The Good, The Bad, The Spin

If the average person knew how much of what they consume of daily news originates from or is influenced in some way by a public relations effort, it would likely blow minds. But such is the nature of the news (and PR) business. There’s an uncomfortable symbiosis between reporters and PR people that is both mutually beneficial and mutually unappreciated. And it is what is.

So it’s not without some sense of irony when much of the background work done by both reporters and PR people never sees the light of day. One noted occurrence from my past: A reporter, hounding our organization for months on end, was convinced of inappropriate hiring practices based on the allegations of one individual. The story had promised to be published at any day until, one day, a barrage of questions in one email was passed on to me.

Answering each one of the reporter’s questions would have certainly been an exercise in writing one’s own headline in the next day’s newspaper. Instead, the response was short, direct and truthful, something along the lines of: “The individual was hired by a committee of his peers. You will have to ask the committee members why they chose this candidate.” (more…)

The following was written the pro pr blogger blog. I outline some tips for PR pros in relating to bloggers.

1. As a PR person, consider your intentions for approaching bloggers. Typically, trying to just score mentions or links is readily transparent and frowned upon. Genuinely participating in the blog, or relating to the blogger, will go much further. While bloggers are (part of) the new media, they are often not reporters in the traditional sense, so spamming them with news releases can cause a negative reaction, including your own public embarrassment, as the PR world has seen recently.

2. Target appropriately. This should go without saying–too often, however, the pitch-to-outlet attempts are often so disconnected as to be embarrassing. The blog, as with a traditional media outlet, should be relevant to what you want publicity for; in other  words, it should be a good match. If not, do better homework. It’s better to selectively target and pitch conservatively if you’re unsure of the appropriateness of media outlets or blogs than it is to be publicly embarrassed for to spam them on behalf of your clients or organization (see above).

3. Bloggers can be far more influential than the traditional news media. This can be both good and bad for you. Bloggers don’t play by the same rules, which is both a curse and a blessing.

4. Be mindful of your client’s or organization’s needs. If something hits your radar screen that is relevant to your PR work, by all means jump on it. I’ve personally contributed to niche blogs that just happened to mention something related to one of my organization’s entities and ended up engaging in an email conversation with the blogger–with positive, public results.

5. Do your own blog. Unlike with the traditional news media, being a blogger puts you in the same playing field as other bloggers; whereas, being a PR person is not the same as being a news reporter. By doing your own blog, it is easier to link to other blog content, engage in blog conversations, learn blog etiquette, learn how to deal with obnoxious readers and so on.

6. Finally, blogger relations is not a science. There are no right ways to relate to bloggers. I find being helpful, transparent, honest and genuine goes much further than trying to ‘pitch’ or sell something. Most people relate better to the former rather than the latter.

I’ve never been a fan. People who are quick to thrust themselves into the limelight at moment’s notice tend to, after awhile, raise suspicion as to true motives. Like most who publicly introduce others’ faults to the world with a high-level of shame, Jesse Jackson’s legacy of moralistic preaching is coming back to slap him in the face.

My father introduced me to the term “professional agitator,” a term that has since been seared into my head to describe those quick to jump into the social justice fray while accepting a paycheck for doing so. Jackson exemplifies this description. I don’t doubt his sincerity—at the same time, I don’t think his publicly expressed passion tells the complete story.

There have been a number of stories portraying Jackson as a self-interested empire builder, which is probably true and which adds to Jackson’s more complete portrait. (more…)