{"id":6520,"date":"2010-10-08T07:31:39","date_gmt":"2010-10-08T12:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/37d57f8fa2.nxcli.io\/blog\/?p=6520"},"modified":"2010-10-07T07:44:20","modified_gmt":"2010-10-07T12:44:20","slug":"15-things-the-media-hates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/public-relations\/15-things-the-media-hates\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Things the Media Hates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that you know what to do in order to solicit a positive response<\/a>\u2014here\u2019s what to avoid:<\/p>\n

1. Not Taking \u201cNo\u201d for an Answer<\/strong>
\nPersistence is an admirable trait, but there comes a point when you must accept defeat. Most people won\u2019t build relationships with insistent callers who phone 500 times after they\u2019re told \u201cNo.\u201d When someone says \u201cNo,\u201d accept it. Walk away before you destroy a potentially valuable connection.
\n
\n2. Long Press Releases<\/strong>\"media<\/a>
\nOne killer page is all you need. If the media wants more, they\u2019ll ask for it. Come up with a great headline, state the major points in a strong first paragraph, and bullet everything you want to stress. Include secondary information in a background or follow-up release.<\/p>\n

3. Lying, Misrepresentation, and Hype<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t be dishonest or unreasonable. The truth will always emerge, and when stories aren\u2019t based on facts, the media usually ends up holding the bag. Most people, especially those in the media, won\u2019t forget who got them burned and will not give you the chance to do it again. Media pros know a good story when they see one and they can cut through the hype.<\/p>\n

4. Pitches That Don\u2019t Fit<\/strong>
\nKnow exactly what the specific contact wants. Don\u2019t approach reporters or producers with stories that fall outside their areas of interest. Pitching a story to the wrong outlet shows that you haven\u2019t done your research. It wastes everyone\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

5. Small Talk<\/strong>
\nGet right to the point\u2014be clear and brief. Don\u2019t confuse chitchat with courtesy. Assume that the people you contact are busy and don\u2019t have time for small talk. Needless chatting borders on rudeness, it holds people hostage and keeps them from attending to business. It\u2019s thinly veiled manipulation that rarely works.<\/p>\n

6. Links That Don\u2019t Work<\/strong>
\nLittle is more frustrating than to click on a link that doesn\u2019t work. When people go to your site or blog, they don\u2019t have time to waste on dead links. If they can\u2019t easily access the information they want, they will probably exit your site and move on to something else.<\/p>\n

7. Overkill<\/strong>
\nMedia kits that weigh as much as your cocker spaniel are a turnoff. Less is more. When in doubt, leave it out. Most recipients resent bulging kits, consider them wasteful, and won\u2019t read them. The last thing they want is more stuff. If you must send tomes, bound them securely because it\u2019s maddening to watch papers falling out and scattering in every direction when an envelope is opened.<\/p>\n

8. Cold Calls<\/strong>
\nUnsolicited phone calls are intrusions\u2014verbal spam. They interrupt busy people while they\u2019re working. E-mail first to warn them that you plan on calling. Similarly, don\u2019t send unrequested attachments\u2014they won\u2019t be opened\u2014and unsolicited videotapes won\u2019t be watched. Unless you receive express permission, never call the media at home!<\/p>\n

9. Bribes<\/strong>
\nAvoid offering free tickets to events and other bribes. Many media outlets prohibit gifts altogether, some bar presents over a fixed dollar amount (often $25) and others require gifts to be shared or donated to charity. Generally, the media wants good stories, not free T-shirts or coffee mugs.<\/p>\n

Food is often welcome. Many who man late-night newsrooms and stations love receiving free food and will publicly express their appreciation. Clever packaging, such as your picture on a pizza box, can produce positive responses. While free food may build goodwill, it won\u2019t guarantee you publicity.<\/p>\n

10. Name-dropping<\/strong>
\nNobody likes name-droppers. Name-dropping often indicates that a story is weak. In most cases, if connections to celebrated names are tenuous at best, they seldom change the story\u2019s value. While name-dropping may work with friends, it will hurt you with media professionals.<\/p>\n

11. Lack of Appeal<\/strong>
\nYour discovery of a foolproof method of pickling pimentos may be the biggest thing in your life, but it\u2019s probably of little or no interest to the rest of the world. If you want your story covered by the media, it must have audience appeal.<\/p>\n

12. Unnecessary Confirmation Calls<\/strong>
\nUnrequested calls made simply to check on whether faxes or packages have arrived draw mixed responses at best. Some media pros see them as helpful reminders for keeping track of items on their plates. Others resent them as pestering. Your best bet is to send a quick e-mail, rather than call, to check on the delivery of faxes and packages.<\/p>\n

13. Gimmicks<\/strong>
\nIf you use a gimmick, it better be sensational and the reason you\u2019re using it must be clear. That said, the vast majority falls flat. Never assume that the media will get the point you\u2019re trying to make. Most media people prefer conventional approaches. A reporter for a big-city newspaper told us that a woman who appeared outside his office clad in a bikini and blowing a trumpet provided a good laugh, but she didn\u2019t get the publicity she wanted because she never mentioned why she was there.<\/p>\n

14. Not Following Up on Requests<\/strong>
\nEverybody hates people who send press releases, call, or fax, but then don\u2019t follow up with additional information when it is requested. If you say, or even imply, that you\u2019re going to do something, do it and do it promptly. Otherwise, you will be considered unreliable and unprofessional. If you don\u2019t respond promptly it may be too late. You can\u2019t expect folks to wait for you.<\/p>\n

15. Recycling Ideas<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t repeatedly send the same idea no matter how cleverly you repackage it. Writers, producers, and bloggers recognize and resent old dogs dolled up in new duds. \u201cA lump of coal is still a lump of coal and no matter how you package it, it\u2019s not a diamond,\u201d a producer once explained.<\/p>\n

Remember<\/strong>
\nStay on the media\u2019s good side. When you\u2019re aware of what the media loves and what it hates, it\u00a0 will give you a great shot at staying in the media\u2019s good graces. Feed the media what it wants because the more the media likes you, the more publicity it can generate for your product or service.<\/p>\n

– Rick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Rick Frishman
\n<\/a><\/strong>Related Resources<\/strong><\/a>
\nMore Posts by Rick Frishman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Now that you know what to do in order to solicit a positive response\u2014here\u2019s what to avoid: 1. Not Taking \u201cNo\u201d for an Answer Persistence is an admirable trait, but there comes a point when you must accept defeat. Most people won\u2019t build relationships with insistent callers who phone 500 times after they\u2019re told \u201cNo.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[382],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}