To paraphrase and apply to The News Release that now-famous admonition coined by Democratic Party strategist James Carville in the 2000 presidential election campaign … “It’s the ‘news,’ stupid!”
I will belabor this point, again and again, because words matter. Words have meaning. Words are our common denominator of communication, setting us apart from all other life forms on this planet.
The one word that continually gets left out of the online discussions and conversations I see almost every day about the press release, the media release, the social press release, the social media release and all variants thereof is … “news.”
Curious, isn’t it? News is the one thing that gets left out of the discussion, yet the only thing that is common to all types of releases; the only thing that is essential to any successful release, regardless of the community for which it is intended, is that it contain real news (i.e., information or a message that has real news value).
John Wagner recently pointed out the curiosity that so many p.r. practitioners seem to spend their time writing about the tools and tech toys, when in public relations it’s the relationships that matter.
I’ll go a step further: in public relations work, it’s the “news” that matters, because if you ain’t got no news and you go out with a release of any kind to any media that is devoid of real, solid and newsworthy information, you damage your credibility and the credibility of those you represent. And, there goes your relationship with the journalist, blogger, podcaster or whatever variant of media practitioner with whom you may be attempting to communicate.
I think so many p.r. practitioners get excited about the latest tech tools and toys because they don’t have the first clue about “news,” about what makes information newsworthy or not for the community of media practitioners they are dealing with, about the working parameters, day-in and day-out of those media practitioners.
You’re shocked that I would say such a thing? Well, then … what’s the percentage of p.r. people out there who have ever worked in a newsroom, covered breaking news stories, written news on deadlines, have to fill a news hole in the face of nothing newsworthy to report? What’s the percentage of p.r. practitioners who have actually ever spent a full day inside a news organization? Or, for that matter, what’s the percentage of p.r. people who have actually ever produced online content or blogged or podcasted?
I’ll go further, risking what I imagine will be a backlash, to say I have a hunch that much of the discussion about the “social media release” that I’m seeing has also been skewed by the participation in that discussion of technologists, technology purists whose theorizing about news and media is driven in part by their vision of what I agree to be some very exciting possibilities for social media to break the logjam in communications in our world that is the result of the means of communication having been concentrated in the hands of too few (a discussion for another day on this blog).
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the “press release” is a format that was developed around certain physical parameters of the print media; the “broadcast release” format never really existed, except perhaps in the form of a “media alert” designed to get a broadcast news assignment editor to send out a camera crew; and, the “social media release” is a format developed around digital parameters of online media and the community that has grown up around social media technology.
But, the release is NOT about the format, the release is NOT about the recipient or intended media community, the release is NOT about the technology or delivery platform. The release is about the “news” that either is or isn’t contained therein. If you don’t understand that what makes news is, well, news … then all the talk in the world about the latest media, technology and tools to communicate that news may be a fine and necessary discussion (especially given the interactivity of format and function — another discussion for another day!), but it is ultimately secondary to the core task at hand.
For those involved in the daily work of trying to communicate newsworthy messages to or within specific communities on behalf of those they represent, it’s necessary to keep the focus first on the “newsworthiness” of the “news” in the “news release” … and staying tuned to the discussion about the latest media, technology and tools, we’ll try to pick up and apply the valuable pointers as they appear most appropriate for communicating that “news” to or within the specific communities for which it is intended.
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2 May, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Excerpt from “Social Media Releases – Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should) Know.”
http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you.html
…The social media release is not a miracle pill to cure the ills of poorly written press releases. It is merely a tool that is most effective when combined with a strategic arsenal of relevant company blog posts, traditional releases, relationships, and an emerging category of press releases that tell a story (written by people for people using SEO to reach them).
What? There’s more than one way to tell a story?
YES! Why be so foolish to believe that one message matters to all who read it? Nowadays, different markets require information specifically tailored for them, and not one tool works across the spectrum.
New media releases represent the opportunity to share NEWS in way that reaches people with the information that matters to them, in the ways that they use to digest, and in turn, share with others through text, links, images, video, bookmarks, tags, etc., while also giving them the ability interact with you directly or indirectly.
But just because it sounds cool, doesn’t mean PR should start folding new media releases into their day-to-day PR toolkit. And just because Social Media is a popular “buzz word” these days doesn’t mean that PR should even participate.
