There seem to be a lot of journalist these days crossing over to the PR profession. I guess with the cut backs at so many media outlets reporters are turning into pitch people? The major problem I have is that reporters suck at pitching newsworthy stories. I finally said it, somebody had to!
Now these lazy reporters want to pitch PR! Remember these were the same people who accepted lavish luxury gifts in exchange to do feature stories that sounded like advertising copy! They provided their media audience with no real value and hurt the brands that gifted them by not engaging their desired target audiences. It all backfired, brands went bust and reporters got pink slips. Not to mention this confused so many brands about what PR is. Most still don’t know.
The best PR people understand how media really works, simply put. It is not about having friends or even building the best relationships. The bottom line is what can you provide that will be a media blockbuster to engage and capture their audiences. So don’t buy into any PR person bragging about their relationships. Economic conditions have made consumers savvy and they only want the best newsworthy information. It is critical to focus on providing good content over building friends. Find solutions to make the media flock to you by offering quality content.
It would be a good idea to use PR like an investor going to a bank for a loan. Do you thank the banker for giving you a loan? Heck NO! They are the ones in the business of loaning money so you are the one doing them a favor. What is your return? A win-win! They get a blockbuster storyline and you get free publicity.
Just because someone was once a reporter does not necessarily mean that they would make a good PR pitch person. Now, there are some exceptions to the rule. Some reporters truly get how to craft a pitch idea (very rare skill). But a former reporter is not an inside PR pitch man.