From time to time I have some fun
pointing out some less than effective interactions with people
pitching stories to me. And there are some cases where I'm reaching
out and run into a roadblock. Those aren't a lot of fun either.
Some things happen that are so
outside the lines, that they make me laugh.
I was reminded this week of one where a PR person sent me a story from Reuters, which was their
enterprise story, suggesting a source or expert to react (not from
Reuters). We don't steal stories and we wouldn't be looking to
piggyback on someone else's work like that. I've also been on the receiving end of a group email blast where I was pitched a story that originated from our own newsroom. Yeah, I think we should cover that, which is why we already did!
One just this week was hilarious. It
came from a New York publicist looking to get out the word that a
Manhattan Japanese steakhouse was offering a Surf and Turf special on
Father's Day. Yeah, that's the kind of story I do. Of course,
that's what advertising is for. I can't imagine anyone other than a
possible restaurant blogger who could possibly care.
It is important to note that there are
all kinds of communications professionals, good and bad, just as some
journalists are better than others. I've never liked it when journalists refer to PR pros as flacks, no more than I'd appreciate
being called a “hack” journalist. Why characterize an entire
group based on a few bad examples? I've said many times that my
experiences in leadership at The National Press Club demonstrated
tremendous examples of high achievers in the PR/Communications world,
along with wonderful journalists of all kinds, from all levels and
from around the globe. Same for my work as a reporter over the year.
I get several hundred emails a day
urging coverage or use of a certain person in coverage of a story.
Only a few are potentially useful, but going through them is part of the job. Better
to have people interested in what we do, than not.
Pet peeves? One is false familiarity when
someone I don't know makes a cold call to my desk. I answer the phone
and the first thing they do is start asking essentially personal
questions. Unfortunately, there's no time for that. Have to move
on. Most folks understand that we're always potentially on deadline and ask
about that right away. I know within 10 or 15 seconds whether the caller has something that might be useful. It doesn't help in that rare instance when someone thinks that being overly persistent or argumentative will win me over.
One particularly frustrating tactic is
where companies don't make their media contacts reachable. Maybe
they should be called “media don't contacts.” These instances
include where you have to create a user name and password on a
website to initiate communication, which would be unique to that
company. How about making a professional email address and wireless
phone number available instead? That's not asking for much.
The best enterprises or organizations understand that
ease of access is key to facilitating effective communication with the news
media. I'm a huge fan of technology, but not where it is used to
discourage or disrupt interaction.
In the meantime, if you want to know
about that Father's Day meal special....
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