Press releases
Fax *and* post all press releases, especially to freelances, who are always eager to get leads. Email them, too, even if the journalist asks you not to. That way, they're more likely to get noticed.Don't date press releases. Journalists like having an excuse to call up and ask for information.
Printed press releases should be single-spaced and printed on both sides of the paper. Otherwise the journalist might be tempted to make notes on them, ruining your design.
Conversely, emailed press releases should always be double-, or even triple-, spaced. This makes them stand out from ordinary email. Be sure to list contact and other information above the headline. Otherwise the journalist might forget to page through the entire document. Even better, send the entire press release as a word processor document.
Always send pictures of product boxes or executives with your press releases, especially to freelances. It makes your presentation look more professional, and gives the freelances additional selling points when they approach editors with your story.
When the press release has finally been OK'd by the client and has your name on the bottom as the contact person and is actually in the envelope and ready to go, take a two-week vacation. You've earned the rest.
When writing a press release, put in lots of background information and bland quotes from company executives. Most press releases are too short to give journalists enough ideas to write a whole article.
Never give a journalist a client's direct telephone number, especially if the journalist claims to have a deadline and you're going out of the office for the rest of the week. It preserves the mystery.
If you enclose a map with your press kit, be sure that it is on an odd piece of paper which will not fit into a copier. Better yet, print it on pink paper, so that the print media cannot lift a copy of it for reproduction. Editors LIKE to assign staff artists to redraw your map, and they'll be especially careful to get the details just the way you had them.
It's also important to be sensitive to the needs of the ethnic press. Be sure to send them copy in their own language, but don't worry about the fact that you don't know what it says, because you didn't arrange for it to be proofread. It'll brighten their day, as they pass it around the offices of Ukrainskii Zhournal, laughing hilariously at your brother-in-law's lack of skill in their language. Better yet, send it just at deadline time!
Always make sure to send an individual copy of every press release all staff writers and editors on a title. Otherwise they might get jealous.
Think of your product broadly. What *could* it be used for? Be sure to define it in those terms to editors, especially those on specialist titles, who may lack imagination.
Announcements about mid-level managers who were recently promoted should always be sent by courier, requiring a signature. Be sure to include a large, black-and-white headshot of the person who has been promoted.
A good strategy for handling particularly large press blitzes is to set up your fax software to autodial every journalist in town over the weekend, when phone rates are lowest. Make sure some voice numbers are included on the list and that the system is configured to dial back until it gets through successfully. Fun!
Telephone calls and contact with journalists
Follow up all press releases with phone calls. Journalists often lose things, and like to be reminded.Assign your newest recruit to make all phone calls, making sure not to give them any information about the journalists they're calling. Journalists like to talk about themselves.
When you call journalists, never check if it's a good time or if the journalist is trying to make a deadline. These things are just excuses.
Choose your times to call carefully. Always call freelances before 9AM or after 7PM, when you're sure they're home working and will be in a receptive mood. This leaves you free to call staff during office hours.
Always be positive and firm. Journalists need you more than you need them.
Never worry about time zones, whether you're calling California at 8am Eastern Time or London at 4pm in California. Journalists, especially freelances, will *always* be glad to hear from you. Offer to check their copy for factual errors. Journalists appreciate the help.
Always request two copies of every article for which you provide a product or contact. Journalists appreciate your interest in their work. Don't hesitate to call several times to remind them.
Journalists may underestimate the value of the stories you propose. Don't let them make this mistake.
Never tell journalists when an account moves to or from your agency. They enjoy testing their psychic powers of divination.
Similarly, never notify journalists when you yourself change agencies. Remember: it's public relations, not personal relations.
Never acknowledge email messages from journalists. Otherwise they'll take you for granted.
Handling journalists that do reviews
Never send review software or other products until the journalist has asked at least three times. Journalists like to make themselves sound busy, but these requests are never urgent.When sending review products, always send them by courier timed to arrive before 8am. This is especially true for freelances, who will be grateful for the wake-up call.
Before sending review products, always check what type of computer system your journalist is using. Then send the wrong version. Journalists like the challenge.
Find a journalist who never reviews things and send a bucketload of unsolicited software to arrive before 8.00am. Wait three weeks, then call the freelance to ask if anything has appeared yet, and if it hasn't demand the software back.
When sending review products, ensure that the package contains clear instructions that the item must be returned in its original packaging. Taking journalists to events and outings Be sure to pack the schedule as tightly as possible. Journalists rarely need sleep, and dislike being idle.
At press hotels, make sure wifi is not available in the hotel rooms. Journalists like to have an excuse for being out of touch.
Press invitations should always be delivered with as much fanfare as possible. If you can figure out a way to send three or four teasers in advance -- the more cryptic the better -- do. Journalists love puzzles.
Press invitations should never include geographical aids such as the name of the nearest tube stop or maps. Journalists don't usually get enough exercise, and will thank you for helping them stay healthy.
Never give a journalist a phone number for the place where the event is being held. It just confuses them.
There can never be too many press events scheduled at 8:30am, when the trains run more often. It gives staff a chance to attend your press conference and still get to work on time, and freelances are happy to travel during rush hour if it gets them out of the house.
If you've invited a journalist on a particular trip and a more important journalist wants to go, don't hesitate to cancel the first one. He'll never find out why you did it.
