I’ll Alert The Media:
A My Creative Team Special Report On Effective Media Relations
By Harry Hoover
We Make You Look Good
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Introduction
- What Is News?
- Are You Newsworthy?
- Printed Press Kits: A Contrarian View
- Cooking Up A Press Kit
- Writing The News Release
- A Glossary Of Media Terms
Introduction
Media Relations is a Public Relations tactic that involves working directly with members
of the news media in an attempt to garner editorial coverage. News coverage costs only
our time to generate it and typically carries more credibility than advertising.
There is no great mystery to good media relations. Anyone mastering some basic
principles can become a good spokesman.
Reporters are young, intelligent and have a strong desire to succeed. For the most part,
they are college graduates, perhaps with advanced degrees. Reporters are, for the most
part, liberal. Their reward is not money but the power that comes with the job. They are
idealists. They are creative. They love controversy. Editors, on the other hand, come
down out of the hills after a battle and shoot the wounded...and they get plenty of
practice.
With a little planning and preparation you can remove the adversarial aspect from media
relations and position yourself as a reliable, fast-acting, knowledgeable source of
information on your area of expertise. That is the goal of this special report.
What Is News?
Non-news professionals often have a hard time understanding why their ENORMOUS
news announcement, creates barely a ripple in the media.
That's not to say a news release shouldn't be done about it. There are audiences besides
the media - like employees, customers and trade allies - to whom news releases may be
sent. But the media is interested in things that are different from the norm. So, generally,
bad news gets more play. Let's examine these six categories to help us better understand
what the media wants.
MONEY TALKS - In an age where cash is king, financial matters concerning your
company can be big news. Mergers, acqu