Gil Rudawsky wrote an article on ragan's website, called "5 bad PR practices that will frustrate journalists." Rudawsky started out as a journalist and is now a PR pro, and he lists here some common sense thoughts about what NOT to do as a PR professional. (http://www.ragan.com/PublicRelations/Articles/43636.aspx)
His points to seem to be obvious, but if you've worked as a reporter/journalist - or as a PR professional - you've probably seen PR folk try and get away with these very things. Rudawsky lists "No one home" as the top no-no, noting that you should NEVER send out a media release and then not have someone available to talk about it. I agree that is a huge mistake - a release can never tell the whole story, and if you want the press to have yours, you'd better be prepared to tell.
I think all five of Rudawsky's points actually refer to the same mistake - and that is being dishonest. The remaining four points are 2) spinning the news, 3) flat-out lying, 4) no homework, and 5) sly pitching. If you want to build relationships with reporters, and if you ever want a reporter (or colleague) to trust you again, the initial relationship had better be based on honesty and trust. You don't even have to like each other - although I think it helps - but you'd better have a reputation for being honest and straightforward.
What could be more important than honesty - in any kind of business, really - but especially when you're in the public eye, as a PR professional.
No comments:
Post a Comment