Always examine your list of invited journalists carefully. Be sure not to invite too many of the leading journalists who specialise in the client's field. The client will appreciate not having to answer so many knowledgeable questions, and it reminds the journalists that they depend on you for material. In fact, it's always a good idea to have one or two leading journalists you ignore completely, so that the rest who are on your list realise how fortunate they really are.
When sending out invitations to a press event, always enclose press clippings from its launch in the US. UK publications always appreciate knowing what their better-informed colleagues in America have said about the product.
When organising press conferences that include lunch, schedule the deeply technical discussion for immediately after the meal. Journalists will thank you for arranging a siesta.
Journalists' name badges should be pre-printed with "Hello! My name is" in fluorescent shocking pink and the names themselves should be illegible and incorrectly spelled. And *never* give a journalist the correct name badge. It's more fun if you're not too sure who people really are.
When inviting journalists to a news conference, ensure there are no sound boards to plug into or speakers for tape recorders. Better yet, ensure there is no amplification at all. Journalists love recorder-waving scrums around sources.
Taking journalists abroad
Make sure to send the journalists in economy class, while you and the client travel first class. Journalists' political views won't allow them to travel first class.Be sure to collect all travel tickets on arrival, handing them back only when it's time to leave. Journalists appreciate not having to worry about losing them.
Invite journalists on a three-day press trip to California to meet the important chief executive of a major American firm. Once they're there, either: 1) inform them the CEO has changed his mind but they will see presentations from the company's marketing staff; or 2) show them a live presentation from the executive by satellite hook-up.
Ensure the principal speaker delivers his piece in an obscure foreign tongue. Journalists will appreciate the challenge of learning a new language.
When accompanying journalists, arrange to leave the hotel before breakfast omitting to arrange transport for the journalists to that day's venue -- which must remain a closely-guarded secret. Journalists enjoy the challenge of playing "hunt the press conference" in unfamiliar surroundings.
Always choose the routing that involves the maximum number of changes of plane and carrier, and one that guarantees a late evening arrival at the hotel. This gives greater scope for the airlines to lose their baggage. Journalists love being reunited with their belongings just in time for their next foreign trip.
Provide copious amounts of documentation in large, heavy binders. If journalists don't have to buy an extra suitcase, they won't feel they've actually been away from home. Conversations and interviews with journalists Always reward the journalist by allowing them to hear your views on politics, sex, and religion.
If you've promised a journalist an exclusive interview, don't worry about inviting along another journalist or two. Journalists feel more comfortable in the presence of other journalists.
If a client cancels, without warning, a scheduled one-on-one interview or lunch or dinner with a journalist, on no account allow the client to make up for the gaffe by phoning the journalist or rescheduling the interview. Send flowers or a card instead. Working journalists would much rather have social niceties than professional material.
A journalist who asks, "Why, given the dozens of press kits and press releases I've already received today, should I or anyone else really care about your product or company?" is being just, plain rude. You don't need to answer this question.
If you sit in when a journalist is interviewing your client, always answer the journalist's questions yourself, in an extremely long-winded way, even if the question was intended for the other person. And always provide your own spin, even if it's not to the question being asked.
In the transportation field and other similar utilities, there are no cutbacks. Tell the reporter that the change is a "rationalization" or "reallocation of resources." Remind the Service Planning staff to watch their language in public meetings with customers, lest they be caught on tape admitting that 5 minus 3 IS ACTUALLY 2, not simply "a better way of doing business."
Freebies
Any journalist who has been the recipient of a client company's gift, such as a company pen or T-shirt, is eternally in your debt and should not be allowed to forget this largesse. Out of gratitude, they will respond with good coverage for your client.Send special plastic gifts at Christmas. Pack them in plenty of styrofoam peanuts, and ensure that the box cannot be opened without spraying these everywhere. The journalists' children will thank you for the entertainment.
If you have given a journalist a free Internet or other online account for review on your client's system, make sure that when this account is cancelled it's done without warning and email forwarding is not available. This allows them to avoid the build-up of junk email. Also, insist that journalists give a credit card number when their accounts are set up. This will give them a chance to test customer service's handling of billing errors.
Always send gifts of alcohol to non-drinkers. They will appreciate having something to take to parties. Keeping information on journalists Maintain multiple lists of journalists according to their importance to your clients. Make sure the journalists know who's on each list and where they rank. Journalists like to know their place.
Enlist journalists' help in keeping your database up to date by regularly sending them 12-page questionnaires soliciting personal information such as spouses' and children's names, as well as details of their hobbies and interests outside of work. Journalists will understand that you need to send a separate questionnaire for each client company. They lead pretty lonely and depressing lives, so they'll be grateful to tell you what you need to know to be their friend.
Never delete writers from your press list, no matter how long it is since you added them or last heard from them. Journalists don't move often, and even if they do current staff members are happy to forward mail to them. It keeps them in touch.
Credits
The Fleet Street Forum How to Handle Journalists Anti-FAQ was written by sysops and members of the Fleet Street Forum (plus a few friends) and is copyright © 1996 to the Fleet Street Forum. Permission is granted to redistribute this file on condition that the file be copied in its entirety, including this notice.Contributors: Wendy Grossman, Mike Hardwidge, Mark Hamilton, Guy Kewney, Guy Clapperton, Robert Rynerson, John Price, Sharon Fisher, David Kline, Mark Frauenfelder.