Media Relations

2019 brought new regulations, including one that requires hospitals to post online their standard prices. Unfortunately, the goal of transparency in hospital pricing is still a long way off. There are, though, takeaways that communicators in all fields can learn from this issue.

Here at PR News, media relations is a daily focus. It’s not just one of the key beats that we report on and  program events around—our media relations content also provides an opportunity for the rare conversation between editorial and comms, two different sides of the same media coin. That’s why we host our annual Media Relations Conference in D.C. every December. Here are some of the key takeaway’s from last month’s show at the historic National Press Club.

Veteran PR pro and former journalist Arthur Solomon offers the second of his two-part series about the valuable lessons communicators can learn from federal government communications. Pulled from 2018’s headlines, the examples he uses offer lessons in ethics, crisis and other PR activities.

After the spread of misinformation on Facebook prior leading up to the 2016 presidential election, the social giant began a partnership with journalists to factcheck and flag false news stories on the platform. Now, two years after the program began, some participating reporters are calling for its discontinuation, alleging that the partnership is little more than a crisis PR stunt and that Facebook has compromised their journalistic integrity.

When it comes to developing a sound PESO strategy, building out audience personas creates a smart roadmap for honing your media relations strategy. Audience personas don’t need to come exclusively through fictional characters. In Lockheed Martin’s case, they actually first came through a writer.

It’s hard to attract the attention of a mass-media journalist at a time when most of the media is absorbed with covering gossipy daily distraction stories, two top-flight D.C. reporters told PR News’ Media Relations conference December 6. Still, there are ways to pitch substantive stories to journalists, including finding a person to profile who’s been touched by a policy decision.

It’s an oft-asked question in PR: How do I get media to listen to my pitch and perhaps gain some coverage? A panel of journalists and PR pros offered answers to this query during a session on media pitching at PR News’ Media Relations conference Dec. 6 in Washington, D.C.

It comes up in most conversations and lingers, unresolved: how can I find and then retain great talent? During a panel I moderated recently on the future of PR, this topic was discussed at length,… Continued

We caught up with Muck Rack COO Natan Edelsburg ahead of his panel appearance at PR News’ Media Relations Conference, going down Dec. 6 at D.C.’s National Press Club, to hear what communicators can learn to better interact with journalists on social.

Transparency is important in all areas of communication, but particularly in health care. The need for transparency has focused on consumer communications, yet a transparent internal culture is necessary to provide safe, effective care. Google’s decision to hire Dr. David Feinberg to lead its health care effort is a vote in favor of transparency.