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JUNE 2008
BLOG TOPICS:
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Journalist Comments: When it counts
Journalists have two main complaints about communications professionals.
 | One, they do not know the beat.
If you are pitching the
editor/managing editor, you do not know the beat. In a survey
conducted by our research staff, 8 times out of 10 you should not pitch the
editor. If you are, you do not know the beat and you do not know the
correct journalist to pitch. NewsBios
can help. |
| Two, Communication professionals do not know the journalist. A journalist is more than ink on the paper or
the story they write. If a journalist is knocking on your door to
interview you or your client, do you think that they have done their
homework? You bet they have. Let NewsBios
do the homework for
you. By learning in-depth information about what the journalist does and who they
are. |
(Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter
- 6/27/01):
PR people who pitch editors instead of the proper reporter
show they're not familiar with the beats, said Glenn Kramon, business editor.
Allan Sloan was asked during his interview for the TJFR's Bluechip newsroom in October 2000.
Q: How would you rate the level of professionalism of the public relations people you work with?
A: It varies all over the place. Some are very, very good and some are abysmal. And thereās no overall level. It's just different. It's just like rating reporters. Some of the reporters are very, very good and honest, and some of them are wretched. It's the same thing.
Constance L. Hays comments:
Ms. Hays tells us that she hates receiving pitches on stories that have nothing to do with her beat. She covers retail "big-box" retailers with a focus on apparel. She prefers to be contacted via email.
We
recently posed this questions to several journalists:
"What
has been your greatest challenge when dealing with the PR profession?"
See what they have to say:
| Being
able to trust what they say because they have a vested interest. - Carlye
Adler, Fortune Small Business |
| Having the time to talk with
them.
- Kelli Arena, CNN |
| Dealing with folks who understand
what a journalist does.
- David Callaway, CBS MarketWatch |
| PR professionals need to
understand the magazine and the writer to whom they're pitching. Nothing
is more frustrating than a PR person who tries to peddle you a story about
business-to-business platforms when you work for a personal finance
magazine.
- Adrienne Carter, Money. |
| Lying.
It's unacceptable but happens all the time. - Alexandra Clough,
Palm Beach Post |
| Biggest challenge is having PR
professionals understand and respect our deadlines. Many times they take too
long.
- Jim Hu, CNETnews.com |
| One
chief PR executive at a Houston company I have covered told me, in an
unquotable fashion, that I was being cut off completely because I walked
into an major employee meeting and reported on it at a very sensitive time
for the firm. This could have been a very bad thing for me, since I needed
his cooperation to cover my beat and I was scared he might make good on the
threat. And I was definitely angry at the gall of his pronouncement. I
calmly reminded him that I had always given the company a fair shake and
that I merely had done what I am paid to do - get the story. I then
suggested that there were two ways to move forward - as friends or enemies -
and left the choice to him. With a little bit of time and schmoozing, the
relationship was back to normal. For both of us, it took a little bit of
standing in each other's shoes to resolve the spat. - Bryson Hull,
Reuters |
| One is trying to get the kind of
access you need to tell a really compelling narrative. You can't do that
kind of story from a half hour phone conversation with someone. The other is
trying to get unrestricted access to real employees. Being at Fortune,
it's easy to get permission to chat with the CEO. It's not always easy
to get unfettered access to a sales clerk. And sometimes the story that the
sales clerk has to tell is far more important than the CEO's spin.
Additionally, I hate it when PR folks feel they know what the story is
better than you do. The best PR people to deal with are those that view
themselves more as friendly guides than as overt spin-meisters.
- Jeremy Kahn, Fortune |
| The greatest challenge is to find the real story behind the press release.
I think you always have to ask yourself why the company might want this
information to be public. - Eleanor Laise, SmartMoney |
| I
got a lot of pitches that had nothing to do with my beat, particularly when
I was covering the retail industry. Much of this has died down since the
dot-com bust... - Heather Landy, Bloomberg News |
| I'd say it's the belief among
some PR professionals that a firm should shut down to the press when it's
not doing well. In fact, it's when a firm is having problems that it most
needs to get the word out about what it's doing to turn things
around. - Aaron Lucchetti, The Wall Street
Journal |
| Same as everyone: PR people often
try to fit square pegs into round holes, pitching stories that don't fit
my needs or the needs of the publication I'm working for.
- Justin Martin, Freelance Writer |
| The greatest challenge in dealing
with PR profession, especially a company's internal PR personnel, is their
lack of understanding that it is ultimately better for them to "come out" and speak to the press when there is bad news and not only when there
is good news.
- Joanne Po, CNBC Business News |
| Nothing specific that rises above
the day-to-day challenges of getting any job done. Never had much tolerance
for that discussion. Everyone has to play their allotted role.
- Matthew Rose, The Wall Street Journal |
| To be honest, the greatest
challenge I have faced when dealing with PR folks is the sheer volume of
pitches from people who should know that I have no interest in their
clients. PR people could do a better job of knowing who they're pitching
so they don't waste everyone's time.
- Justin Schack, Institutional Investor |
| I
find PR people to be helpful in general. - Chana R. Schoenberger,
Forbes |
| Getting them to tell you
something you actually want to know.
- Kimberly Strassel, The Wall Street Journal |
| Getting them to pronounce my name
right. (You-seem)
- Jerry Useem, Fortune |
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