Why? Because we’re still battling the “used car sales” reputation that the industry has rightfully earned for itself by selling rather than talking, spinning rather than explaining, blasting instead of focusing, and most importantly, not understanding the venues, publications, blogs, sites, etc. or who they reach, before spamming them….
2 May, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Thanks for the comment, Brian. I agree wholeheartedly that “just because it sounds cool, doesn’t mean PR should start folding new media releases into their day-to-day PR toolkit.”
But, while I’m certainly no apologist for the p.r. industry, much less its more blatant excesses that have earned it the “used car sales” image you allude to, your reasoning as to why PR practitioners should not participate varies quite a bit from my own.
I have a mantra (yeah, a native Californian … I can have a mantra!) that goes like this: Concise Message + Defined Community + Precise Platform + Timely Delivery → Media Mindshare.
My reasoning, then, is that social media technology is the precise platform for delivering newsworthy information to the specifically defined community of social media practitioners or users (bloggers, podcasters, etc). To attempt to use it as a blanket vehicle or delivery platform is ludicrous.
If I’m reading what you say correctly (with the sentence: “Social media is about respect, engagement, and transparency – critical traits that most PR is guilty of not practicing or embracing.”) you’re saying that PR is in and of itself a corrupt practice that somehow threatens to befoul a nobler and purer technology?
I think assigning human virtues or vices to technologies, which are, in and of themselves, virtue- or vice-neutral, can be counterproductive. The behavior of human beings involved in those technologies (or professions like PR) can be virtuous or not, and assuming that the same vices that you ascribe to p.r. practitioners are not already present among those practicing social media is a bit disingenous.
Guaranteed that there are social media practitioners already out there who are completely capable of “selling out” and “twisting” the technology to unvirtuous ends … it won’t take unscrupulous p.r. people to do that.
2 May, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Social media enthusiasts aside, it is the PR industry that we represent, therefore it is the industry I choose to expose and also improve. Advertising, marketing, search specialists, etc. all have a hand in polluting the world of social media, but that battle is too big to fight.
Disingenuous? Corrupt? Those are words I might use to describe politicians and may be too strong to apply to PR (although there are plenty of influential press and bloggers that would probably use much harsher words).
It’s not about the technology in my opinion. You can’t participate in social media if you are anything but genuine. You can’t be genuine if you don’t get it. You can’t get it if you don’t read the magazines, the blogs, or the comments from the people that matter to your company/client. If you don’t get it, then you can’t write a traditional press release, call a reporter, pitch a blogger, or convince anyone of anything for which you should stand.
It is my belief that PR needs to spend more time understanding the products/services they represent and how it benefits the people within the markets they’re hoping to reach. Social media, PR 101, PR 2.0, technology, are irrelevant if the industry doesn’t step from behind the curtain and start engaging directly, instead of shotgunning information to the masses.
Perhaps we’re just saying the same thing…differently.
2 May, 2007 at 5:51 pm
You know, I have been skeptical about Stowe Boyd’s use of “conversational index” as the proper metric for the value of a blog (another discussion for another day, but that’s because I don’t think all opinions are equally informed).
Now, however, I’ve just seen the value of the conversation. Turns out we are saying the same thing, differently. Agree with your logic here:
“It’s not about the technology in my opinion. You can’t participate in social media if you are anything but genuine. You can’t be genuine if you don’t get it. You can’t get it if you don’t read the magazines, the blogs, or the comments from the people that matter to your company/client. If you don’t get it, then you can’t write a traditional press release, call a reporter, pitch a blogger, or convince anyone of anything for which you should stand.”
Thanks for the clarification and I look forward to the continued conversation!
2 May, 2007 at 6:30 pm
PR practitioners are struggling with this in the UK too. I also believe there is room for both, that traditional PR techniques should complement social media. After all, PR should encapsulate different publics in different ways and not everyone is tuned in to the Internet.
I am hoping to write a project on this theme, perhaps based around the role of politics and social media. I shall be looking at France, the USA and the UK, so if you have any good leads or feedback, I would be very grateful.
