50 Forward

Getting Past the Hyperbole

As a public relations newbie and former print journalist who spent the majority of her professional career on the receiving end of the public relations pitch, I now have a whole new appreciation for those who spend their days striving to obtain earned media for the companies and clients they represent.

The introduction of caller ID gave reporters and editors the ability to identify their suitors. Calls from unknown public relations people often brought groans from the writers around the newsrooms in which I worked. Even before answering, writers would start looking around the newsroom for an unsuspecting colleague to whom they’d forward the call.

The gem in a journalist’s day is the rare nugget that warrants a story, and it is the responsibility of the publicist to expose this sense of newsworthiness. Many public relations professionals believe this is the most difficult — and most important — part of their job.

Says Marc Cowlin, public relations manager at cafepress.com: “When working on a story you plan on pitching to the media it is imperative to think about the story from the point of view of a reporter, and their reading/viewing/listening audience.”
Cowlin lists the following as contributing factors to the newsworthiness of a story: proximity, impact, timeliness, prominence, conflict or controversy, uniqueness and human interest. One or more of the aforementioned elements can reel in the most skeptical of writers.

In haste to get the word out about our clients’ purpose and products, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the journalists’ desire to deliver interesting content. It helps to think back to my days in the newsroom and my conversations with public relations professionals. Thinking like a journalist when pitching a story really is in the best interest of those we represent.