PR executives seeking an audience with Reuters should keep their pitches short and sweet - and preferably deliver them by email, confided two of its representatives.
Speaking to a group of recruiters, marketing directors, and PR managers in San Francisco recently, the newswire's western district business editor Michael Fitzpatrick and technology and cultural correspondent Therese Poletti described numerous failures - and a few recent successes - they have experienced in their years at the service. Acknowledging that Reuters makes decisions "within seconds" about whether to run a story or not, the pair underscored the importance of focused, concise communications.
With 216 bureaus, 170 Web sites, 23 languages, a presence in most U.S. papers, and 10,000 stories filed a day, Reuters depends heavily upon intermediary sources. "With the massive increase in financial news in the last few years, it's critical for us to get what we need right away," says Fitzpatrick, a 15-year company veteran. "But people are cutting down lots of trees and wasting lots of money trying to get our attention."
What's the best way to capture it? Draft a well-written, easy-to-understand press release, sent electronically, that tells what the product or company is and why it's important, Fitzpatrick said.
Don't bury news; be certain that your contact person is close to her phone and has a clear concept of the product. "If we can't get the information we need, we won't run a story," Fitzpatrick warns.
Poletti added that she appreciates managers who take the time to read what she and other Reuters correspondents have written on the subject beforehand, and suggested a byline search to better focus pitching possibilities.
Among the pair's pet peeves are massive press kits ("please call to ask if we want one!" begged Poletti), jargon-filled releases, long-winded voicemail messages, and "calling in the middle" of [their] deadlines. "My mail can sit for two to three days," she says, "unless it's a book or a party invitation." Phone calls are great for tips on stories missed, she says, but should be brief. T-shirts, toys, chocolate in various forms - Poletti says she would trade them all for a sharp, one-sheet that arrives by email.
Another topic of contention was the embargo, in which PR execs ask Reuters, AP, or other newswires to hold a certain story for release on a certain date. Poletti and Fitzpatrick say that such protocol demands exclusivity - or at least a choreographed release - of such information. "We don't want to read in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal a story about a company we're saving for a Thursday midnight release," says Poletti.
Both journalists cited the crucial interdependence news has with PR. "We have good experiences with PR firms on a daily basis," says Fitzpatrick. But the services resent reams and reams of paper, writing that's overburdened with technological jargon, or a telephone contact who can't explain his business's concept in plain English.
Reuters' clearest message may be one PR and communications execs hear on a daily basis: "We'll get back to you if we need more information - please be there to answer the phone."
(Michael Fitzpatrick,213/380-2014, [email protected]; Therese Poletti, 415/677-2542, therese.poletti@ reuters.com)