Outline: Print Media Relations

Amal El Yahcoubi
Com 4310 Public Relations
Dr. Ibahrine

Chapter9 : Print Media Relations

I. Number One Medium
Despite the growth of the Internet and electronic media, print still stands as the number one medium among public relations professionals.

II. Objectivity in the Media
Whether the mass media have lost relative influence to other proliferating alternative communications vehicles or not, the fact remains that securing positive publicity through the media still lies at the heart of public relations practice.
Some executives fail to understand the essential difference between the media and their won organizations. That is:
The reporter wants the “story” whether dad or good
Organizations, on the other hand, want things to be presented in the best light
Because of this difference, some executives consider journalists to be the enemy, dead set on revealing all the bad news they can bout their organization.

III. The Internet Factor
The internet has ushered in a new age of journalistic reporting: immediate, freewheeling, unbridled. To others, the internet is responsible for the collapse of journalistic standards and the ascendancy of rumor mongering.

IV. Dealing with the Media
An organization’s must establish a formal media relations and also must establish a philosophy for dealing with the media, keeping in mind the following dozen principles:
1. A reporter is a reporter
2. You are the organization
3. There is no standard issue reporter
4. Treat journalists professionally
5. Don’t sweat the scepticism
6. Don’t “buy” a journalist
7. Become a trusted source
8.Talk about not “selling”
9. Don’t expect “news” agreement
10. Don’t cope a tude
11. Never lie
12. Read the paper

V. Attracting Publicity
Publicity, through new releases and other methods, is eminently more powerful than advertising.
The benefit of paid advertising include the following communications areas that can be “guaranteed”:
1. Content
2. Size
3. Location
4. Reach
5. Frequency
Publicity offers two overriding benefits that enhance its appeal far beyond that of advertising:
-First, publicity costs only the time and effort expended by public relations personnel and management in conceiving, creating and attempting to place the publicity effort in the media
-Second and more important, publicity, which appears in news rather than in advertising colums, carries the implicit third-party endorsement of the news source that reports it.

VI. Value of Publicity
Publicity makes great sense in the following areas:
1. Announcing a new product or service
2. Reenergizing an old product
3. Explaining a complicated product
4.Little or no budget
5. Enhancing the organization’s reputation
6. Crisis response

VII. Pitching Publicity
The activity of trying to place positive publicity in a periodical of converting publicity to news is called pitching. The following hints may help achieve placement of a written release:
1. Know deadline
2. Generally write, don’t call
3. Direct the release to a specific person or editor
4. Determine how the reporter wants to be contacted
5. Don’t badger
6. Use exclusive, but be careful
7. When you call, do your own calling
8. Don’t send clips of other stories about your client
9. Develop a relationship
1O. Never lie

VII. Online Publicity
The vehicles that form the nucleus of online publicity are:
1. News releases
2. Announcements
3. Links
4. Newsletters
5. Libraries
6. Public Appearances
7. Promotions
8. Events

VIII. Dealing with Wires
Wire services are a compulsory vehicles for distributing news.
In preparing copy for paid wires, public relation professionals must consider the following
1. Always include headlines
2. The “lead” is critical
3. Identify the stock symbol
4. Include contact names and numbers at the end
5. Specify timing
6. Specify targets
7. Check for accuracy

IX. Measuring Publicity
After an organization has distributed its press materials, it needs an effective way to measure the results of its publicity. The following are outside print and online services that can help:
Media Directories:
Press Monitoring Bureaus
Broadcast Transcription Services
Media Distribution Services
Content Analysis Services

X. Handling Print Interviews
The following 10 do’s are important in newspapers, magazine, or other print interviews:
1. Do your homework in advance
2. Relax
3. Speak in personal terms
4. Welcome the naïve question
5. Answer questions briefly and directly
6. Don’t bluff
7. State facts and back up generalities
8. If the reporter is promised further information, provide it quickly
9. There is no such thing as being off the record
10. Tell the truth

XI. Press Conference
Press conferences, the convening of the media for a specific purpose, are generally not good idea. In fact, they can often prove suicidal.
The following are guidelines in a press conference:
1. Don’t play favorites
2. Notify the media by mail well in advance
3. Follow up early and often
4. Schedule the conference in midmorning
5. Hold the conference in a meeting room, not someone’s office
6. The time allotted for the conference should state in advance
7. Keep the speaker away from the reporters before the conference
8. Prepare materials to complement the speaker’s presentation
9. Remember television
10. Let the reporters know when the end has come
11. Cue the reinforcements