The Public Relations Blog

To earn media coverage, your news must be interesting to more than just your internal audience.

There is a stark difference between news that is important to your company and its internal audience and news that is important to your company’s external audience. Your internal audience may include employees and shareholders, while your target external audience might be new and existing customers or clients, the general public, those in your industry, and niche enthusiasts. If you want to make your news “newsworthy” to external audiences, it’s critical to understand the difference between these two audiences. 

Journalists are gearing up for a stronger year in the post-COVID-19 era

With the world returning to normalcy, journalists are coming to terms with the realities of a post-pandemic industry. After the pandemic compelled them to take a step back and restrategize at the initial stage of the outbreak, it’s yet again necessary for journalists to modify their work habits and preferences to suit the times.

Handle reporter calls and media interviews with tact and skill

Sometimes, a company might receive an unexpected call from individuals identifying themselves as news reporters. Organization spokespersons attend media interviews to represent their brand in the media. However, if the company representatives aren’t adequately trained for such situations, such engagement might end negatively.

Here’s how to successfully deal with reporter calls and handle media interviews.

Ace an in-person news interview by following these PR pro tips

Whether you are doing a live, in-studio interview or an interview on Zoom or Skype, you must prepare for it. For in-person news interviews, these are the best ways to prepare before arrival and on the day of the interview.

Are they worth their weight?

Earned media coverage is one of the best ways to share your company’s story. Marketers and business leaders talk about wanting earned media coverage in "top-tier" news media outlets. But how do they define top-tier media versus not-top-tier media? Is there a public relations or journalism industry standard for top-tier?

Media has evolved into a place of opportunities where anyone can share content online. But, it has also created more ways for disinformation, libel, and slander to spread online. Negative media coverage is becoming a growing concern for companies and individuals due to this growing risk. Fortunately, there are media laws and steps you can take to defend against online attacks.

In this episode, Thomas Julin joins us to share his expertise on media law. He talks about how journalism has changed into what it is today and how this has changed the law’s approach. Tom also clarifies legal terms and shares his advice on facing negative media coverage. 

Companies have news that consumers aren’t going to like

Not all news a company shares will be perceived as positive or beneficial to the target audiences. Consumers will consider some news, such as closing a location, laying off employees, discontinuing a product, a supply chain or shipping delay, or increased prices, to be bad news. This type of news happens at times. So, when’s the best time to announce “bad” news? 

In this episode, Gunster’s Thomas Julin and host Jason Mudd share how brands can react to unfair news treatment and important federal statutes that come into play.

If you’re enjoying the vodcast, would you please share it with others and leave us a review?

Guest:

Our episode guest is Thomas Julin, First Amendment attorney, business litigator, and shareholder at Gunster Law Firm. Thomas has more than 30 years of experience advising companies and the media on free speech issues and libel claims.

If a TV interview doesn’t air, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a PR professional

TV reporters regularly contact public relations professionals to score an interview with an expert. After the back and forth, prepping, and recording the interview, both parties expect the interview to air, especially if the reporter gives you a specific date.

What if it doesn’t air? As PR pros, we can’t help feeling lost if we experience this. 

This post discusses why a TV interview might not air, what it says about your skills, and how to avoid or mitigate the impact of such a disappointing outcome.

A recent study by Propel, a public relations management software that brings data-driven analytics to PR, found that less than 8% of PR pitches actually get coverage.

That number might surprise many outsiders in the field, but career professionals in public relations might consider it business as usual. While the earned media rate is higher, journalists tell us that they receive about 100 pitches for every story they produce.