This morning I’ll be leading a panel discussion on the lifecycle of a media relations pitch at the Cincinnati Chapter of the PRSA.
All too often, public relations practitioners focus solely on the middle of the pitch. This of course involves learning as much as possible about your target audience and sending it at just the right time in the exact manner the journalist likes to receive news. Yes, journalists do like to receive sound pitches that are newsworthy.
But what if your pitch sucks in the first place? If the pitch is garbage, it doesn’t matter how you send it or to whom you send it. It will, and should, wind up in the circular file.
The panel will focus on all three stages of the pitch: preparation, the pitch and what to do once/if the journo responds. The third stage is when the work really begins and was the inspiration for this panel.
If anyone is interested in receiving the PowerPoint presentation for this 101 review, drop me an email/comment and I will send it along/post it here.
No worries navel gazers! The pesky b-word WILL be a part of the day’s discussions as we focus on journalists mainstream and citizen. While in the thick of pitching her own news with AOL, Intelliseek’s Sue MacDonald will stop by to discuss blogs, RSS and podcasting. Former PR Week journo John Frank will be leading the afternoon luncheon on mixed media where we get folks from all forms of media together to discuss the finer points of media relations.
Kevin Dugan is the author of the popular Strategic Public Relations blog. Kevin is Director of Marketing Communications for FRCH Design Worldwide.
Visit Kevin’s blog: Strategic Public Relations.