Why the relationship between PRs and Journalists is so important

There’s always been a strange kind of love/hate relationship between PRs and journalists. I’ll admit, when I worked in radio as a newsreader and reporter, I always thought it was a tad annoying when PRs would call up and flood my inbox with emails. When I left that role to move into PR, I certainly felt like my journo friends looked down on me as though I was a traitor! However, 8 months on in the broadcast PR industry, I’ve come to understand and appreciate the importance of the relationship between journalists and PRs.

Respecting each other is important and it needs to go both ways. If you’re rude to a journalist, they’ll remember it, and vice versa! When it comes down to it, journalists sometimes rely on us to get them the sources they need and they will always be very polite when they want something.

But they’re not just sitting around waiting for us to call or send over a press release, so when we do, we need to understand we’re coming into their space and may be calling at an inconvenient time. Never call regional radio on the hour for example, when they’re reading the news. They’re often under a lot of pressure and working to tight deadlines, so as PRs we need to understand that and not take anything to heart if they’re a bit short on the phone. We’ve all had the usual brush offs – “can you send that through to *insert generic email address here*?”, but just keep in mind that you would probably do the same if you were in their position. Best thing to do is try again the following day, perhaps at a different time, and see if the response is different.

For journalists, I think it’s important for them to remember PRs are doing a job too. We don’t just call for the fun of it – we’re pitching stories we think will be suitable for their news bulletins or programmes. I think sometimes journalists forget about that and think we’re pests! If they constantly dismiss PRs, they could be missing out on amazing content for their station now and in the future. While I wouldn’t expect them to spend 10 minutes on the phone with every PR, at least listening to a quick pitch is all it takes for us to feel respected.

Working together is the best way to keep developing the relationship between journalists and PRs. Here at Shout! Communications, we often have journalists come and speak at events, explaining how we can work with them better, so the opportunities are certainly there. They do understand we have some great content available, but we need to target them in the right way. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind when pitching:

* Know your stuff – There’s no point offering a celebrity chef to a publication or station that only covers medical stories for example. You don’t want to look silly!

* Call at a convenient time – If you call when a programme is on-air, or when journalists are in their daily planning meeting, you’re surely going to get a rushed response, if any at all.

* Don’t pester – Email is a much less aggressive way to get in touch than constantly calling; when you do need to call to clinch the opportunity see the above point!

* Be relevant – Target journalists who will be interested in the story, whether that’s by the topic alone, the area it affects or the kinds of spokespeople you have available.