Media Relations

It seems obvious that PR pros should keep stakeholders informed about the status of articles being pitched to the media. Sadly, this doesn’t happen consistently, argues James Rose, content head at IBA International. A weekly update sent to stakeholders will assuage some of the anxiety about when an article will be published and make the creation of content more of a collaborative effort.

Authenticity. Listening. Finding unique angles. Those are the keys for journalists seeking earned coverage via social media, according to Suzanne Barston, manager, corporate journalism, corporate communications at AbbVie. As founding partner of AbbVie’s StoryLab, Barton is responsible for creating stories around the company’s therapeutic areas, pipeline and philanthropy. While journalists long ago shifted their working lives to social channels, healthcare communicators have been slower to make that transition, due not only to unique regulatory issues but also industry resistance.

There are few things more effective at establishing topical media credibility than a book. When an executive is a published author, answering the question, “Is this person a valid and credible source?” becomes far easier. While it isn’t easy to convince an executive to write a book, crafting one from blog posts your executive has created can be remarkably straightforward.

PayPal’s director of global corporate communications Amanda Miller cautions the next generation of PR professionals to realize that visuals, owned media and social are just a piece in an ecosystem that should include earned media, too.

At a time when PR pros are taken to be spinners, flacks and other relatively ineffective communicators, it is imperative to double down on truth telling. Pete Janhunen relays a story that illustrates this lesson and urges young people coming into the business to hold to the highest standards.

Whom do you trust? That’s become a bigger question in the fake news era for reporters. The PR practitioner plays a vital role building a relationship between brand experts and the media. The expectation is not that the media automatically will include our brand in an essay, but based on our relationship journalists should know they can trust us and those we put forward as resources.

Communicators probably prefer a press-friendly CEO as opposed to one who’s media-averse. On the other hand, when the CEO’s mouth overshadows the brand and damages its reputation, communicators often reach for aspirin. An example, of course, is “Papa” John Schnatter. Another is Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who recently spent a weekend deflecting stories.

“First we eat, then we do everything else,” the preeminent American food writer M.F.K. Fisher once proclaimed. We can all agree that food is an important part of our lives. So when the CEO of… Continued

The distinction between misinformation and disinformation is at the heart of Mark Zuckerberg’s thinking about why Holocaust deniers’ material can remain on Facebook. He’s likely debated this thorny question with his senior team. Unfortunately, his comments this week and his subsequent walk back muddled the distinction. In terms of walking back, though, he had plenty of company from other prominent people.

There was a gathering of editors from leading D.C. publications whose job includes evaluating op-ed submissions from outside writers. Their tips on how to get published amounted to a clinic for authors. A major takeaway was that while editors want jargon-free submissions with strong points of view, each publication has certain preferences. This means the road to success for media pitchers is to know those preferences.