Friday, June 08, 2007
Past Time to Stop
This article is annoying. The writer points to the longstanding habit of PR firms of sending stuff to newsrooms to get reporters to notice their stories. One would think PR practitioners had stopped such behavior long ago. They haven't. Trinkets and swag hardly make a difference between coverage and lack of it. Reporters aren't swayed. So, why do practitioners continue such boneheaded practice? It's beyond me.
I understand inclusion of an illustrative item that explains a story. I don't understand the kinds of things mentioned in this article. Yet, practitioners feel compelled to send crap. I can only surmise that: 1. They don't have confidence in stories they are publicizing. 2. They don't understand their information enough to find news angles in their "news." 3. There isn't any news, but they feel compelled to keep a client happy. Whatever the reason, it shows PR hasn't grown up.
We can demand respect for PR, but when we continue to act like hucksters we get the respect we deserve. The hard work of our business is understanding stories that we merchandise and finding news angles in them. The harder work is counseling clients forthrightly when there isn't a story and working with the client to find one. Instead, too many of us rely on stuff and hype. No wonder reporters are cynical about PR. They have a right to be.
I understand inclusion of an illustrative item that explains a story. I don't understand the kinds of things mentioned in this article. Yet, practitioners feel compelled to send crap. I can only surmise that: 1. They don't have confidence in stories they are publicizing. 2. They don't understand their information enough to find news angles in their "news." 3. There isn't any news, but they feel compelled to keep a client happy. Whatever the reason, it shows PR hasn't grown up.
We can demand respect for PR, but when we continue to act like hucksters we get the respect we deserve. The hard work of our business is understanding stories that we merchandise and finding news angles in them. The harder work is counseling clients forthrightly when there isn't a story and working with the client to find one. Instead, too many of us rely on stuff and hype. No wonder reporters are cynical about PR. They have a right to be.
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