2 May, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Thanks, Ellee. Brian’s got a great list of links to previous posts at the bottom of his most recent post on the subject, at: http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you.html
3 May, 2007 at 5:43 am
You already know how I feel on this subject because it’s also my mantra (yes, from California too). We are in the business of making connections and communication in any form should be what we attempt to accomplish. So if that means leaving notes on rocks, then I’m all for it.
I pitched a story yesterday that resulted in a two-part placement on the CBS affiliate today. And they closed the story by asking the public to support our legislative initiative. How did this come about? I made a phone call.
I also had news to tell; a legislative action was needed to ensure a valuable program would continue. Could I have sent out a media advisory or crafted a press release? Sure. I chose not to.
The notion that news should drive a news release seems so simple that perhaps we miss it in our quest to show off. That’s why I practically scream “Communicate!”
Fit the message to the medium and don’t be afraid to go with the simple tools or the complex if they are required. But overall, make sure you really have something to say and be positive it is news.
3 May, 2007 at 6:00 am
Great point, Michael. I think it was over at the Strategic Public Relations blog that I once read Kevin Dugan say he had his own mantra, to the effect that the release should always support the “pitch” (a word I do have an issue with, since it is so closely associated with hucksters and spinners, but …)
That makes a lot of sense to me, though not sure I would say the release always is secondary to the pitch. Certainly, the two have to be integrated and — as you point out — a concise message well-communicated in a phone call is often enough to spur coverage.
3 May, 2007 at 7:00 am
To pick up on “news”, I don’t buy the argument that you have to have worked in a newsroom (by implication be a former journalist) to be good at PR or to understand what makes good content for a press release. In fact, I know many journalists turned PR who can write a news story (not always a release if they can’t adapt their style), but have few of the other skills that are required to be successful on the “other side” of the fence.
But, to write a good release, you do need to understand the media and how it works (deadlines, sub-editing, etc) as well as what interests journalists (which may not always be hard news eg for feature editors, b2B publications etc), most importantly what is relevant for their readers, the style of the publication, what it reports (and has done recently), etc etc.
In the case of really hard news – a press release (especially a social media release) may not be the most important tool in the box. When things are breaking fast, the ability to respond to enquiries, provide online and offline updates in whichever format is easiest and most reliable, and to be pro-active with key contacts is more important. There may not be time to craft a beautiful release (or add in all the other social media release bits), so other skills will be more important – including an ability to advise senior management on strategic reactions.
Of course, most of what PR or the media communicate isn’t that type of news. But too many releases focus on what the company/PR wants to say, rather than having content of relevance to the reader (media or their readers). Or they have “creative” content which might be of pseudo-news value but with no real linkage to the client.
It is a basic aspect of communications theory – know and respect those with whom you are communicating. Don’t waste their time with junk and build a relationship so that they are as likely to contact you as vice versa.
3 May, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Heather, all good points, especially the latter on the basics of communication.
Re journalists turned PR, I tend to hyperbole at times to make a point . I do acknowledge (despite the fact that I fit that description) that they don’t always work out. You would think the skills of pitching stories to editors, interviewing to gain information and concise writing would transfer over, but they don’t always.
That said, I have also been disappointed with new hires holding a Communications degree with an emphasis in public relations, who after several weeks on the job can ask questions, such as: “What’s the difference between a Contributing Editor and a Managing Editor?” After four years at University and with a P.R. degree, some can barely grasp the concept of a news release and have never spent any time inside a newsroom.
My preference would not necessarily be a former longtime journalist, but I would counsel newbies about to get their p.r. degree to think about spending a year, or at least interning for awhile, in a traditional or online media organization to get a feel for what the daily working lives, news gathering and publishing processes and deadline pressures are like for journalists. It’s a real education in media and a good way to “get inside the heads” of the kinds of people you’ll be communicating with for the rest of your p.r. career.
3 May, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Heather is right that we need to consider all aspects of the business and not be fooled into thinking that just because we can write, we can do PR. I certainly had a huge learning curve when I left the newsroom. However, my news junky skills still serve me well in my current job. If I hadn’t been keyed into editorials, and my email threads, I wouldn’t have know I could help the local channel with a story. And then I didn’t try to give them what I wanted them to hear. I provided them the upside, downside and showed them our numbers. Essentially, the story spoke for itself. My boss thinks all of this attention is luck, but we know different!
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