5 Tips When Working With The Media

As public relations professionals, we often find ourselves on the neutral ground between the media and clients. Our job is to promote our clients’ messages and elevate their brands while providing media contacts with relevant information for reporting.

 Cision, a global communications platform, recently released the 2022 State of the Media report that provides valuable insight to understanding the role of the media particularly against a backdrop of rapidly changing technology and polarized public opinion. The report is based on surveys of more than 3,800 journalists. Despite their changing roles, the respondents overwhelmingly believe their job is to report the facts, objectively and thoroughly.

 At Gambel Communications, we counsel clients to understand the media and not to regard journalists as “the enemy.” We work with both sides to achieve their objectives through managing expectations.

 Here are five key insights to help you understand how we work with the media.

 1. We have a little empathy

Over-staffed newsrooms went the way of faxes, long deadlines and even reporter-photographer teams. Television reporters often conduct interviews, shoot video and edit their own stories, all the while posting everything to social media. Journalists see fewer resources and more work among their greatest challenges. Nearly 30% of those surveyed file ten or more stories per week, and 43% report covering five beats or more. Newsrooms receive hundreds of emails an hour with each pitch claiming to be vitally important to the public. As PR pros, we cut through the clutter by sending short, to-the-point pitches. Just the facts! 

2. We do our homework

When asked what would make a reporter block a PR person, survey respondents’ top answer was “spamming with irrelevant pitches.” We do our homework and customize our story pitches to each journalist’s area of expertise and seek to understand what their audiences find relevant.

3. We give them what they want and need 

What do journalists want from PR pros? Nearly 40% cite press releases as the source they consider the most useful for generating stories and story ideas. Journalists also use photographs, videos, infographics and other assets provided by PR pros now more than ever. Remember, they’re short on staff and time. The easier we make their job, the more valuable we are to them.

4. We get personal but not too personal

Building relationships with journalists is essential to making an impact for our clients. Being able to reach out to a reporter when the story warrants immediate attention can be the difference between an email remaining unread and scoring the night’s top news story.

5. We know when to follow up and when to move on

Nearly 70% of the journalists surveyed by Cision receive 50-100 pitches a week. And that’s just what gets through to them. Despite the risk of yet another email in their inbox, most journalists are receptive to follow up. They may not have received or opened the original email yet or pushed it aside to handle something more timely. However, more than half of those surveyed say one follow-up email or call is sufficient, but only a small percentage say twice is okay. Three times probably won’t be the charm.

Bottom line, we use our PR skills when working with media just as we do with the broader public.

If you would like more information on Gambel Communications’ media training workshops or want to discuss how we can manage media relations for you, please contact us at (504) 324-4242 or click the link below.