The Art of Managing the Media – with ex-BBC Journalist John Rockley

Managing the media, what John Rockley referred to as ‘Journalist Whispering’, is becoming increasingly more complex. This was one of the opening admissions made by John at a Chartered Institute of Marketing seminar in Cheltenham this week.

Not only are journalists busy being journalists, they are also answerable to publication sales and marketing directors responsible for driving advertising spend, making them twice as busy and therefore even more elusive.

Remarkably, as with the chicken and the egg; John claimed without PR there is no journalism. So given these challenges, how can both PRs and journalists work together to do our jobs?

According to John, all a journalist wants is an easy life, to be able to go home after having written a good article which received a great response. In reality, what is often achieved is a mediocre article, with masses of effort, and not even the slightest bit of recognition from the editor.

In order for PRs to develop strong relationships with journalists they need to help them achieve their ultimate goal – to go home having made the world a better place with their article (and a pat on the back from their editor).

John was hugely insightful and provided sound advice on how to build strong media relationships. He also guided his audience through the pitching process and how to secure coverage. His suggestions were really simple and most PRs probably already do many of them as second nature, but these are a few of the most helpful things I took from his seminar.

Always look at the bigger picture

Give a journalist some ideas, show them where to access the information, put the story into context and consider the big stories consuming the media at that moment. And remember, there is nothing wrong with piggy-backing.

Wait for those opportune moments where you can get your, or your clients’, professional opinion across. Radio is perfect for this. John shared an astonishing statistic, less than 1% of an audience listening to a radio show calls in, and if they do call in, it’s to share an often uncompromising view.

Explore all means of communication

Media communications are evolving; when Alex Aiken said ‘the press release was dead’ he wasn’t necessarily discrediting the press release, but stressing that as the industry evolves so should the way we communicate. Now more than ever it is about responding to the change in attitudes, and by developing strong media relationships PRs will be able to determine the best way to reach the journalists.

Don’t be afraid of social media

Pretty much every journalist uses, reads, monitors, communicates through social media. Journalists are ridiculously busy, are rarely at their desks unless they are working to a deadline, and even then they are difficult to reach. Social media is mobile; it can be read when they are on their way to meet an interview or in between meetings. Ultimately, platforms such as Twitter can be a PRs golden ticket to reaching a journalist.

Do your homework

Although they may have a harsh exterior, be mindful that journalists are just people who like to be remembered for their work. Mentioning that you read their last article, saw their Tweet, listened to them comment on a particular story, especially if it is relevant to what you are pitching, could be the difference between you building a strong media relationship or not. If you demonstrate you know what you are talking about and that you are interested you could become a key contact of theirs.

Be creative

Do you know what time your media contacts’ daily news meeting is? You should, because they need to take news with them to brief the editor. If they are struggling to find the relevance but like the angle, invite them to see how the product, client or system works.

Always be available

Journalists will remember you for your reliability, availability and quoteability. Remember, a journalist wants a relatively easy life so if your copy or quotes can be lifted and regurgitated, you are more likely to be called upon in the future.

And always remember...

Finally, John was kind enough to share his top tips, namely things PRs should ALWAYS remember when they are talking to journalists:

• Control your mouth
• There is no such thing as ‘off the record’
• The journalist is not your friend.

“A journalist doesn’t see you as a person, they see you as content; there is a cognitive dissonance between you as a person and you as a story”

John Rockley, CIM Seminar: The Art of Managing the Media, 2014.

Kalli Soteriou
Account Executive

A bad day for British Gas? #AskBG

So the temperature outside is dropping and the dark nights are drawing in. Yes it’s that time of year again people, time to announce the annual round of energy price rises just as everyone starts to think about switching their heating back on.

So there we have it, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) gallantly went first this time with an increase of 8.2% for gas and electricity from 15 November. Energy was already high on the news agenda after the party conferences but SSE fuelled the fire, starting the speculation as to when the rest of the ‘Big Six’ and others would follow and how much higher would they go. Probably nothing unusual in this, the politicians and the national media have been doing the same dance around the energy issue at roughly this time of year for the last few years.

But then something remarkable happened.

British Gas announced an 8.4% rise in gas prices and 10.4% for electricity with dual-fuel bills roughly in the middle and rising by 9.2%.

While the news itself came as a surprise to no one, I don’t think anyone was expecting them to voluntarily line up the organisation’s Customer Services Director in front of a social media firing squad.

Unbelievable.

