Media Relations

Athletes can offer a lot to brand campaigns. Yet, consider reputation issues before jumping into an endorsement deal, advises veteran PR pro Arthur Solomon, who’s worked with hundreds of athletes over the years. He shares tips for working with athletes, current and retired.

The cannabis and CBD industry presents unique opportunities and challenges for PR pros. Here, a communicator prevents a crisis for her client.

April Fool’s Day 2021 saw a return to bathroom humor and punny brand campaigns. But over a year into the pandemic, is the media truly ready for a return to more playful messaging? We take a look at the brand pranks that worked, and one stunt that should probably be flushed down the toilet for good.

Despite many changes from the pandemic, journalists continue to want tight, relevant pitches. A new Muck Rack study finds the best day to pitch remains Monday and that journalists prefer academics and CEOs for interviews. They also have a slight preference for brand communicators over PR pros from agencies.

Looking at the market for earned media during a recent PRNEWS webinar, PR pros admitted the landscape remains highly competitive, though a bevy of targets is available. Panelists urged PR pros to consider a range of traditional and newer media outlets.

As we know, PR is a relationship business. Owing to the pandemic, face-to-face meetings and quick coffees with journalists can’t occur. Still, clever PR pros are expanding and deepening relationships with journalists. We offer a few tactics to get PR pros back out on the circuit, virtually.

A key to media relations is treating journalists as human beings. A new survey, provided exclusively to PRNEWS, looks at journalists’ income, workload, mental health and preferences about pitching and video conferences. It concludes that some things have changed with the pandemic, but the basics of media relations endure.

One door closes, another opens. One of the last institutions to resist TV coverage, the U.S. Supreme Court has opened up a bit during the pandemic. Now any journalist with WiFi can listen to the court’s proceedings. This means media relations must adapt. Our author finds virtual SCOTUS hearings offer new opportunities for communicators.

On Jan. 21, The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, hosted a webinar with White House communications director Kate Bedingfield, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and chief spokesperson for Vice President Harris, Symone Sanders. The group discussed its messaging strategy for the White House moving forward, touching on how female leadership can impact political communications.

It seemed that most of the nation stopped today to watch the inauguration. With nearly wall-to-wall coverage on the incoming president and VP, is it wise to think about pitching a non-political story now? As with so much of PR and communication, there’s no definitive answer.