From left: Lynn Sweet, Howard Arenstein, Doug Stanlin
I’m clearly a geek, but I’m going to proudly say it: it’s an exciting time to be in media relations.
I started my career in media a decade ago and as the field has changed, the practice of getting key messages in front of target audiences via the media has only gotten more interesting. From crafting the story idea, to hearing the spark ignite for a reporter, to reading or listening or watching the final story unfold – the entire process is exhilarating. Social media has only broadened that landscape for me – I have more choices than ever to spread my clients’ messages and make an impact with the audiences that matter. And while media relations may seem more complex then the days when I used to thumb through a Bacon’s Media Directory to find a reporter’s name and beat, in a lot of ways I find it much more strategic and exciting.
This geeky love I have for media relations was recently nourished when I was lucky enough to attend the PR News Media Relations Next Practices Forum as a guest of sponsor BurellesLuce. I got to hear from some of the best talent in the industry across all walks of PR life including corporate veterans Stephanie Anderson of OSRAM SYLVANIA and Ed Markey of Goodyear; consulting mavens Karen Hinton of Hinton Communications and Andrew Gilman of CommCore Consulting Group; and nonprofit leaders Laura Howe of the American National Red Cross and Glen Nowak with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; among others.
And – I can’t but help but show a little pride here – Ogilvy PR had a great client showing: Mark Phillips of the USO and Colleen Wilber of America’s Promise Alliance both had wonderful insights to share. The keynote speaker was former Marriott spokesman and current Senior Director of Communications for Catholic Charities USA, Roger Conner, who shared his PR experiences both humorous and humbling.
The knowledge these speakers imparted was too much to share in detail, but some highlights were:
- Think like a newsroom
- Use social media to collect real-time feedback on the quality, tone and resonance of a conversation – listen constantly
- Let others (volunteers, employees, customers or consumers) tell the story for you
- Don’t script people – just teach them how to use social media tools effectively
- Don’t tell media what the news is – just tell them what you have and how they can use it
- Individuals as influencers are becoming increasingly important – never underestimate your audience
- Say the full message: not just “go online,” but “go online and donate”
- Mobile media is the next frontier in terms of location, platforms, video, social search, virtual collaboration and cloud computing
- Before you spend any resources, make sure audience is there; speak the right language and understand who you’re trying to influence
- Stop trying to control the message – just be part of the conversation
- You must call media on their mistakes – they are working as fast as we are, and mistakes happen; it’s our job to give them the correct information
- Claim as much real estate as you can on a TV screen – provide information for the lower-third/crawl, facts, b-roll, bulleted messages, etc.; have your spokesperson hold a prop
- Your actions must match your words
One of my favorite parts of the forum, the “Media/PR Smackdown,” was a panel of well-respected and much sought-after journalists Howard Arenstein, Correspondent of CBS Radio News and CBS News Radio’s Washington, DC, Bureau Manager; Doug Stanglin, Editor of the “On Deadline” blog at USA Today; and Lynn Sweet, Columnist and Washington Bureau Chief of Chicago Sun-Times. They reinforced the tried and true of the media world – don’t call unless you know the reporter’s beat, you know your pitch fits perfectly with what they cover, you’ve already sent an email, and you have a personal relationship. But they also taught me a thing or two about how journalists have embraced the recent changes to the media relations landscape. Reporters love Twitter. I can’t emphasize that enough. They love it personally, and they love it professionally. Doug Stanglin uses his Twitter as a news aggregator. Reporters also love blogs – their own and others. They no longer have one deadline a day – they have them throughout the day. And they are truly excited about sharing their news on different platforms.
So apparently I’m not the only one geeking out about media relations today.
Above all, the overwhelming message of the forum was loud and clear for me: I am not alone. I heard it from the friends I made at my table and around the room and the speakers who represented so many industries and so many types of PR. We’ve all had great ideas but neither the adequate time nor resources to get the job done well. We’ve all dealt with public crises that we didn’t see coming. We’ve all been met with overworked and under-resourced journalists who can’t (or won’t) hear us out. We’ve all had to deal with leadership who didn’t understand how the media work and expected us to move mountains with only a spoon to start digging. But we all love what we do. We love shaping stories, spreading our clients’ messages, and entering in the public conversation. We all have a passion for getting it right the first time. And we all have a zeal for where media relations has come from – and where it’s going.
And somehow, just knowing that – that I’m not alone – feels good.
You can find more about the forum on Twitter: @mrf.
This was cross-posted on the @BurellesLuce blog, Fresh Ideas
A Lesson For PR Practitioners: The Microphone Is Always On For Public Figures
Jun 14
Category: Best Practices, Media
“Can you believe what she’s wearing?”
“That guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“This is booooring.”
We’ve all made off-the-cuff remarks like these assuming that we wouldn’t be overheard. We know it’s not appropriate, but let’s be honest: we all have opinions. We’re human and occasionally there’s too short of a delay between our brains and our mouths. Other times, our guard is simply down. We don’t take into account the people around us, nor the serious nature of the setting.
Just ask California’s Republican nominee for the Senate, Carly Fiorina. As the New York Times reported on June 10, Ms. Fiorina disparaged opponent Senator Barbara Boxer’s hair while waiting for her TV interview to begin – and her words may be a crucial turning point in her budding campaign.
This kind of publicity is not the first of its kind. As ABC News reported on March 24, Vice President Joe Biden used profanity when speaking to President Obama about the passage of healthcare legislation, assuming that the roar of the cheering crowd would cover his remarks. It didn’t.
These are just two of a long list of public figures whose private comments have become fodder for media attention. While the playwright William Shakespeare couldn’t have possibly foreseen this internationally connected world we live in – with each of us tethered to our smart phones and carrying around pocket-sized video cameras – he was dead on when he wrote that “all the world’s a stage.” Any Citizen Joe can post a video of a random moment he captured on tape or vlog about his thoughts on a particular conference; any Citizen Jane can tweet about her experience at a retail store or blog about her interaction with a public figure.
Ms. Fiorini and Vice President Biden’s public gaffes serve as good reminders to us all: we need to pay attention to what we say. Indeed, a long-standing basic rule of thumb in media relations is that if you don’t want something on the record, you shouldn’t say it all. “Off the record” and “on background” have become extinct terms in a world where everyone is a journalist.
That doesn’t mean we can’t be authentic. On the contrary, the lightning speed with which news spans communities and the globe makes it even more imperative to be transparent in our actions and true to our word. Indeed, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the state’s Democratic U.S. Senate nominee has recently had to apologize for “misstatements” made about his military service – but as the Hartford Courant and Fox 61 reported on June 13, the damage is likely done with voters.
The lesson here is that we need to understand – and drill home for our clients – that the microphone is “hot” at all times. No exceptions.
Perhaps a more careful attitude will lead to more thoughtful comments. Perhaps attention will be paid to the issues of importance and not the slips of the tongue that seem to dominate headlines. Or perhaps it will lead us to only make personal comments when we are ready to take the heat.
Besides…I actually like Senator Boxer’s hair.
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Tags: Barbara Boxer, Carly Fiorini, Joe Biden, Media Relations, public comment, Richard Blumenthal