The happy ending to the story of the 9-year-old girl who escaped from her kidnapper in San Jose, California begs for follow-up story pitches on anything dealing with child safety. Schools, law enforcement agencies, non-profits, and companies that make safety equipment should pitch anything related to: –Technology that keeps children safe –Statistics on missing children… Read More
Publicity Blog
PR pros still far behind with blogging
When I attended the Media Relations 2005 conference in San Francisco April 10-12, one the things that surprised me most was that the PR profession doesn’t take blogging as seriously as it should. There was only one panel devoted to blogging and RSS feeds. And I sat at a table with PR people who told… Read More
CEO Profiles
Every PR person dreams of his or her company’s top executive gracing the pages of the newspaper, the darling subject of a flattering profile. But that’s not the dream of the reporters doing the interviewing and writing these stories. At a panel discussion entitled, “Beyond Puff Profiling,” at this year’s Society of American Business Editors… Read More
Use Celebrities for Publicity
Celebrity chefs Emeril Lagasse, Curtis Aikens, Wolfgang Puck and Martha Stewart caught my attention when I saw their smiling faces looking back at me in the June 2003 issue of Cooking Light magazine. Those four–and six other celebrity chefs–accompanied a brief on how your personality reveals the type of cook you are. A recent study… Read More
Runaway bride story begs for comment
People have been buzzing for a week about Jennifer Wilbanks, the 32-year-old runaway bride-to-be, who bolted from Atlanta four days before her wedding and set off a massive search by police and the FBI. This story screams for letters to the editor, opinion columns and expert opinion on radio and TV talk shows from authors,… Read More
Publisher starts speakers bureau
Today’s Wall Street Journal (Page B8) says HarperCollins Publishers Inc. is starting a speakers bureau in the U.S. to arrange speaking engagements for its authors. Its best-known authors are Michal Crichton, business author Jim Collins and children’s book writer Daniel Handler. The publisher says the bureau is expected to generate a “substantial” revenue stream for… Read More
Quote excerpts from product reviews, with attribution
Lisa Wuennemann of Beloit, Wisconsin writes: “When a reporter reviews our new product and prints a review in the newspaper or voices it on air, can we legally use a quote from the review in materials that we send promoting the product as long as we source it? Do we need to obtain written approval… Read More
Don’t offer exclusivity for special event photos
If the situation warrants it, some Publicity Hounds like to give a particular story to their favorite media that reaches a large audience. If a certain newspaper or magazine knows they will get the story first, they will be more inclined to cover you–as long as it’s a good story. With photos, however, that isn’t… Read More
End-of-summer story ideas
The calendar says spring is here, but if you’re pitching to national magazines, particularly those that work several months out, you should be thinking of end-of-summer stories. They include: –Anything that can tie into Labor Day which we celebrate on September 5 this year. –Back-to-School stories, particulary trends in things such as fashions –Tips from… Read More
Follow the clues
When you listen to your favorite radio talk show, do you listen with only one ear, oblivious to all the little clues the hosts or the drive-time deejays are dropping about their likes and dislikes, hobbies, friends and family members, and other topics that will catch their attention in your pitch letters and phone calls?… Read More