How to lose a journalist in 10 ways

The relationship between PRs (or business owners doing their own PR) and journalists is a notoriously delicate one to balance. But no matter what story you’re trying to pitch, it’s important to keep in a journalist’s good booksย โ even if they’re the ones wearing the cranky pants.ย
And while sweet talking a journo might seem like a lot of work, it’s actually pretty simple. In essence: don’t be annoying.
Here are the 10 ways PRs tend to rub journos up the wrong way, and how to avoid falling into the trap of doing them yourself. After all, you don’t want to beย thatย person.
Imagine a journalistโs inbox filled with ideas they canโt use or things they canโt write or talk about because it doesnโt fit the program or publication. Who knew skimming and deleting hundreds of emails a day could be so exhausting?
The editor of an interiors publication might be interested in houses โ design, furnishings, interior designers, home transformationsย โ but they are not interested in closure rates from local real estate markets.
Sure, the common theme is houses, but if you did your homework, youโd see market closure rates arenโt covered in this publication. And they are a national publication, so local figures are irrelevant. Youโre wasting their timeย โ and yours.
Instead, establish relevance first, then send.
Itโs standard practice to follow up about a pitch if you havenโt heard back about it (in case it has gone astray) but itโs very bad form to hound a media professional about a pitch theyโve already rejected.
This often occurs when an organisation thinks it has the best idea ever and the journalist just canโt see it and needs convincing. ‘After all, what would they know about what interests their readers?’
Donโt do it, itโs harassment.
Instead, try another outlet or pitch something else.
High-resolution images should be part of every organisationโs media kit but sending everything in one hefty unsolicited email is a no-no. Even if the media professional has asked for hi-res images or video to accompany a story theyโve decided to run, donโt send the 20MB version via email and clog their inbox.
Instead, if itโs for web, send a smaller version. Alternatively, send large files as a link, so they can download them easily.
Many organisations use media releases to talk about themselves without considering whatโs notable about the information theyโre releasing.
So youโve hired a new chief financial officer. Who cares?
Itโs not the mediaโs job to come up with interesting stories about your business, so make sure what youโre releasing is newsworthy.
Too many media releases read like advertisements or dating ads, and journalists donโt have the time to research your business and come up with something that makes an interesting news story for you.
Instead, apply the โwhy is this interesting or important to people outside my organisation?โ test.
Youโve excitedly pitched them your organisation and your products or services. And thatโs it โ no angle, no hook, no juicy piece of information that would spark a good idea for a story.
Or youโve sold them on your angle, but you have no photos, recent statistics, b-roll (video footage), independent experts, case studies, or additional interview opportunities to package up a well-written story. Theyโre just going to have to scramble around for those extra components themselves (which they donโt have the time to do).
Instead
Make it easy for media outlets to choose you. Offer any supporting material to outlets and have these ready alongside your pitch.
So the outlet is interested in you and wants you to write an article for them or confirm you for an interview. Missing a deadline, playing hard to get, or cancelling at short notice is not coy, itโs annoying. In the end, the outlet is going to opt for someone easier to work with and more reliableย โ your loss, not theirs.
Instead, bend over backwards to accommodate them. If you really must cancel, for example, due to a medical emergency, offer an alternative solution such as a different person to interview from your organisation.
A gift to say sorry never goes astray.
Calling them โhunโ, โsweetieโ or assuming a nickname is not going to make you endearing. At best, itโs unprofessional, at worst, itโll grate the recipient enough that youโll be made persona non grata forever.
If their name is Joanna, donโt call them โJoโ, assuming theyโll be your best friend and therefore give you media coverage.
Instead, use their full professional name (hint: bylines and credits will reveal all) unless they indicate another version is all right, for example, a shortened version when they sign off on an email.
Isnโt it wonderful when a professional paid to be good at writing or producing has someone like you โ who doesnโt work in the media โ offer to check their work before itโs published or goes to air? No.
No one likes to be micromanaged, especially by those outside the industry.
Your job is to provide good content that doesnโt leave room for misinterpretation. Their job is to produce good work, which might include your content.
Instead, have faith in the professionals, and donโt offend them.
Iโm not saying every sentence should be a soundbite, but avoid long-winded answers with no substance, confusing explanations, and wishy-washy statements. If your goal is to frustrate media and get in their bad books, you should do what Donald Trump does: โIโll probably will do it, maybe definitely.โ
This frustrates media professionals because it makes it hard to extract anything useful from an interview. Theyโll turn to someone who can make things easy for them.
Instead, practice forming complete, coherent, succinct sentences that easily translate into interesting quotes.
Itโs borderline lying, isnโt it? And we all know media professionals have heaps time to sift through layers of puffery to find the truth.
Instead, support any claims with evidence where possible, and make it easy for media to use you as an informed, accurate, source.
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