The relationship between PRs and journalists has often been a bit strained.
Journalists have often complained about being spammed by emails and inundated with calls.
PRs and comms teams, on the other hand, often feel journalists ignore their story ideas and press releases.
There have been many surveys about what hacks and flacks think of each other.
But less has been said about improving the relationship. And how to do that when newsroom resources are diminishing and there are now six press officers for every journalist.
Emma Nelson, one of our current working journalist tutors and a broadcast journalist for the BBC London and Monocle 24, among others, shared her thoughts about improving relationships between PRs and journalists and how to produce press releases that capture interest and generate coverage.
Here’s a recap of her advice.
How the media landscape has changed
Emma began by exploring how covid had changed newsrooms.
During the pandemic, there was a seven per cent occupancy at the BBC in London.
Emma says that number has since gone up as restrictions have eased. But, instead of returning to normal levels, a hybrid working system is now in place.
“In the olden days, we would all clatter into town to get to the morning meeting at 9am, where we would sit around, discuss stuff and get on with our day,” she said.
“For people who don’t have a direct role in that meeting, there is no point in getting on a train, The Tube or in a car to go to central London for a 9am meeting.
“So, now I join the morning meeting from Zoom. And, as a result, I think we lack that serendipity where you are talking about a transport story, for example, and someone says ‘I interviewed someone a while ago’ or ‘I’ve just been sent this press release from such and such a company and I think they might be useful’.
“It is a much more transactional experience, and that ability to discuss, explore and build on the ideas that are sent to us is much more limited.”
What does this mean for PRs and comms teams?
“I need the press releases that are sent through to be spot on so that we can act on it efficiently,” Emma said. “We also have a much more predictable day because there are fewer resources. The idea of being able to travel all over London to find things has long gone.
“If you are doing a pitch, can you make sure that everything we need is in one place? If not, can you offer us someone over Zoom?”
So, what should go into a press release and what makes a good story?
TRUTH
If you have been on one of our media training courses, you will be familiar with the TRUTH test we use to explain what makes something newsworthy.
Topical: If there is something in the news that you can contribute to, we will snap that up,” Emma said. “When the Ukrainian war broke out, we went to a Ukrainian church and it helped us to illustrate what is happening there. If you are a pharmaceutical company that makes sun cream, the sun coming out is topical. The topicality needs to be at the front and centre of what you are saying. It also helps to explain why we come to you for comments on particular stories.”
Relevant: “The secret to this is you are not talking to a journalist when you are talking to them - you are talking to their audience,” Emma said. “When your spokesperson is giving an interview, they are not talking to me, they are talking to my listeners. You have to leapfrog me, and I don’t mind that because I am asking questions on behalf of my audience. So, when you are pitching, please make it relevant. Otherwise, it is not going to help us.
Unusual: “If you do something unusually well, or unusually badly, we are going to be interested in you,” said Emma. “We love firsts, lasts and extremes. I don’t want to hear about something vanilla or expected.”
Trouble: “You may not like trouble because it might mean I am phoning your company to find out what has gone wrong,” Emma said. “But there is another way to look at trouble. Journalists are an early warning system. During covid, we told you, from the Government, to stay home and protect lives. But we then also went on to talk about education, women’s rights, health and whether the economy should restart – exploring the risks society was facing. Where you can come in is with the solution. We need problem solvers – can you give us hope?”
Human: “Don’t talk to me about percentages or processes,” Emma said. “Talk to me about people. If you have case studies, and they can make an emotional connection with my audience, you are on to a winner. If you don’t have a human story to tell, it will not fly. I can't tell you how many times I have been approached with a good story, but it doesn’t get covered because there isn’t a case study.”
AMEN
What this all means is that when it comes to your press releases, you need to say AMEN.
This is another acronym we use during our media training courses.
Audience: Who is your audience? Who are you talking to? Emma said: “Now I know I said don’t talk to me as an individual, talk to me as a conduit to my audience,” Emma said. “But it is nice to put a personal touch on your pitch and let me know that you do know what I have done. You also need to tailor your pitch to the medium. I often get an email that has the potential to be a good story, but that doesn’t give me any way to illustrate it for television.”
Message: What is your message? Emma said: “There are a couple of things to bear in mind here. Firstly, one key message at the top is brilliant. But does it limit you to just one audience type? Some people argue that if you put three interesting things or trigger words at the top, you may access more people.”
Examples: Emma said: “If you don’t have a case study, it isn’t going to work. Look at what is happing in Ukraine – we are illustrating a war through what is happening to human beings.”
Negatives: “Don’t put these into your press release,” Emma said. “But do not think that we will not ask about them. If you are pitching about travel, for example, I could ask whether bookings have dropped because of covid or what is happening in Ukraine.”
