It is hard to describe the many ways that reporters get frustrated about press releases. But here’s another. It’s a recent example of what I’ve experienced at the office. I pass this on to you simply for educational purposes. I hope you understand the importance of the press release and of how it’s presented.
I got a call this week from a sweet woman who was a member of a Jewish organization. They were having an “important” event and she had tried in vain to get it published in our paper.
The first thing I want to point out that I believe will be helpful, is that the newspaper staff is a varied sort. Some are seasoned reporters. Some are disaffected editors, some are interns. Some are the advertising salespeople that have absolutely no control over editorial. In this instance, the woman was dealing with our calendar editor. She couldn’t get her event in. She believed it was because they were a Jewish organization. However, ultimately, the event was that they were holding a movie night and movie nights are such a thing that really doesn’t take up a lot of importance to our readers in our poll-driven opinions. Although it probably did deserve space in our calendar in all fairness.
I think our calendar editor is great. He is a neo-hippee, whose fiancee just purchased a coffee shop and so they are busy with that, while attending college, etc., and therefore he has flexible hours at our office. Read: he has no set schedule as long as he gets the event calendar listings finished before deadline.
This is wonderful for him. And it really doesn’t affect most of the staff. But it does affect those people who want their listings in the paper but fall through the cracks. The lesson here is beware, there are others like our calendar editor who are simply busy-overworked-overwhelmed-part-time-or-interns-what-have-you and therefore, your press release may get lost. This is by far the most compelling reason to call and follow up on your press release prior to the event.
Calling and following up may get you a terse response from a frustrated time-crunched reporter or editor, but don’t take it personal. As long as you aren’t being a pest and calling more times than necessary, this is probably the primary response the staff person gives everyone simply because they are forced to close down Facebook, turn down their Pandora station, which happens to be playing their favorite song, and pick up the phone.
Anyway, back to my original story. This woman calls and had trouble getting her press release to our calendar editor. For some reason, that even I can’t explain, he couldn’t get her listing in the calendar even though she had been calling and emailing him two weeks in advance. Then she called the news editor. Then she called the Executive Editor. Finally, she called me, and I carved out a small space in my “arts briefs” section and got something in. Only because I know how hard she tried getting something in and I wanted to save face for our paper.
So kudos to her for being persistent. That’s what it takes sometimes. But know that there’s a fine line. I knew our calendar editor dropped the ball, but had it been anyone else being overly persistent I may not have had the space.
Here’s a few tips when talking with reporters about getting your item in the paper:
1. News is always in flux. Reporters can’t promise you coverage because if a story of more importance comes up they have to go with that. So don’t fault them for not pinning down a date your item will run.
2. You will almost always get a grouchy response when calling to check if a reporter or editor got your item. Don’t take it personally, but do check in anyway. Press releases do get lost. It happens more often then you think.
3. Don’t submit something at the last minute and think it will get in the paper. This goes for submission to online news submission sites as well. Press releases have to be accounted for, verified and rewritten this takes time.
4. Don’t call and call and call. If you’ve called several times and you keep getting the run around, chances are somebody is trying to be nice and not tell you that your event listing or press release isn’t newsworthy. Calling every hour on the hour is not going to change this. Trust me, they’ve got your message and everyone in the office is probably on alert that you’ve called three times today already and you are not to be put through at all, no matter what.
5. Don’t take anything personally. It helps to be honest about your submission. Is it really newsworthy or do you really just want to advertise your business? Sometimes in an effort to market our business we convince ourselves that what we are putting out there is valuable to everyone. That’s a good thing because you need that as an entrepreneur. But know that the news media isn’t there to promote your business. They are there to filter what is important to the general public. But the media is run by humans and subject to perspective. So if your press release is rejected ultimately, or not given the news attention you think it deserves, don’t give up. Next time something comes up you think is newsworthy put it out there. Persistence is key. As long as you walk the line between being persistent and being a pest.