BG opened the floodgates themselves, inviting in an inevitable stream of criticism and, in my opinion, some well deserved loathing and abuse. But while it looked like a social media blunder of seismic proportions, surely they can’t have been so naive? So why did they do it? Here’s what they said:

"We know people are worried about rising energy prices and they want to talk about this – including on Twitter – and it's important we're there for them to talk to. That's why we offered a Q&A session with our customer services director. It was the right thing to do because we are committed to being open and transparent with our customers at all times. We also want to make clear rising prices don't have to mean rising bills and there is help available.”

What do you think? Personally, I think @jamesrbuk asked a very pertinent question, “Will you pass on the cost savings from firing your social media team to customers?”

Seriously though, I can see their rationale in using the Twitter Q&A as a tactic to tackle things head on and be seen to be ‘transparent and open’ with its customers, but the PR team should’ve known better. To me, their main mistake was timing.

Timing is essential for getting maximum impact but in this case it should’ve been more about having the right impact and this would’ve helped them to time the Q&A more appropriately. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? But hopefully BG will learn from this for next time. And you can guarantee there will be a next time, probably October 2014.

Rachel Meagher

Account Director 

Clever communication is key to future success

At the heart of what all PRs do lies creativity, not only in terms of content but approach. Whether you’re writing an engaging press release or a short and snappy tweet, the aim of the game is to attract interest in your story and your client.

At a recent PRCA National Conference, executive director of government communications Alex Aiken said ‘the press release was dead’ during his speech on the future of PR. Aiken argues that this method of communicating with journalists, which dates back to the early 1900s, has become too ‘cosy’ for press officers, and they should be using multiple channels to distribute news.

He refers to a new era of communications, where press officers should be content creators; ‘You should not start with three pages of A4, but a tweet, an infographic or a video. If you are writing more than 200 words on any subject, you’re probably in the wrong place.’ But as PRs, are we not content generators by nature?

Before the invention of email and social media, PRs posted (in the traditional sense) press releases or issued them by fax machine. While the ways in which we present and distribute press information may have changed, we still use some form of ‘press release’, just perhaps not in its ‘traditional’ guise. A press release enables us to deliver information in a concise, engaging and factually correct manner; it has benefits especially when delivering sensitive information and when part of a clear strategy, it can be one of the most successful means of communication.

I think what Mr Aiken is discussing is a change in approach to communications rather than the literal sense of the press release being ‘dead’; what is dead is the traditional, fragmented process of just sending out a lengthy document. Communications should be issued in a way best suited to the individual/sector/audience you are trying to reach; whether that is a 140 character tweet, a cleverly placed direct mail campaign or a press release. Now more than ever it is about thinking outside the press release and developing strong media relationships, only then will PRs be able to determine the best way to reach the journalists.

I believe the press release is, and will remain, a classic form of communication. However, you can’t deny that communications is evolving; readers are receptive to broader information and far less detail, 140 characters rather than 600 words. The skill here is tailoring the content as well as the means by which it’s issued. I keep a personal media database where I note the quirks and interests of a journalist; rapport is just as important as a direct email address or mobile number.

With stringent budgets, PRs not only need to be innovative in the delivery of their communications but also consider cost-effective solutions for their clients. Social media does have its perks as it requires little ‘funding’ however what it does require is time and a good understanding of the platform you are using.

Yes, the rules of the game are changing, but press releases are still very much part of the communications mix. If your story is worth reading, it will be read. But what the press release should not do is supplement a good PR/journalist relationship.

Kalli Soteriou

Account Executive

You can’t forget the past by pretending to be something else tomorrow

We've all witnessed Miley Cyrus very publicly trying to break free from her whiter than white Hannah Montana Disney character image, and her latest antics have sparked yet more controversy. Not only did the 20-year-old pose provocatively for Terry Richardson, she has also hit back at Sinead O’Connor’s open letter, in which she pleads with Miley not to let the music moguls ‘make a prostitute’ of her.

Sinead’s comments were in response to an interview the young pop singer did with Rolling Stone magazine, where she revealed that the video for her latest single, Wrecking Ball, was inspired by Sinead’s legendary video, Nothing Compares 2 U. Ouch.

However, Sinead makes an important point in her (slightly ranting) letter, calling on Miley to ditch the fabricated persona that she has adopted in an obvious and see-through attempt to be recognised as a “bona fide” pop star – simply stating let the talent you have speak for itself.

Trying to engineer something that you’re not, whether it’s a person, brand, product or business is no smart move. It will undoubtedly lead to controversy and break any trust you may once have had.

A business’s reputation is earned through its actions and behaviours; it’s shaped by where it began, where it is today and where it wants to be in the future. It’s our role as PRs to ensure our clients’ talents receive the recognition they deserve, but only authenticity will secure the longevity and growth of their business.

Alexandra Underwood

Account executive