Deroy Murdock used to say he wrote about everything except sports and the Middle East. But in a post 9-11 universe writing stories about the Middle East has become routine for
Murdock, a syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service and senior fellow at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Murdock's columns run in the Boston Herald, Orange
County Register, New York Post and The Washington Times and have the potential of running in up to 400 newspapers nationwide. Murdock specializes in political commentary, fiscal
issues, education and culture. He spends a good deal of his time covering corporations, think tanks and not-for-profit groups. He's an independent writer who doesn't have a lot of
filters, but he does set a pretty high bar for PR people.
Murdock's PR bugaboos:
- Megabytes. "With some frequency, PR people send me e-mails that are the digital equivalent of gallstones," Murdock says, "and downloading the former is just as painful as
passing the ladder." Getting slammed with a huge file infuriates Murdock, who says there have been several times when a file he's randomly received has corrupted the rest of his
computer system and cost him precious time. Once he finds the culprit, he immediately zaps the e-mail because that is "way too much information" for an initial contact. - The 'Not My Job' syndrome. Murdock says too many PR pros are too quick to pass the buck. "Many times when I call a corporation I get 'Just check the Web page' when I'm trying
to get a particular piece of information or press release," he says. "I then have to go do a 30-minute research project to find the information." - Blind love. Murdock gets many invitations to events and conferences, some of them addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Deroy Murdock." Murdock, who is single, says he won't necessarily
chuck invitations that haven't been properly addressed, but for the benefit of the organization/company/association "people should know better" before distributing invites to
members of the press.
What works: Murdock often writes his opinion pieces on subjects that are episodic in nature and may get just a few spins in the news cycle. He likes to get press releases from
organizations, companies, groups, etc., on the very same day in which news breaks that could have an impact on their business, cause or message. "It's almost like having a
clairvoyant sense of PR," he says, "and an ability to forecast what's going to be in the news."
Murdock's contact is [email protected].