As we all should know going into this profession, journalists and PR people share a love-hate relationship, but can't seem to do without each other. I have found some tips that I believe would shift this relationship between PR people and journalists to appreciate each other a little more. The following tips are from journalists giving advice to PR people, so we should probably all consider them!! Here are my favorites!!
1. If you call to make a pitch, make sure you keep the pitch to 10 seconds. If you haven't persuaded them to write the story in 10 seconds, you will never persuade them. We are talking about first impression here. If they aren't completely sure that your pitch will make a good story, you can forget about it.
2. Spell and pronounce their name right. I think we all understand why this is important. How many times has someone pronounced your name wrong, especially when they need a favor.
3. Don't ask for informaiton you can find on the website. We should probably all learn not to be lazy. Do your research and background checks before you ask something that is easily given to you.
4. Don't call them after 5 pm. Journalists know this is crunch time, but be respectable to them and call before 5.
5. Make the story easy for them to understand. If it is not easy for them to understand, they aren't going to work with you and try to understand what you are trying to tell them.
I got these tips from a couple websites... check them out!
http://www.valleywag.com/tech/flacks/dont-be-a-flack-tips-for-pr-workers-from-the-journalists-who-hate-them-200494.php
http://indiapr.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-journalists-hate-in-pr-people.html
http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/2006/03/pr-case-study-how-not-to-email-a-blogger.html
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A little light on substance. You say you found some tips "to shift this relationship into a more positive one" between PR pros. and journalists. What I'm not clear about is whether these were framed as tips to make a more positive relationship, or if these are tips you decided would help. You need to clarify a bit.
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