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What journalists hate in PR people
By Editor on Sep 13, 2006 in mediarelations
Journalists and PR people share a love-hate relationship, but can’t seem to do without each other. As a PR person, it’s interesting trying to understand what journalists say about PR and PR people. I interacted with a few journalists and got some feedback:
1. They hate PR people calling them up after 5 pm; their story filing time
2. PR people are prepared to only arrange interviews with company heads most of the time and load journalists with already available information. If they ask for something extra, say a client case study or the opportunity to talk to a client directly, PR people will delay till the last minute and then say it’s not possible… PR people must see journalists’ logic - considering editorial neutrality it’s sometimes not possible to plug names of vendors in articles. Journalists want the user perspective. For example, in an article on ERP, they’d rather talk to somebody who is using an ERP system than somebody who is selling it! What the PR people do not understand is that the company’s name sells better by getting users to talk to potential users (through magazine articles), so they gain double-benefit by helping jounalists with client case studies, rather than being keen on just getting us onto interviews with the marketing head!
3. Many journalists love going for FAM trips abroad, but hate the idea of PR people misusing this as a means to lure them to do couple of interactions before the actual FAM is even organised.
4. PR people following up on them on press releases and after client interactions for stories, without giving them additional information
5. They don’t have much regard of PR people without sufficient knowledge on their clients, and who say ‘will call back’ on every query
6. Global press releases without Indian relevance go straight to the dustbin
7. PR people bringing gifts to their offices
8. Many are open to informal Meets with PR clients regularly if PR people do not expect stories after every Meet
9. PR clients talking marketing and sales language with them, basically air talk without real substance and news value - the same goes for the answers to questions in written Q&As that many tech media journalists send out to PR agencies
10. Finding out that PR people have pitched the same story to journalists in other publications as well, before they could give their opinions
Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, India, India Public Relations, India PR,
On Sep 13, 2006, hobbit said:
One more blog post - What reporters hate about PR People, from David Maister.
On Sep 13, 2006, Anonymous said:
We PR people are so lucky that all journo’s are so nice, cheery and unbiased in their reporting. We are so grateful that they always check with us before printing ‘facts’ about a client and they are always fair and equitable in their approach to interviews and stories.
We are so happy when they ring us asking for confirmation of a story about five minutes before their deadline, a classic trick so that they can say ‘A company spokesperson could not confirm…’
Of course PR people act as a barrier to clients, that is our job. In the majority of cases, the queries I deal with are irrelevant or wrong. Sometimes the bias in the story or query is obvious, other times it is the sub-editor that puts the slant on the story. Either way, there is no point in portraying the PR profession as a braying den of inequity full of scheming PR pro’s plotting new ways of annoying hard-working, positively saintly journo’s.
Neither characterisation is true, but PR people tend to let journos get away with their portraying of the PR profession because journos always have the last word. in effect, the constant stream of ‘aren’t pr people bad people’ is a form of arrogant bullying because it’s a rare PR prop who can afford to piss of journos too much by calling them on THEIR bad behaviour.
And by the way, I subscribe to the bad pitch blog, and I cringe when I see some of the things sent around, but tarring us with the same brush without doing any further research means you are acting just like a journa…I better not say it!
On Sep 14, 2006, hobbit said:
Rightly said, there are many journalist behaviors that we don’t like too. Maybe we should line these up as well. But it’s always nice to see what people in the opposite side of the table have to say..gives us a chance see things from their point of view.
On Sep 15, 2006, Anonymous said:
You’re right, it always good to know what other people, especially the people you have to work with on a very regular basis, think of your profession, but there seems to be an amount of posts on various blogs about how journo’s are beset on all sides by grasping venal PR people without much balance on the other side.
I guess my earlier post was written in frustration at the constant one-sided approach taken by bloggers.
On Sep 15, 2006, leena said:
what is the use of blogger
On Sep 15, 2006, Eric Eggertson said:
If a PR person doesn’t add value to a journalist’s story, they’re not interested in talking to us. It’s as simple as that.
Sometimes the value is hidden, because we didn’t detect the angle the journalist would want to pursue. Sometimes the value’s just not there, and it’s fair that they curse us as we interrupt their day.
On Sep 15, 2006, hobbit said:
Nice viewpoint Eric..yet on another thought, shd journalists only look at PR people as value providers? If they want to do business only because PR people give them value, that’s kinda selfish..Sometimes it’s give and take..The relationship is professional but even business partnerships have a base of human understanding, trust and respect.Will we be able to bring ourselves to this level, that’s another question.
On Sep 15, 2006, hobbit said:
Ok now how about Don’t be a flack: Tips for PR workers from the journalists who hate them from Nick Douglas.
On Sep 16, 2006, Anonymous said:
It all depends on journo’s to journo some oblige some don’t. Some PR professional do give facts some times off the record and mostly get done their job through journo.
Some PR people are confidante of their management and they know how to get their job done.
The most tricky issue is when some thing negative against the organisation get printed and you have to send the rebuttle.
The love-hate relationship will go on between the PR people and the journos, after all it is a marriage by convenient.
On Oct 7, 2006, hobbit said:
Like cats and dogs who scratch and bite each other but ultimately have to live in the same household
On Feb 20, 2008, Mansresh said:
I will add, I find many of them illinformed particularly about international companies , Speaking purely from personal experience
On Mar 4, 2008, Priya arjun said:
Someties the organizations have to be blamed.They put pressure on the PR person to deliver.And the PR person is forced to follow up with the journalist.
The company has to make an assessment before sending out a release, whether there is an actual need for doing so,or explore other PR channels to communicate with their target audience.
If the press release is not carried in leading dailies, the PR person is blamed for his or her poor media relationship management.Why can’t the management see things from the other side? The reporter cannot get a story out , approved by his boss unless there is some meat in it or unless the press information has an interest generating story angle.