Jed Hallam

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The thrill of the chase!

Public Relations

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October 9, 2008 View Comments

In a return to true form I’m about to make a terrible analogy about something that we all love and hate in equal measure… Talking to journalists.

This has been extensively blogged about in the past, and I’ve mentioned it before in my post on relationships with people but as I made the long trek home last night, it struck me:

Talking to a journalist is like pulling a handbrake turn in the wet.

I should probably quantify this now.

Let’s say you decide to pull the handbrake turn, there are a lot of factors.

  • Is the car/journalist an Aston Martin (high performance, temper on the track, guzzles liquid like it’s going out of fashion), a Honda (mid-range performance, pretty sturdy and reliable will probably come last) or an old banger (low-range, susceptible to bad drivers, will barely even cross the finish line)?
  • Will you drive it/pitch it at red-line (thus increasing the chance you might crash and die), drive a quick pace (but you might not have enough momentum to carry off the move) or put it in reverse (in which case you’ll probably hit a wall, crash and still die)?
  • Do you decide to pull the handbrake/put it to bed in a puddle, on a single carriageway (it could look much more spectacular and you’re passengers are likely to be wowed but you do close the distance between you and Mr. Death), find a nice wide car park with a big of grease on and ease the handbrake on (would look a bit pedestrian and you’ll get a reputation as a small-time boy racer) or do you go on a track day (having your hand held all the way through will get it done but you’ll look like a serious amateur)?

So, replace the first scenario with ‘National Journalist’, the second with ‘Regional Journalist’ and the final with ‘Journalist on paper with circulation of 8′ and I think my point becomes a little more clear (it’s not like I’m the master of the ‘big reveal’ now, is it).

Driving a fantastic car at high speed in the wet is brilliant, but you must have the steel to carry out the move. Crashing should not be an option. Do your research and know the road before you slam on the handbrake, otherwise the police (your boss) and the insurance company (your client) are going to be very angry when you get out of hospital.

  • Jed
    Chris and Becks,
    I agree, it shouldn't be an issue - people just need to match content to writer and bam! Yet every day the Bad Pitch blog's updated and we find more and more journalists 'outing' bad approaches. Maybe the real issue is with the learning process for new PR professionals and the guidance that they receive from their superiors?

    With narky journalists becoming an endangered species, might we see PR pro's becoming a little bit more slack?
  • To be honest I think people overcomplicate the whole process.

    It is about preparation and confidence - without both, you'll fall on your ass.

    Successfully piching a journalist has three criteria:
    1 - relevance - do they cover it? Is it their beat? Have they written on it before? Do you have the components to make it relevant to this writer's audience?
    2 - Prepping the pitch - do you understand it? Can you stand up to questioning? Do you know what you are selling/ Can you describe it in a sentence without using acronyms? What is the point of the story (the first, best, only angle)
    3 - Timing - is the writer on deadline/at an event/on holiday?

    If you get those right, you're onto a winner and the more successes you have under your belt, the faster your contact book grows.
  • Very eloquently put but not entirely sure I get your drift...

    Pitching to a journalist is 90% psychological, that's why younger PRs tend to be intimidated by it. It's really not rocket science. If you've got something of relevance to them and can pitch it eruditely in a matter of seconds then you've led your horse to water. There aren't really THAT many narky journos about any more. I think being rude to PRs is unprofessional, however much some might annoy you.

    Anyway, that's my few pence-worth.
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