Feature Articles
The
12 Laws of Media Relations
by James Buchanan How you treat and respond to
reporters, editors and analysts can greatly affect how
your company is perceived in its marketplace. The relationship
between “you” and “them” is
so important it has its own name (media relations),
its own experts (PR pros and firms that specialize in
media relations) and its own set of rules. Below are
12 laws of media relations. Follow them, and you’re
well on your way to gaining for your company the positive
visibility you desire. Break them at your own peril.
Press
Releases Are a Colossal Waste of Time: Mail the Media
a Letter Instead
by B.L. Ochman I haven't sent out a traditional
press release in the last 10 years. But I have placed
stories about my clients in The Wall St. Journal, New
York Times, ABC News, The Today Show, Good Morning America
and just about any other major media outlet in the United
States. Editors surely don't need me or any other publicist
to write their stories. They need me to point them in
the direction of a good story, succinctly give them
the facts as I see them, the sources I know and then
get out of the way so they can write their own stories.
I do those things by writing pitch letters, good ones.
Storytelling
and PR: A Novel Way of Telling Your Tale
by Robbie Vorhaus Once upon a time, a former CBS
newsman devised a new strategy for telling a company's
story: classic storytelling. Robbie Vorhaus founded his
own public relations firm based on this principle. He
shares the story of how it works in this interview with
About Public Relations.
Nearly
Everyone Uses It, and So What?
by Marcia Yudkin Occasionally a prospective
client comes to me very enthusiastic about getting publicity
and declares that she envisions coverage in every major
newspaper in the country and on every network broadcast.
After all, her logic runs, our product is something
everyone uses. "Whoa!" I reply. "That's
not enough of a reason for the media to do a story.
Nearly everyone uses a toothbrush and a wallet of one
sort or another, but how often do you see stories about
either of those items in the papers or on the nightly
news? Prevalence doesn't mean interesting or timely.
So let's brainstorm about what would entice the media
to consider something about your item 'newsworthy.'"
Columns Visually
Speaking
by Suzanne Salvo The Value of a Good
Executive Image
There are few photo assignments that give corporate
communicators more grief than the executive photo shoot.
Manipulating the corner office image can be as treacherous
as navigating through a minefield. A poor executive
photo doesn’t just reflect poorly on the company,
it can touch off explosive egos aimed in your direction.
Communication
in the News Vancouver
Regional Health Authority Opens North America’s
First Supervised Injection Site
by Clay Adams, ABC On 21 September 2003, the doors
opened to North America’s first Supervised Injection
Site (SIS) Scientific Research Pilot in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. Through the execution of a carefully
planned media launch, VCH had a successful opening and
continues to achieve impressive results. More SIS sites
are on the way in Canada.
Related
Links Organizations are always trying
to find innovative and effective means of communicating
with the media. By investigating different avenues to
help make more effective press releases, create better
relations with media outlets, and better understanding
the needs of journalists and editors, communication
and PR practitioners can effectively obtain more media
placements and get their messages out to a wider audience.
The following links provide additional tips and resources
to supplement this month's feature articles.
Case
Studies Industry
News
- How is the Internet Changing PR?
- E-mail Communication Leading Preference of Journalists
- Media Relations Glossary
- Creating a Killer Online Newsroom
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