This is a response to: ‘So many damn follow-up emails’: Jay Rayner tells PRs to stop ‘driving me nuts’
Having spent 50 years of my life in the public relations (PR) industry it’s sad to reflect that media relations hasn’t progressed much since I moved into it in 1973 from being a national magazine journalist
Media relations is often seen as the Cinderella of PR. And it shouldn’t be. It’s an exact science and one that needs to be carefully executed.
I can fully empathise with Jay Rayner. Many PR practitioners in my day came from came from journalism and so press releases were seen as a great way of getting news into the hands oof journalists.
What is often overlooked is the way the press release is pitched.
The ability to pitch a story to a particular journalist on a particular media outlet was considered the zenith of media relations practice.
Using a press release distribution service is all well and good, but in the hands of a sloppy PR person it’s all too easy just to select media outlets from an online database with a few clicks of a keyboard. Using a machine gun approach to media relations is simply woeful.
All too often PRs use press releases like junk mail. It’s sloppy and lazy.
Targeting media outlets without ever reading, listening, or watching the media outlet you are targeting is just very poor practice.
Best to spend time to draw up your own media list, developing a profile of the journalists and the media outlets you are targeting.
Understanding what news is, being able to write clearly and concisely and most importantly understanding what a news story or feature are paramount skills that every PR executive should possess. They are the principles I taught for 24 years to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying PR at university.
If you have a great relationship with a journalist, you have a pretty good idea before you pitch your ‘story’ if it is likely to favourably viewed.
Getting media relations to work is tough, it’s exhausting and it takes considerable effort and expertise to get right.
So calling up a journalist or bombarding them with WhatsApp messages or emails to ask why the press release you sent them hasn’t been used is just crass.
Done right media relations is one that should be built on mutual respect and trust of the journalist.
You provide the information, they write the news. Like all good relationships it needs empathy, understanding and respect.
Robert Minton-Taylor spent 50 years in public relations. He trained as a journalist before moving into PR. He has been a board director of a global PR consultancy, managing director of a regional PR agency, global media relations manager of a Scandinavian shipping line and a university lecturer.
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