When I talk to people that were involved in the public relations industry back in London 25 years ago, they smile fondly as they reminisce about long boozy lunches with journalists. A major part of your job as a PR consultant was to wine and dine key figures from your target newspapers and magazines.
This just doesn't seem to happen anymore. Maybe this is because people in the media (and in every other industry for that matter) are shifting jobs on a more regular basis, which means that you don't have time to build up a longstanding relationship with an editor or writer from any particular magazine or newspaper. Maybe it's because the development of the Internet means that there is no need to get that personal with journalists anymore- it's easier and less time consuming (for both parties!) to stick to email and phone, perhaps never even meeting your contact face to face.
Yet, even though it appears that the days of networking regularly with journalists are over, many clients still expect their PR company to have a long list of valuable media contacts. Some will even change PR companies from time to time to ensure that they benefit from all of the different contacts on offer.
No doubt, you will get to know some journalists and editors at the publications you are pitching material to. But.....I think that a lot more importance is placed on that 'Little Black Book' than should be. I think a lot of people don't realise that, even back when schmoozing journalists was the norm, you would not get your story in the paper unless it was a good, newsworthy story.
Contacts don't matter- the only thing that matters is finding the newsworthiness in a client's business and taking your story to a suitable publication. As one blogger put it: 'you couldn't persuade your brother to run a story that didn't fit his publication'
This quote, from an article that was posted over at the website, The Marcus Letter, sums it up perfectly:
'Contacts, not so much -- Clients who think all they have to do is get the right PR person with the right contacts and they will get coverage are a real disappointment. Look at it this way, If I could throw a few dollars at a PR firm and get into the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, I'd hire them myself! I have been in the business for 40 years. If there is a relevant media outlet and my client has a story, they get in. If not they don't. Period. And I never sell contacts.
Conversely business people, including PR people, who think they have contacts delude themselves. Their clients and employers create the contacts. When I worked for a big TV broadcaster I had contacts at TV Guide, when I worked for the Vietnam Government, I had contacts at the White House Press Office. I had the contacts because I had a client with information to deliver, It was certainly not my charm, wit and good looks.'
2 comments:
While you are correct that those without a real understanding of the media do put too much store in the fabled "contact book', it is a little naive to believe that networking is of limited value.
In 10 years of primarily media roles, I have learned the true value of the relationship and while it can be overplayed - and you are correct, a relationship will never get a story placed - it can and will cut through the noise and that IS an ability clients value.
Hi there- thanks for the constructive criticism. It's great to have some input from somebody who has been around the industry for much longer than me.
I think the way that I wrote the blog post makes me come across as a bit 'black and white.' I didn't mean that contacts don't matter at all. I only meant that the media relationships that you do have will not have an effect on how a publication judges the newsworthiness of a story :)
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