Media Relations

Don’t lose the day job, 50 Cent. The rapper, also known as Curtis Jackson, tossed out the first pitch at Citi Field Tuesday night. If you can call it that. But it was all in good fun, a circuitous reminder for communicators and PR pros on the right way to, er, “pitch.”

It’s a perennial in the PR field: If you want to stoke any interest in your media pitches, you have to think more like a journalist. But the theory doesn’t always translate into practice.

As PR pros we take a big chunk of our time creating exciting campaigns with a solid strategy that meets our clients’ goals. We pitch our most trusted contacts and strive for A-list media coverage. But even when we do get coverage in the top media outlets in our field the expected traffic does not follow.

In an increasingly mobile (and hyper-busy) society, the trend in content format has been to serve messages in smaller and smaller morsels that consumers could accesss without committing much time.

Content creation, discovery and consumption has never been easier. There is vastly more content volume, and it’s accessed in countless new ways, the most prominent being search and social media. That makes it a golden… Continued

Rather than engage in another theoretical discussion about PR writing, we went directly to our readers to hear the best writing criticism they’ve received.

YouTube is on the cusp of acquiring of Twitch, the largest video game live-streaming network, for a $1 billion, according to reports. The deal is another indication of the growing power of streaming video as a communication tool.

Chipotle is asking its customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun rights advocates brought assault rifles into one of its locations in Texas.

Landing that face to face interview is just one part of the task at hand. After you’ve set up time to meet with the reporter you’re trying to pitch, it’s time for some serious preparation.

It’s an occupational hazard for PR pros. They make sure that reporters and other media reps will cover a major speech that the CEO is delivering at an industry conference. Key employees are invited, as well. It’s the brand’s turn to shine. Until the CEO commits a flub that makes the audience scratch its collective head.