This week's strategy: a different kind of media audit. It's easy to count clips. And with a wealth of technologies and services devoted to providing analysis of your media
hits, it's becoming easier to determine the quality of your coverage.
But Brenda Siler, director of public relations for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a PR NEWS advisor, was looking for information that's harder to track.
She knew ASHA was receiving coverage in the media. But she wanted to know how the nonprofit was getting it. Was it the result of a particular kind of pitch? A particular
spokesperson? A particularly resonant message?
Siler hired a consultant who worked in conjunction with her and ASHA's internal director of research to interview her media relations staff, other staff within the organization
with whom the media relations pros work on a regular basis, senior management, reporters and member spokespeople. Matching the information from the interviews to the information
from her usual media analysis provided powerful new insight on how and what to pitch. (Siler, bsiler@asha.org)