Media Relations Strategies

Beyond the glitz and the glamour of press releases, media kits and blogs, the foundation of PR is based on media relations strategies and how effectively PR professionals are able to develop strong relationships with important information gatekeepers (aka the media). These days, social networking within the media is key to getting anywhere in PR and it does not happen over night. PR hopefuls should try their best to understand the importance of building and maintaining stable and professional relationships with the media because without their trust and respect a career in PR would be somewhat of a lost cause.

Arthur Page, the long time vice president for public relations at AT&T is often regarded as the founder of the modern practice of corporate public relations. Page is perhaps most widely known for his work on what he called the Page Principles, his guidelines for ethical and effective communication with the public and the media. Among other principles, Page preached the importance of telling the truth and always remaining calm, patient and good humored.

Although these two ideals seem basic they are vital in terms of establishing relations with the media. These days information about any company, client or product can easily be found online. It is in the best interest of the PR professional to be honest and straight forth about divulging information to the media right from the start because sooner or later, the truth will come out and deception is pretty much career suicide in the PR world. One of the great things about PR is the excitement and energy that comes along with the job. Each day there is a new challenge and it is important that when things start to unravel and become chaotic the PR professional is able to keep his or her grip on the situation and is able to act cool in front of the media even when things are going crazy behind the scenes.
Check out the rest of the Page Principles at: http://www.comm.psu.edu/pagecenter/arthur.htm .

The always increasing role of electronic media has created a special importance for media relations. In fact, the news media have become dependent on PR for news and PR has become dependent upon the news media for publicity.

The following is a list of select media relations tips from PR professionals and journalists who participated in the recent online survey ‘Media Relations Best Practices’ on the IndiaPRBlog. Check them out:

1.Stick to the facts, understand what is news and what is not
2.Journalists are rated on the basis of exclusive stories they generate everyday. If you can give a journalist several exclusives, you would be the star PR person.
3.When journalists doing negative stories want quotes from top client bosses, PR people should be able to help. If you can do this, you will have the journalist eating out of yours and your clients` hands.
4.Get to know the editor very well, then some amount of any ‘not so important’ news or story can get into the print.
5.Develop creditability amongst the media persons.
6.Media relations should be based on a strategy and not a knee jerk reaction.
7.Expect the unexpected from the media but still try and understand them more.
8.For an event, try to identity the right journalist and provide clear details in their required language. The PR professional should stop calling continuously if they know the event will not be covered by the media.
9.Know your client`s business and the announcement that you are pitching, in detail, before contacting the media.
10.Never sell a story while journalists are approaching their deadlines. Chances are that they may not be interested in talking to you as they need to rush to file their stories.
11.Give the journalist your client list.
12.Take appointments before meeting journalists.
13.Just try to step into the shoes of the journalist before initiating anything.
14.Friendship and sharing good stories from time to time is the best combination.
15.Give space to journalists…feed them precise and newsworthy information. Be prepared with an option always.

To find out more about the IndiaPRBlog and its contributors check out: http://indiapr.blogspot.com