There is an interesting piece by Jeremy Porter at Journalistics.com listing the 10 reasons why media relations will get easier in 2010.
Porter hits the nail on the head when he outlines the challenges that any of us who work in media relations face—one is that journalists are busy. Getting their attention isn’t easy, even when you have a good story. The profession of journalism has changed drastically because of social media. Journalists now have more work than ever (technology makes the world a much more connected place), there are less of them to do the work, and media outlets now expect their reporters to blog, tweet and shoot video for the website, no matter whether you are a print publication or a broadcaster. And competition has heated up; there are some hot bloggers out there that cover specific beats that are of interest to them.
I grew up at Maclean’s magazine and it was a busy life then, there was always a deadline hovering over your shoulder. Now, it must be even more challenging. This means that good media relations professionals need to nail down the angle and the target media before sending out mass email news releases. We need to do our jobs as PR professionals better than ever. The window of getting a journalist’s attention has never been big, but now there is no time for a journalist to mentor a PR person on what might work for them. They don’t have time to sift through hundreds or even thousands of misdirected, poorly written or off target pitches. The good thing is once you do connect with a journalist and they realize that you “get it”—there is an opportunity to build a solid professional relationship.
I read Porter’s 10 reasons with great interest. They are well thought out, relevant, and I hope, true.
Anyone who wants media attention in the upcoming year should read his post.