There’s no escaping the world of politics with the election days away. So we thought we’d continue our political theme and look at the politics of media relations. 

With editorial control and the power to help make or break your reputation, creating good relationships with journalists is key to building your media profile. 

There are unspoken rules about what’s expected from the journalist and the interviewee. Most of these are common sense, like being professional, ethical and polite, but common sense does not always prevail. 

Mark Latham’s approach to “interview” with Prime Minister, Julia Gillard spurred out-spoken criticism from Nine’s political journalist, Laurie Oakes and forced Channel 9 CEO to apologise to the PM. While Julia Gillard handled herself well by not getting drawn in, Mark Latham was seen to have “crossed the line” with how he addressed the PM, causing a media ruckus as a result.   It’s not the only time when there’s been publicly exposed controversy between journalists and interviewees.

Just look at the example of the clash between celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey and Channel 9′s Tracey Grimshaw. After making degrading comments about Grimshaw at the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show, Grimshaw has vowed never to interview Gordon Ramsey again. 

Day-to-day, most media relations and interviews are far less dramatic. But still, it pays to know how to stay in the journalist’s good books to build good media relations.

Here are PR Guru’s Tips for building strong relationships with the media. 

Do:

1.  know your media deadlines and avoid calling the media close to these times

2.  prepare a succinct “elevator” pitch outlining your news or story idea. This way you will be well prepared with your ˜story” when contacting the media

3.  listen to their voice mail message when you follow up. If they state that email is their preferred contact method, send an email.

4.  respond to journalists as soon as possible. If you leave it until the next day to follow up, you may have already missed your opportunity.

5.  know your facts and have key information at hand when being interviewed so you can readily give out statistics, website details, contact information and so on 

Don’t:

1.  ask or expect a journalist to run your story because you are advertising in their publication. Apart from the odd regional paper, most publications have separate advertising and editorial departments.

2.  be rude to journalists who don’t run your story. They have their reasons why.

3.  get a journalist’s name or media details wrong. You’ll lose their attention immediately.

4.  leave more than two messages (preferably one) on their voicemail or more than one follow up email. They will contact you if they’re interested.

5.  send irrelevant, poorly written press releases. Journalists will automatically delete your emails and one day may delete something that is relevant

6.  ask to see a copy of the article first or ask for a copy of the published story. Journalists don’t have time to do this. Ring reception and order a back copy if you need to check a story.

7.  promise something that you can’t deliver.

8.  email your media release to all your media contacts in the “to” or “cc” field write personalised emails instead, tailoring your pitch according to the media outlet

9.  promise an exclusive interview if you don’t intend to keep it exclusive.

Want to get more tips and advice from PR Guru?  Our PR Guru DIY Publicity Guide – has more tips on how to get priceless publicity to grow your business.  Visit www.prguru.com.au