Three Ways to Ensure You Get Bad Media Coverage

Just as there are steps to take to improve your public relations power, there are ones you can follow that will ensure your reputation and media coverage will be horrible. 

1.     Don't thoroughly know their section and publication/program

Nothing quite annoys the media, and understandably so, than receiving releases and pitches completely irrelevant to them.  

It's a slight to their work and reveals the author/senders ignorance.   How hard can it be to read the relevant journalists past articles? 

2.     Call them right on deadline, or even worse, don't know they have one

Figure you'll call BRW on Monday late afternoon and pitch an idea?  That will not endear you to them.  

 Find out a publications deadline before contacting.  And when you do call them, first ask if they can talk or would they prefer you to call them back at a more suitable time.

3.     Stonewall and give no information whatsoever.

This is not the same thing as a “No comment” answer. This is when you purposely avoid answering the media in any way, thinking that if you say nothing, they will write nothing in response. 

Sorry, it does not work that way, and it only encourages reporters to find other sources who will talk, particularly ones who may oppose you. 

The result can be a piece that makes you scramble for damage control afterward – if in fact you do not lose your job and/or friends as a consequence.  

I had a client actually refuse to tell a top notch financial journalist who was on their board! The journalist's response to this arrogant and foolish response, was that he could easily just look it up on ASIC when he returned to the office. This was a big mistake by the client.