Ever wondered why PR people are sometimes called flacks? No, me neither but come to think of it I’ve dodged some in my time as a PR person and too often from journalists.
This post was inspired partly by a really interesting piece from the Guardian’s technology editor Charles Arthur and partly as a result of a dare from fellow PR person Megan Codling (some of us can be quite wary of the press….seriously). Charles’s post was the first time I have ever seen a journalist acknowledge the fact that we are advocates for our clients and paymasters. We are in thrall to the media too but the relationship should be mutually beneficial. So, swallowing hard, here are a few tips for the fourth estate:
- Don’t let fly when you get a call from a PR person about a story you are not interested in. Politely and firmly let them know. They may well be lacking in experience and sometimes even judgement but they have summoned up the courage to call you and they’ve probably been polite.
- When you get something you don’t want by e-mail (or DM) click delete and chill. Don’t get annoyed because there is an attachment or the story isn’t up your street. We strive to send you what you want but we don’t always get it right and often we are under pressure too.
- Resist the urge to take us down a peg or three. Most PR people have a great deal of respect for who you are and what you do (and sometimes a well developed sense of inferiority). It tends to evaporate when you turn up the heat.
- Believe it or not we counsel clients on what they should release to the media. We have to develop a keen news sense and we work hard to dissuade clients from issuing non-news
- Work with us, we can be a very useful resource, we will endeavour to respond swifly with words, images or a good interviewee. We really don’t expect you to use what we give you verbatim. We know the value of your endorsement and we strive for it but we don’t expect it.
Let me know what you think, whichever side of the fence that you sit on. Let’s have a heated debate.
PR and the Social Web 