Re: What is the media REALLY looking for?

From: Brandi Jasmine <brandi_at_brandijasmine.com>
Date: Tue 24 Apr 2001 13:17:25 -0500

DAVID DECANTILLON<ddpromotions_at_eudoramail.com> WROTE:

>I have been receiving information on everyside about
>sending press releases. One media person wants this,
>while another wants this. Both contradicting views.

How would you feel being a writer and having a hundred
innapropriate press releases come through your email
every day? To know that people are interested in taking
advantage of your position - who haven't even bothered
to pick up and read your work? Is that the message you
want to send to them? One good article can cover an
entire page, and it's moral authority is worth its
weight in gold to you. The effort is worthy of the goal.

>When
>you're about to send your release to 500 contacts,
>obviously you don't have time to contact each one.

No ... and this is why you hire a media relations
director or a PR firm - because it's a full time job.
A lot of managers - including mine, when I did the job
- don't appreciate the amount of time it takes to manage
relationships with (1,200 in my case) cranky, overworked
and underpaid writers and editors ... my boss was always
asking me to do extra stuff, figuring I had time on my
hands. Maddening (but I admit I miss the guy, he was
fun to work for when he wasn't driving me crazy <g>)

If you can't afford the help, then consider that 50
highly targeted press contacts are worth more than 500
scattershot. Concentrate on those who are most accepting
of the way you want to proceed.

>What's the general consenses? Do they want a "story"?
>Do they want tips to help others? Do they want basic
>information about what's new?

The consensus is there is no consensus as I think you
have already figured out. Every writer has a different
"angle". Ms Merry Tipster sure, she's going to welcome
your tips to help others, but Bob Woodward is only going
to want the cold hard facts, and before you pitch him
you better make sure your ducks are in a row, standing
at full attention. In other words it better be _news_.

One mistake a lot of CEOs and managers make when sending
out press releases is assuming that because something is
novel in their company it is therefore "newsworthy". I
used to have battles with my CEO on a monthly basis. The
fact we reached 30 million page views was not "news". When
we came close to being sued for using cowhide on our web
site, or dragged Bell Canada before the Competition Bureau
and CRTC - THAT was news!

The one thing "they" all want is news and stories. But
before you send out what you believe is an epic scoop,
force yourself into the writer's or possible reader's
shoes. Who cares that XYZ Widgets came out with version
2.7 of the Double-D Electric Gizmo? It may mean everything
to the company, and if you are a public company you may be
obligated to post the news to a wire service - but don't
send that release to individual press contacts. On the
other hand if Bill Gates buys the Double-D Electric Gizmo,
and he's willing to appear at a press conference to say
it's the coolest thing since Microsoft Bob - blast that
release everywhere and prepare for the kind of barking
media circus only he can generate.

BTW - never send press releases in the afternoon and NEVER
on a Friday or the day before a holiday (unless you want
the story to go unreported). You do not have to ask
permission to send releases before hand if you have done
your targeting well, and have received or verified the
email address on the magazine masthead or writer's byline.
You may get one or two grumpy old coots, but most these
days recognize that posting their addresses in these places
puts them in public domain. If on the other hand you have
purchased a media list from some web-based company, write
a nice introductory letter and request permission first.

Kind regards,

Brandi Jasmine
Writer, Digital Photographer, Illustrator
        www.brandijasmine.com
www.astrology.ca - www.twostar.com
      brandi_at_brandijasmine.com



Received on Tue Apr 24 2001 - 13:17:25 CDT