Brave New World for Journalists and PR Pros

As economic realities shutter publications and shrink newsrooms and resources, PR professionals have had to transform their outreach efforts to often overtaxed reporters. It’s a serious situation that needs to be addressed.

In a recent roundtable event in New York, Ruder Finn co-CEO Kathy Bloomgarden said it best: “It’s a painful time in journalism, and our outreach approach has changed. Because reporters don’t have the time and the resources they once had, we have to better understand their individual challenges and interests. We also must get story information to them much earlier so they’ll have time to do the reporting.”

It’s a process that David Conner, account director at Access PR, knows well. “Today, good relationships with reporters are more important than ever,” says Conner. “We do a lot of research on reporters to understand exactly how they work.”

Which means that relationships with the reporters who are surviving in a very tough environment are getting much better. “Bottom line, if you don’t have a good relationship with a journalist then you don’t have a story,” says Conner.

Access built its outreach strategy on two tracks—media that believe in embargoes and want to see a press release and those who want to get the news much faster. Therefore, Conner recommends a combination of traditional and social media outreach to foster two-way communication with journalists. Here are some tips for successfully navigating the new journalism world:

• Along with going deep into researching your client’s product or service, also do a deep dive into the industry you are pitching as a whole, so you are knowledgeable about bigger trends.

• Aside from just reading the publication and/or reporter’s stories, check to see what other formats they use for reporting including blogs and podcasts, as sometimes these could be a better fit for your story.

• Understand who the reporter is as a writer and think about their potential down the road. Today’s trade reporter may run tomorrow’s biggest blog.

• Above all else, make sure the tone and tenor of your communications with reporters is unobtrusive and informed by a meaningful knowledge of the reporters’ beat, style, habits and communications preferences, whether that be phone, social media tools or e-mail.