Press release formats
What else do you need to do to ensure your press release and pitches grab the interest and attention of journalists?
Keep it short
Emma told the masterclass that a press release should be between 150 and 200 words and contain a link to something more detailed.
Headline
Come up with a headline for your story that explains what it is and the media may be able to use.
Emma said: “There was a tweet a few days ago from a journalist that sums this up nicely. It said that the headline you come up with may not be the right headline, but it gives us something to work on and saves us time.
I'll say it again but if you're a PR and you're pitching a story to me, PLEASE at least try to come up with a headline. It might not be the right headline. But it's something to work on and can save lots of time. It also tells me whether you HAVE a story. Thank you.
— Jill Foster (@JournalistJill) March 16, 2022
“I want you to put your story in the headline. I can’t tell you how many press releases come to me and it, and the headline is just a jumble of words. Make your headline succinct and relevant to my audience.”
Preview Text
But you need to think about more than just the headline to gain that initial interest and stand out in a crowded inbox.
Emma says the first couple of lines that display in the preview part of the email are also crucial.
She said: “If the preview text says something like ‘Dear Emma, I hope you are well?’, then I am going to delete it.
“That is a missed opportunity. Use the preview text to let me know your email contains something interesting and useful.”
Multimedia
You need to think about more than just your text. Images, videos and infographics are also crucial.
They help journalists to see the story.
I think this is more important than ever. We live in a data-driven world. And journalists are no different.
Reach – the owners of the Daily Mirror and many regional titles - has launched a pilot scheme giving reporters minimum page view targets.
Journalists who have been with the company for more than six months will be set minimum benchmarks of between 80,000 and 850,000 page views per month, depending on which publication they write for and their job role.
Newsquest, another publisher of regional newspapers, runs a similar scheme where journalists receive bonuses for exceeding page view targets.
It means newsdesks have to think differently about their stories. Online stories are visual. If you look at the news sites you visit, they almost always include pictures and videos.
So, to catch the interest of a journalist worried about their page view targets, you need to add visuals to your stories.
When to send?
When is the best day to put your press release out?
Research has shown that press releases sent on a Thursday typically perform better. The theory is that journalists are approaching the end of the week, have covered their most pressing stories and finally have a chance to look at that bulging inbox.
Emma said: “I sometimes think that sending a press release on a Thursday is the best time. But I now get loads on Thursdays.
“For me, the best time is between 5am and 9am – then I can take the press release into the morning news meeting.
“But I also think there is something to be said about sending press releases on a weekend. There have been many times where I’ve been in on a Saturday or Sunday and the news cupboard has been bare.”
Ready to go
A trap PRs and comms teams must avoid is gaining the interest of journalists and then not having anyone available to tell the story. The opportunity to gain coverage will quickly disappear.
“You need to be ready to go,” Emma said. “Have your story ready to go. Have your case study ready. Have your spokesperson available on the day you send the press release.
“Tell us where we can park. Give us a glass of water. And think about somewhere interesting we can film – don’t just put your spokesperson in a white room.”
What about exclusives and embargoes?
There are still plenty of press releases with ‘embargo’ plastered across the top.
But are they needed, and do they work in the digital age and the era of 24 hours news?
Embargoes hark back to a previous age where a press release could be sent anytime and would not appear until the next day’s newspapers were printed.
It feels old fashioned now. As Emma said during the masterclass, why not just wait until you are ready for the story to go out?
The other issue is that while some journalists may follow the embargo instructions, others will not.
This not only disadvantages those reporters who follow it, but it makes the whole thing pointless.
“Everyone breaks embargoes,” Emma said. “The internet is enormous, and there have been many times when I have respected an embargo, Googled it and then found the story is everywhere.”
Emma also believes exclusives are no longer as important as they once were. But they can have value if the story is strong enough.
“Exclusives matter if they are worth their while,” Emma said. “If you are going to give me access to the intensive care department at Barts during the pandemic,” that is an incredible exclusive. There are certain journalists who live for exclusives, so identify them.
Pitching and follow-ups
Emma told The Media Team Academy delegates most journalists do not want to be called. They want story pitches sent by email.
We are often asked about follow-ups. Should you follow up? How often?
“Most reporters don’t mind a follow-up,” Emma said. “Pitch to us twice, about a week apart. And try and tweak the follow-up, so you are not sending me the same thing. Try and make it even more relevant.
“If you are getting to the third pitch and we are a few weeks in, I think we can say it is not going to happen.
And finally
No, not a curveball question you might find at the end of a media interview. But Emma did finish with a plea that is worth repeating.
“Please, please, please meet up with us for coffee. Take the time out to build relationships with journalists and celebrate that we are in a position where covid is not making us talk to a screen.
“We are desperate to get human stories out there, and we are desperate to meet people again.”
Media First are media and communications training specialists with nearly 40 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.