SAN FRANCISCO - In a forum that threw tech execs, journalists and producers in the same room with high-priced public relations practitioners, BUZZ 2000, a one-day conference held July 11, lay bare
several sacred topics. From editors' frustrations to CEO's misconceptions about how many gallons of ink a PR dollar will "buy," the seminar addressed many sticking points within the industry. The only
theme everyone agreed on was that most of the players in the triangle are unhappy. Melody Kean Haller, founder and president of Antenna Group, observed that "PR is the messenger everyone loves to shoot."
Adversarial yet diplomatic, the conference's tone was established early in the day, when a group of top-tier journalists offered tips on how to approach the media. Their advice? Get to know the
publication and its staff; hone pitches carefully; and, whether you're an agency or client, make sure you've got a real story to sell. (Yeah, it's rote stuff, but there must be some reason
journalists keep having to repeat this stuff until they're blue in the face.)
Most PR copy is overblown and under-researched, they said. "Think like a journalist," suggested Scott Rosenberg, Salon.com's managing editor. "Ask yourself what the story is. Oh - and it helps if
you've looked at the publication." San Jose Mercury News columnist Dan Gillmor added: "If you can define what the company does in a larger context, you stand a better chance for inclusion in a
larger feature."
Sam Whitmore, editor of Sam Whitmore's mediasurvey.com, cited the importance of knowing when to pitch a columnist, a reporter, and an editor - and how to know the difference. (For the uninitiated, the
first generally seeks topics off which to bounce opinions; the second stories to fill a beat; the third broader trends to analyze.)
Yet even a perfect pitch doesn't guarantee a company will catch the media's elusive eye. According to this group, faxes and paper mail are routinely ignored, and even voicemail is risky. New York
Times writer John Markoff said he favors the phone, but Newsweek editor Steven Levy prefers email: "And I don't mind a lot," he added. "It's not obtrusive, I can store it, and it gives me a
preview of what's happening in the industry."
Other advice included brevity and supplying data "up top" - a PA or cell phone has a tiny screen, after all, and everyone knows how annoying phone messages with pertinent numbers at the far end can be.
The final word came from Rosenberg, who warned that journalists are "competitive, egotistical creatures, allergic to the language of hype."
Editors' laments were bookended by execs in attendance who, according to Deborah Branscum, a Newsweek editor and BUZZ 2000's organizer, often feel "fleeced" by their agencies. Speakers from both
sides of the table, however, outlined what to expect. "The best PR is true consultative analysis," offered Michael Rosenfelt, founder of notHarvard.com, a site that uses free education as a customer
acquisition tool. "That means a firm who's going to eat, drink and sleep your business."
Some speakers, including Doc Searls, editor of Linux Journal and author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, warned that just as throwing $50K into a monthly retainer doesn't guarantee a story in
the Journal, an agency cannot always defend its value solely by press that appears as a result of its efforts. "Look for functional results as well as financial," Searls advised. "Set achievable,
deliverable goals."
"You can't measure PR on a spreadsheet," added Antenna Group's Haller. "It's not a machine."
Speakers also voiced a common perception that clients are out to compromise the integrity of editors and PR managers alike by undermining their relationship with money. The conference's strongest
dictum came from Branscum, who addressed execs in no uncertain terms: "The message you get to buy is advertising," she said emphatically. "You don't get to buy editorial."
In all, BUZZ 2000 wasn't the sunniest day for the industry, yet it reiterated the notion that whether between clients and agencies or agencies and the media, the basis for effective PR is - as its name
implies - relationships between people. Whether an agency makes a reporter's job easier, an editor features a company in a cover story, or a CEO is savvy enough to empathize with the business objectives
of both parties, those who work in the realm are inextricably linked. BUZZ 2000 reminded them of a need for peaceful cohabitation.
-Colin Berry