Making the most of the media

When they develop a good working relationship, journalists can get excellent inside news or sources to quote for articles from a friendly and knowledgeable PR. Of course journalists do have their pet peeves about us too, and not without cause. The biggest one we hear at these breakfasts is, "You don't do your homework. I get pitches that have nothing to do with my beat/publication." We are far too fond of the generic press release faxed out en masse!

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), holds a monthly Press Breakfast called "At breakfast with..." where PR practitioners, journalists and editors sit down around a table together and get to know one another. The journalists tell us all the things they need and want, what stories and angles are hot right now, how to pitch them and what not to do.

We get to meet them in person in an intimate setting where we can ask all those pesky questions we have been dying to get answered. We really pick their brains, something you can't do when they are in their office chasing a story with a deadline looming.

This month's breakfast was with the new editor-at-large for Fit Pregnancy magazine. She chatted with about 20 PR Practitioners who took the time to battle the early morning LA traffic to the West Side and get there for the 8am start. She gave us valuable tips on how to pitch health editors, what health issues are top of the list for 2004 and what ideas they are working on. The PR practitioners covered a wide spectrum - drug companies, universities, research institutes, baby products and non-profits.

I even got to ask her why the magazine had turned down a certain pitch that sounded like it would fit all her criteria - and found out what I had presented incorrectly for their needs. Invaluable! I re-pitched the same idea correctly and they are now considering doing a feature on it. And I have a happy client!

I have met reporters from the wire service there - even the head of Reuters Bureau for LA... that has paid off over time! I have had the opportunity to meet and pitch journalists from publications as large as the LA Times and as small as a community newspaper. I also met the West coast news producer for NBC News at one of these breakfasts.

Why do they take the time out of their busy schedules? What do they get out of it? They see who is serious enough to come out to these events, and who will make the effort to listen to and understand their needs. It creates well-informed PR practitioners who understand the relationship they have with the media.

It takes a lot of the bad pitches and wrongly targeted press releases off their already over jammed lines. We learn to see what the other side is really like and learn what they have to contend with.

Communication really is the universal solvent. When you learn what the other person is all about and what they really want from you, it builds a reality between you. And the affinity naturally comes up.

Now when I call these reporters, I am calling someone I know and they see me as someone who knows their needs. It is called media relations for a reason - you have to work to build that relationship.

"At breakfast with..." is a superb service to both the PR industry, corporations who need publicity and the journalists who could not possibly find every story that they might like to cover. Perhaps PRISA could do this in SA too?!