's going to be published? Well, if you've never been a freelance journalist, here’s some helpful insight from somebody who has a foot in both camps...
If you send a product to a national newspaper journalist for evaluation, or they interview a client of yours, here’s what happens.
1?? The journalist does whatever they need to do (testing, researching, transcribing an interview and so on) before writing the copy and sending it to their editor.
2?? The editor then edits the copy, assembles images, commissions any graphics necessary and usually puts it in a holding queue, ready for the piece to be published at a time of their choosing.
3?? Once the journalist has submitted the copy, however, the only reason the editor will need to speak to the journalist is to, perhaps, clarify or fact-check some aspect or detail of the copy. Or to solicit some images, get the hack to write some captions for them and so on.
But here’s the really big learning for you. The journalist will not, unless they have a burning desire to find themselves working elsewhere, pester the editor - on your behalf - to ask when the piece is going to be published.
That. Simply. Does. Not. Happen. ??
Why? Because editors are hard-pressed for time and freelance journalists like to get paid. So don't, under any circumstances, send a badgering email every other day, or week, to the freelance you dealt with, because...
??? You'll be ignored and...
??? you’ll wind him/her up. Monumentally.
FYI, annoying the hack will also make it far more likely they’ll go elsewhere for their next product call-in/expert comment/interview. Which won’t do you - or your lovely client - any favours down the line.
If you really must ask for an update, ask the editor. Politely and not daily.
My general advice is simply to be patient. Remember, it’s not unusual for a piece to take several weeks before making it into print/online. If something definitely isn't going to appear, a journalist will usually be told and, in turn, will want convey that fact to PRs that they’ve been dealing with. Because they'll want to carry on working with them.
Personally, there's one exception I make when it comes to giving 'updates'. If I know something’s just been published in a daily newspaper, I usually make a point of giving PRs that have helped an immediate heads-up. That's because I know - from personal experience - that getting back-issues is a time-consuming nightmare. Again, just good manners...
But guys, if an article is due to be published online, you do know that it’s simple enough to check a national newspaper site yourself, right? In fact, journalists will absolutely assume you'll be doing that, because they consider it to be part of your JD.
[Quick FYI: the only thing worse than receiving yet another request for an 'update' is when the piece has already gone online, and it's obvious the PR hasn't bothered to check before pressing 'send'. ?? ]
Of course, you might be an experienced PR professional and know all of the above. It might actually be the case that it's your client, or boss, that’s pestering you to pester a journalist to pester an editor.
If so, feel free to save this post. Send them a link to it every time they hassle you for an 'update' in the future.
Because trust me...this IS the way. ????
#journalist #journalism #publicrelations #PR #newspapers #media
Head of Agency Comms and Copywriter at 33Seconds
1 年I do totally get this and pestering is obviously NEVER a good thing to do. I would say though that it should be OK to ask the question once. It may be that the reporter does have some idea of when a piece will run, I have asked before and been given the information. Great. If not, just kindly saying 'sorry, no idea' also lets us know what the deal is and that should be that. Clients will be asking us, so that's why a rough idea is very helpful. If not, then we just hit the refresh button... again (and again and again :))
??CCO (Chief Curiosity Officer) | Tech editor of The Standard and (formerly) The Sunday Times | Helping brands create amazing launch stories and upskilling their teams to make it happen
1 年Rob Waugh is correct. This ain't a linear process and nobody can predict what happens, least of all the hapless freelancer. In a busy newsroom, the currency value of an idea shifts rapidly and something that sizzled like a steak one day, is cold cow the next –?or rehashed into an unexpectedly spicy chilli. Also, even section editors serve at the whim of those higher up the food chain (soz for mixed metaphors) and might not know wassup. On the upside, ideas can escalate into bigger wins if peeps stay patient like Kulwinder Singh R. says. You gotta be in it, to win it.
Managing Partner at united communications GmbH
1 年You are of course very right. One is all the more grateful when some absolutely stellar journalists are kind enough to provide a direct link to the correct section to keep an eye on. ?? That is exceptionally kind and certainly mustn't be taken for granted.
Writer, Editor, Content Strategist and Technology Communicator
1 年Very true. The answer is literally always, 'I don't know and I'm not going to imperil my meal ticket to find out'