Have you been reading the headlines about the newspaper industry recently? Because I used to work in it, I have. And it isn’t pretty. Declining circulation and ad revenues are forcing many newspaper companies to lay off editors, beat reporters, newsroom clerks, photographers and anyone they can do without. I conducted a telephone seminar yesterday for people in The… Read More
Media Relations
Oprah’s magazine: A secret for getting into it
Here’s an inside secret on how to get into O, Oprah’s wildly popular magazine. Be willing to wait up to two years before the editors review your pitch and say yes. That’s right—two years! If you’re willing to stay the course and stay in touch with the magazine, you’ll have a huge advantage over most… Read More
Craigslist gives reporters story ideas galore
One of my favorite resources for story ideas when I worked as a reporter was my own newspaper. I’d turn to the classified ad section and read the categories marked “Miscellaneous,” “Wanted” and “For Sale.” Quite often, I’d find an interesting classified ad that would then lead to a phone call to the person who placed it, and… Read More
Stuart Elliot, NYT ad columnist, offers tips
If you’re dying to get yourself or your PR client in front of longtime New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliot, read his pitching tips, courtesy of Marketing Sherpa. He tells you how to get your story into print and how to get onto his podcast. You can access this article for free until December 18.
Media bias: God isn’t welcome in the newsroom
As I’ve mentioned here before, and in the column about media bias that I wrote recently for Bulldog Reporter, I’m sick to death of journalists proclaiming they’re “fair and impartial,” and that there’s absolutely no media bias whatsoever. So I wasn’t surprised to see the comment from Daryn Kagan, the former CNN anchor who left… Read More
Media relations checklist for 2007
Publicity Hound Nancy Juetten, who writes a column on media relations for the Snahomish County Business Journal, wrote another winner in the December issue. It lists 10 media relations tactics for growing your business. They include writing articles that promote your expertise, writing press releases, offering yourself as a source to reporters, and starting an electronic newsletter or tip… Read More
Following up can tilt publicity in your favor
Ask any journalist if people should follow up with them after sending a press release or emailing a pitch, and you’ll hear the word “No!” The persistent people who follow up, however, are sometimes the ones I write about in my ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” or this blog. Last month, a publicist who… Read More
Media bias: The ugly truth
It’s amazing how clearly you can see things in hindsight. Like media bias, for instance. During the 22 years I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, if you had told me the media were biased, I’d have wanted to arm-wrestle you. But here we are, 12 years later. In the column I wrote for Bulldog Reporter… Read More
Photo captions require care, accuracy
In my newspaper days, incorrect or poorly written captions caused more problems, and required more corrections, than any other part of the newspaper. If you can learn how to write great captions for photos you submit to the media, you will increase the chances of an accurate caption that doesn’t require a correction the following day.… Read More
Google Alerts a great way to learn about reporters
If you’re trying to pitch a certain reporter or columnist, learn all you can about the kinds of stories they write. But how can you do that if you don’t know where to look? Easy. Go to Google Alerts and type in the reporter’s name, then wait for Google to feed you a list of articles the reporter… Read More