Working with reporters
By Tina L. Pugliese, APR, Pugliese Public Relations
Timeliness is key. Pretty good answers now are a lot more valuable than perfect answers tomorrow. If the story is breaking and the reporter calls now, you need to react quickly. If you have to take 20 minutes to prepare message points and sound bites, do so. But make sure the reporter knows you will absolutely, positively 100 percent call back in 20 minutes or less. And then do it. If a reporter from a major national TV network or newspaper calls you for the first time, give them an interview right then. If you let them off the phone for even five minutes, you might not ever get them back.
Be accessible. If you want to be a part of breaking news stories, you need to be easy to reach. I believe that anyone who is seeking news coverage should allow direct access to the media. That means you should have your cell phone and home phone numbers made accessible on your Websites, news releases and work voice mails. A reporter working on a deadline after hours does not want to have to call a public relations firm just to get a number of a news source.
Have opinionated sound bites ready. If you want to be a part of breaking news stories, you have to be ready to weigh in with strong opinions. Chances are the reporter does not need you for the raw facts. The report needs perspective, analysis and color. So if all you can do is explain the issue with more detail and fact, you are almost useless. You must learn the essential elements that make up sound bites, including analogies, emotions, attacks, and pop culture references, if you want to see your ideas quoted.
Do not be greedy. Now is not the time to ask the reporter to give a mini-review of your latest book. The story is not about you, it is about the attorney general being fired an hour ago or the stock market dropping 500 points this morning. In these big, breaking stories, your goal is to get your name spelled correctly and to get one positive message, i.e. the name of your book or your company and a very brief (5 words or less) description of who you are. The payoff is that you get branded an industry expert.
Track your results. Were you successful? Find the story. Were you quoted? If not, why not? Learn from your mistakes. If you were quoted, learn from your success. Which quotes did the reporter like and use? Make a note to use those and sound bites like those in the future. Maintain a database of reporters who quote you. When you have other story ideas that could be of interest to the reporter who quoted you, give him or her a call—you already have built-in credibility.
Tina L. Pugliese, APR is an executive coach and counselor for Pugliese Public Relations, a communications firm in Boynton Beach, Florida. Pugliese is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the author of the book, Public Relations for Pharmacists, and e-books, Marketing Your Business for Success, How To Work With The Media, Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, and the PR Survival Kit. She can be reached at (561) 889-3575 and by email at Tina@PugliesePR.com. Her web site is www.PugliesePR.com.
Article excerpted from e-book, PR Survival Kit, by Tina L. Pugliese, APR.
