Reporters to PR Execs: ‘Stop Calling Me,’ ‘Yes, I Got Your Fax’ and Other Notables

When you're dealing with journalists on a daily basis, sometimes it can be a craps shoot when it comes to knowing whether or not they're listening to you - whether your jazzy pitches, your technological know-how, your ability to cull long-term press relationships out of a microscopic slice of time and your worth as a source are helping you make headway.

To help you get a sense of what it is that journalists are looking for, PR NEWS polled editors at Phillips Business Information (of which PR NEWS is a part) to find out what their PR gripes and praises are and just how valuable your services are to them.

A range of editors, some who cover the defense industry, others who focus on banking or aviation news, answered our email three-question query. The study is hardly scientific, but the results we're passing on to you reflect a rare kind of journalistic frankness.

Likewise, the responses provide a range of insight into what it is you should be doing (and not doing!) to cultivate better media relationships. Chief among those is the PR 101 practice of calling editors to see if they've received your press release. Another is the practice of stonewalling journalists who want to get closer to a story, who want news they can sink their teeth into - and not a lot of hype. In this issue, we reveal answers to the first two questions - reporters' pet peeves and the percentage of "PR dealings" they find "valuable" or "usable." Next week we'll publish the responses to the final question we asked our journalist peers - to list the most impressive pitches or actions by a PR person they've encountered.

Question: What is your major pet peeve with PR people

It's very frustrating to get a press release without the date on it - or worse yet, a phone number. Press releases can be helpful to find out when products actually ship. Without a date, it's hard to discern if a product is actually new or not. I tend to write about products in R&D, and it's very helpful for me to know when they ship.

They don't often get back to you when they say they will - they don't always take our deadlines seriously.

There was one situation where I tried reaching a director of PR for about a week to get some simple information. When I eventually reached that person, I was denied the information because it was "too time-consuming" to obtain, nor did that person successfully lead me to the proper outlets so I could obtain the information myself.

Too many of them are not experienced in dealing with the press. Evidence comes from the ad infinitum telephone calls from the same person on the same subject. I don't blame the "go-fer"; instead, the fault lies in the PR firm's "overkill" with this stuff. It is a lack of professionalism that has come from not only "mom-and-pop" PR firms, but also from the Edelmans, Hill & Knowltons and Rubensteins.

The calls they make to check and see if you've received their fax. When you get dozens of faxes a day, you DON'T also want to get dozens of those kinds of calls.

Some PR people view themselves as gatekeepers - they seem to provide as little information as possible and work hard to keep you from talking to people you REALLY need to talk to.

PR people who have no news, expertise or sources to offer me, but insist on me calling them back, simply waste my time.

First is being pressured to run a press release. It's fine to call to see if I received the release - sometimes it gets lost in the fax pile - but don't lean on me to run it. If it's news I'll use it and either way I'll get to it when I get to it.

I don't like it when PR people try to act as an expert to keep me from talking to an executive at the company. Some PR folks are knowledgeable of their company's business and products. In that case, it's great when they can give me background information or basic facts, like product pricing and availability.

It's not okay to try and field questions about a company's strategy and direction. If I want to know why products aren't selling well or how you plan to reverse poor sales, it's not okay for the PR rep. to say: "It's tough to say."

When they put out "earth-shattering time sensitive" press releases describing state of the art new product launches or some hot company news - and then fail to return my phone call when I call them to report on it.

I classify PR people into two major categories: those who I know and have an established relationship with and those who I don't know. The ones who I don't know shouldn't call and just check if I've received a press release.

I'm on a weekly deadline and the best way to contact me is through E-mail. PR people will fax it and call with the question, "Did you get the press release I sent you?"

That they constantly call you back after you've said you'll call them if you're interested in a story they're pitching.

That they start answering your question instead of getting you the person you ask to interview. In other words, when I say I want to talk to the CEO that means I want to talk to the CEO, not a PR rep.

When they want you to fax a brief. My rule now is that I will not fax anything that was just a brief. I will fax a story if I have quoted the CEO or something like that. I mean isn't that why they have clip services?

When they have someone follow up on a release and who has no clue what the release/company or market is all about.

Question: What percentage of your dealings with PR people have value?

Of 24 employees who responded:

• 12.5% said less than 10%
• 4% said 10-24%
• 12.5% said 25%
• 25% said 26-49%
• 25% said 50%
• 17% said 51-74%
• 4% said 76-99%

Survey Respondents:

Judith Abrams, editor, Multimedia Week; Seth Arenstein, managing editor, Media Group Dailies; Carol Bowers, business editor, Communications Today; Ann Brandstadter, editorial assistant, Media Groups; Greg Caires, Army reporter, Defense Daily; Steven Cohn, editor, min; Gary Crouse, managing editor, Defense Group; Mary Crowley, group editorial director, New & Information Services; Paul Dykewicz, editor, Airline Financial News/ A.M.E., Aviation Group; Carli Flippen, editor, Optical Memory News; Richard Forgo, editor, Multimedia Monitor; Devorah Goldman, Editor, Selling To Kids; Ron Hudak, senior editor, Electronic Commerce News;

Meredith Jordan, editor, Card News, Credit Risk Management Report; Juli Klyce, senior editor, Banking Newsletters in PBI's Electronic Commerce Group; Heather Montgomery, editor, World Airline News; Ellen Mullally, managing editor, Communications Today; Scott Nance, asst. editor, Multimedia Wire; Rob Runett, asst. editor, min's New Media Report; Mike Sabine, editorial/site manager, ijumpstart.com; Ruth Suarez, asst. editor, Voice Technology & Services News; Randy Sukow, senior editor, Wireless Data News; Craig Webb, associate publisher, Media Group; Benet Wilson, asst. managing editor, Commuter/Regional Airline News, C/R News International

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