Unless you’ve been on the receiving end of a story pitch, you likely don’t appreciate the urgency of being succinct in those interactions. Having been on the receiving end of such pitches for about 20 years, I can assure you that the goal ought NEVER be selling the reporter, editor or producer on a story–that’s […]
Category Archives: Media Relations
In my years as a journalist, I filed hundreds of requests to taxing bodies through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Over time, it became clear that some entities wielded FOIA as a mechanism for suppressing information—they would drag their heels before coming up with a highly questionable basis for limiting information they provided or […]
If you’re like me, then you are less likely to read something that touts 33 Ways to Tell When Someone Is Going to Ramble on Forever than to sneak a peek at 3 Really Beautiful People You Should Meet. Let’s face it: most of us like three-word phrases that precede a colon. Oh, and really […]
We fence ourselves in sometimes. Color inside the lines. Steer clear of stretching beyond the norm. But in an increasingly automated world, where so much is standardized and sanitized, it’s such a refreshing thing to see creativity jutting out of the most unexpected places. Here’s one way to hop the ho-hum fence that we, often […]
If you were an underpaid and overworked reporter (yeah, that’s redundant), which of these pitches do you suppose would move you to action? Pitch A: Joe, Wondering if you would you be interested in looking into a story suggestion involving the village of Anywheresville and its (mis)handling of a garage construction approval process for a new […]
The other day, Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors made a strenuous argument against leaving voicemails. Brad’s very smart, exceedingly accomplished in business, and someone I hold in high regard. But take his advice at your own peril, particularly if you are in the media relations/public relations game. The key is not to avoid the specter […]
“In an amazing, unique development that will leverage cutting-edge technology with grassroots principles, the Acme Redevelopment Group, Inc. is utilizing a new game-changer in the burgeoning lint removal industry.” If you had not detected the patent ridiculousness of that opening line already, the last few words should have been a tip-off: lint removal industry? Although […]
For the longest time, back in the days when I actually had a home phone line, I resisted getting caller ID. Instead, I took a certain pride in maintaining this “purist” approach to picking up the ringing phone without any indication of who was calling. I was old school, by golly, and my stance meant […]
Last week, my kids were intrigued by a question from a neighbor: “Are you interested in making a little money?” The intrigue turned to excitement when they found out the task related to the compensation: the family was going on vacation for 10 days and, in their absence, they were hoping the Baron children could […]
In the first of this two-part series, we explored the media’s rising dependence on other sources to provide photographs for the stories they tell–and the potential for publicists to fill the void that is created by that shift. Here we explore two of the more common reasons why publicists and marketers fumble the opportunity that […]