Making Friends with the Media

by Mark S. Fulton

I was a news director and talk show host for a New Jersey radio station in the early 1980s. Later, I worked briefly as a television reporter. In addition to delivering newscasts and field reports, I was responsible for calling newsmakers to get comments or arrange interviews.

Most of the time, people who considered the call an opportunity to supply helpful information and receive positive exposure welcomed my calls. Occasionally, however, I clearly sensed reluctance, wariness and even outright hostility on the other end of the telephone. Naturally, I expected this reaction if the story was not favorable to the person I had called. But sometimes there was no apparent reason for the individual to fee anxious.

There is an understandable apprehension that accompanies any contact with an institution as powerful as the news media. Their ability to influence public opinion gives the news media incredible power regarding your business or career. While some people have a legitimate reason to perceive the news media as an adversary (think Enron, WorldCom, and other miscreants), the average business owner or corporate executive should think of the media as partners that can play an important roles in efforts to communicate with the public.

Do you think of the news media as friends or foes? Do you think of them at all with respect to your business? If not, you should. Newspapers and other periodicals represent an important public relations resource that can reach your prospective customers in a way no marketing effort can. Radio and television offer fewer public relations opportunities, other than the public access shows on your local cable system.

Beyond the announcements of new positions, promotions and awards you see in the business section of the newspaper every day, there are many other ways to build awareness and credibility for your business through the media.

• Become a reliable source of information. Editors and reporters value people who can supply them with expert comments on a news story. Think about subjects on which you can speak authoritatively. Then write a letter to a reporter who covers your industry or to a business publication’s editor and introduce yourself. Describe the subject areas you can address and invite the letter’s recipient to call you with questions.

• Send material about your industry that has news value, such as a relevant article from a trade publication or a description of a new technology. Whatever you send must have some interest for the publication’s readership. Don’t clutter an editor’s mailbox with marketing material if you want to maintain your credibility as a good source.

• Write a letter to the editor when you read something in the paper that affects your business. You may feel that another point of view would shed new light on the subject of a story. Perhaps you want to express agreement or disagreement with a decision. Regardless of your motivation, express your opinions clearly and support them with facts. If you present your ideas in a logical and compelling manner, an editor might even run your letter as an op-ed piece.

• Organize and promote newsworthy events. Some functions that might interest the media include seminars, panel discussions and open houses. Here again, it’s important to create a compelling reason for the media to cover your event. The appearance of a well-known keynote speaker or the unveiling of a new process or facility has the potential to be of interest to a newspaper’s audience.

• Get involved with community service activities. Corporate benevolence is not a guarantee for getting the attention of the media. But businesses that make a substantial financial commitment to worthy causes and back them up with involvement from employees at all levels demonstrate sincerity and devotion that may attract media attention.

This may sound cold, but the news media are interested in you only to the degree that your business can provide something of interest for their readers and viewers. They aren’t in the business of promoting your business. That’s what they sell advertising space for. So don’t take it personally if they don’t get excited about something that you think would make a wonderful story.

Learn how to write a basic news release. By submitting information about a newsworthy subject in a form that an editor prefers, you improve your chances of being taken seriously. You’d be surprised by the number of stories you read in the paper every day that began as a news release. A good resource for learning the news release format and other public relations tools is “The Publicity Handbook” by David Yale.

To reporters and editors, you are either a source of useful information or an obstacle to overcome in the pursuit of a story. Seek to be a partner in the journalistic process and you will build a bridge that could benefit your business.

Copyright 2002 © Mark S. Fulton