At PR News, we often write about how to stay on the good side of people like journalists or consumers. Yesterday, we decided to ask what really grinds your gears, as communications professionals. Distilled from our readers' Facebook and Twitter responses, here's what we came up with.
1. Unrealistic clients
"Can you get us on the @todayshow? What about @GMA?"
"Late/non payment."
2. Uncooperative journalists
"When a reporter/editor just ignores you. If you don't like the story, don't wanna cover- fine. A simple "no"- is all we need."
"Media who simply post a release as-is, with no follow-up. Even posting links to materials clearly intended only for them."
"Lazy media who get details wrong..."
3. Poorly-written materials
"Simple grammar mistakes! It makes you look very unprofessional even if that is not the case."
"Hands down, the use of the word "excited" in press releases. "We are excited to announce..." etc. There are more meaningful words!"
4. Misunderstanding the basic definition of PR
"That marketing is the same thing as PR..."
"People who don't understand the difference between a Club Promoter and a PR Professional..."
"Getting blank stares or clearly not understanding nods from family and friends when I try to explain what I do for a living."
5. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
"When clients edit a perfectly written article and introduce error."
"When someone talks about PR 101 like they know everything."
Follow Lucia Davis: @LKCDavis.
Re #2: When a reporter/editor just ignores you…. I receive 100+ pitches from PR daily and there’s no time to respond to 90% of them. Is that what’s being discussed here, or is it some other kind of ignoring?
Yes, but one of our readers made the distinction of reporters/editors ignoring “a very personalized and specific pitch targeted them.” So I think it’s fair to say the radio silence that comes after a good pitch (top 10%)
Yes #4 my favorite!! I love getting into a long conversation with my grandfather for hours explaining what I do, strategy, tactics, etc. To finally hear…oh soo your a journalist? Haha
hahaha at least that’s a step up from “club promoter”! Thanks for reading