Ever wish you could get inside the minds of journalists to watch how they think? Puzzled about what journalists consider news because it bears no resemblance with what you think is newsworthy? How would you like an inside track on what could be the next hot story of the day? And wouldn’t it be cool… Read More
Media Relations
Publicity tip: What to do when newspapers view you as competition and won’t cover your news
A reader just emailed me with this question: “I live in the Caribbean and am publishing a Real Estate Guide. However, there are two major dailies in my country and they are very territorial and do not want to feature my company or my magazine because we are indirect competitors. “I sent one of the dailies a press release… Read More
What to do when you pitch a story idea, the reporter stalls and won’t cover it
A publicist emailed me last week, asking my advice on this dilemma. She pitched a story about her client, whose company is the local angle to a major national business story. A reporter from a big newspaper (one that most Publicity Hounds would give their right paws to get into), bit on the idea in… Read More
Looking for a job in PR? Your media contacts might help decide if you get it
Remember that reporter who you ticked off when you kept calling to ask, “Can you tell me when the news release I sent you will be printed?” Or the editor who won’t talk to you again because you promised him exclusivity on an article, then turned around and gave it to a competing magazine? Both… Read More
Crain’s Chicago editor offers tips on how to get into his paper
I swear I’m not making this up. PR people actually call newspapers and ask journalists, “Can you help me get a client into your paper?” As in, “My butt’s in a sling, and I need a media hit—fast!” As in, “I can’t convince anybody else to write about this guy. Do you mind if we… Read More
What you can do to fight bias in the media
I just finished reading the book “Bias—A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News,” written by former CBS correspondent Bernard Goldberg and published about five years ago. It hit No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. So do I think the media slant the news? I thought they did long before Goldberg’s book. I’m a… Read More
How to create an Experts Directory to promote your experts
If you have numerous experts within your company, nonprofit, government agency, trade association or other group, are you making it easy for the media to find them within seconds? For most of you, I’ll bet the answer is no. Take a cue from colleges and universities, which publish annual “experts directories.” The directory is an… Read More
How to find freelancers and start forming relationships
When it comes to forming valuable relationships with media people who can help you, treat freelance writers with the same respect you would staff writers. Here’s why they can be so valuable to your publicity campaign: —If you pitch a freelancer, it’s their job to tweak the pitch, flesh out the story, and sell the… Read More
New to publicity? Start at bottom of media ladder
When someone who has never gotten publicity tells me they want to get onto “Oprah,” or onto the front page of The Wall Street Journal, I tell them they’re in for a rude awakening. “Do you really wnat to make all your mistakes on America’s Number One daytime talk show?” I ask. If you want… Read More
TV Weatherpersons Day is February 5
You can score a great publicity hit if you tie into TV Weatherpersons Day on February 5, which this year also happens to be Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve been preaching about this for years because so many Publicity Hounds have told me it works. A few days before February 5, send your local TV weatherperson… Read More