Tag Archives: media

Tina McCormack Beaty

What the Media Thinks

Leave a comment
buy cialisickr.com/3653/3619332153_41b44e6158_m.jpg” alt=”” width=”240″ height=”180″ />
Pitching Practice © by Brian Clark (www.shutteredphotos.com)

Recently, the professional organization Washington Women in Public Relations hosted members of the media for a state of the industry roundtable at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. As a PR professional, how many times do you wish you could just pick the brain of media on what pitches work, what they think of PR, and their view of on traditional versus digital media – here is an insider peek. Continue reading →

Linzy Roussel Cotaya

Dash THIRTY Dash

1 Comment
viagra from canada37422_28e50f7287_m.jpg” alt=”” width=”240″ height=”150″ />
Newspaper fire orange © by NS Newsflash

In New Orleans there is always news. From football to festivals, from Mardi Gras to music and from cuisine to crime the city is always buzzing. But things are not so easy in the Big Easy for PR pros.

There is a shift happening in the media landscape. The major daily newspaper is no longer going to be daily in just 30 days. The Times Picayune has been bringing the news to New Orleanians for over 175 years. The owners of the newspaper, have decided to cut down the distribution just three days a week and focus on digital.

In a city that is based on traditions and a rich history, change is not always embraced or accepted. There are yard signs throughout the city in front of homes and businesses demanding daily distribution. Many city leaders and notables have written open letters to the owners demanding they sell or reinstate distribution. Continue reading →

Jason Mollica

Five Ways Media Training Can Help You…and Your Clients

1 Comment

In public relations, we are taught that preparation is key for any crisis or situation that may need our attention. But, it is equally important on how we train our clients. One of the integral parts to keeping a client prepared is media training.

How your client looks and sounds on television or comes across in a newspaper story can go a long way to showing they are credible. I entered public relations after a long career in television and radio. Taking that experience, I’ve been able to assist my clients in making sure they are well prepared for the media. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Time for Journalism’s ‘Name-and-Shame’ Game to End

4 Comments

I’ve never understood the point of the “name-and-shame” tactic employed by some journalists who feel aggrieved by what they perceive to be an undue amount of pitches from PR pros or just plain spam from PR agencies.Is it that they are trying to teach us a lesson? A Daddy (the media) knows best, and if we (the misbehaving children) know what is good for us, we’ll shape up quick before Dad comes home type of ethos?

Or is it fueled by a genuine desire to help the public relations industry better inform reporters of key trends and provide the sources they need to report on the world’s news?

My cynical side tells me it’s neither. Instead, it’s a good bit of self-righteous hand wringing aimed at embarrassing us into submission. Continue reading →

Amanda DiSilvestro

Was the Media Powerful Enough to Convict An Innocent Girl?

10 Comments

I tried to avoid writing this post because it scares me; however after one week of reading magazines and watching the news I simply have to comment on the PR that occurred during the Amanda Knox trial. For those who are unfamiliar, Amanda Knox was studying abroad in Italy in 2007 when she was charged with the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.

After being convicted, Knox’s charges were overturned last Monday, Oct. 3 because the evidence was proven to be too weak. Now this scares me for more than just the obvious “murder is scary” or “being innocent and put in jail is terrifying.” No, this story scares me because Amanda Knox and I not only share the same name, the same age, and the same college major, but we look chillingly alike and I was very close to studying abroad in Italy myself. Needless to say I have been following this trial very closely, but I digress. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

When Not to Pitch: During an Earthquake (or a Hurricane)

Leave a comment

Dear PR colleagues: Pls do not pitch earthquake-related stories unless you rep an earthquake preparedness company/expert.

I wrote that tweet Wednesday afternoon in response to a tweet from Forbes media reporter Jeff Bercovici that he, like every other reporter it seems, had received an irrelevant earthquake-related pitch from a PR pro.

And Friday afternoon, I tweeted this as Hurricane Irene beared down on the East Coast:

Oh wow. Bad PR RT @ShopWiki_Hlth_B Be prepared for Hurricane Irene with this awesome waterproof mascara by @LorealParis

*Headshaking* Far be it from me to fault my many excellent colleagues in the PR business, but let me be blunt, fellow PR pros:

Please stop being stupid with your pitches. Continue reading →

Manny Otiko

Death of News Outlets Isn’t Good News for PR Business

2 Comments

Another day, and another article bashing the growing ranks of PR flacks. The Economist, a British publication, recently ran an article saying the media business was in danger of being overrun by PR professionals. Republican, a publicly-financed American news outlet, also wrote a similar article recently.

As someone who has worked on both sides of the media business, I am concerned about this phenomenon, but I think these articles overlook a more important point.  Media critics should also be writing about the dearth of media outlets.  The reason why PR pros numbers are growing is because the number of journalists is decreasing. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Where Do You Get Your News?

7 Comments

One of my favorite questions to ask almost anyone I meet is: “Where do you get your news?” As someone who is fascinated by all forms of media and communications, I love hearing about other people’s media habits, what strikes them as newsworthy and perhaps most interesting, where they are finding good info and insight these days.

Thus, The Atlantic’s fantastic “Media Diet” series is a godsend to those of us who are fascinated by media and can’t get enough of it.

But while “Media Diet” gives you the dish on what famous writers, playwrights, pundits and others read each day, I’m much more interested in what industry colleagues are reading. Part of my job at PRSA is to be keenly aware of industry and business news. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

The Media World is Changing — PR Pros Should Rejoice

14 Comments

As a media junkie, I follow news from the media universe (whether it’s PR, advertising, newspapers, digital publications, etc.) religiously. It’s a bit nerdy, I know, but it’s what I enjoy. At any rate, the past several weeks have been especially exciting, and not just because we’re only a few days away from Christmas.

No, the last several weeks have seen a slew of important shifts and announcements among major players in the news business, especially those that appear to a) actually have some money to spend; and b) among those media outlets that are poised to grow exponentially in the coming years, and thus, provide a lot of high-level media opportunities for PR pros and their clients. Continue reading →

CTMichaels

You’re Only as Good as Your Clip Book…

1 Comment

Full 3-Ring BinderTrue or False?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been discussing this statement with a bunch of people in the industry. From entry level to senior level. A lot of people in the PR industry have differing views about it. I’m not exactly positive of which way I lean, as I’m relatively new in PR…but I sure do have a hell of a clip book – not the point of the post, but had to throw that in there…

What is the perfect clip book? Bulk? Features? Mentions? A clip book is a great representation of a person’s skills (or luck in some cases) as a publicist. Someone I spoke with mentioned that a good balance and variety is really the best kind of clip book there is. It shows that someone can handle almost anything and be able to know how to pitch a feature, a commentary, placement, etc. Some people I spoke with even judge people entirely on their clip book. Obviously quality is way better than quantity, but is a clip book really that important? Continue reading →