Five Things Journalists Hate… And a Few They Love

Fiona Scott references the fact that many small business owners ‘guess’ when it comes to a news story.

As a qualified journalist and PR consultant from the UK, you may think that my knowledge and experience has little relevance to a USA audience. Yet over the years I’ve come into contact with journalists the world over and there are some very common themes and some very simple tips which can ensure that your stories actually have a chance of being used somewhere!

For many small businesses, PR is something they don’t understand, think they don’t need, and are actually afraid of. They think, it’s going to be really expensive — I’ll do without it. Yet, here’s the thing, most are already doing it, they just don’t realise it’s PR and, with a little education, you can avoid the smoke and mirrors around this business discipline. Yes, it can cost a lot of money. However, it can also be done yourself if you are starting out in business, you are a sole trader, or your business goals are modest and you don’t intend on being more than a micro business.

Personally, I always recommend this for the simple reason that when your business grows and you have the budget to outsource, you have some idea of what “good” looks like. Otherwise, you can be taken in by the “flim flam” of PR companies, which will promise you the earth and then deliver a few rocks.

PR is public relations, and it’s a toolbox for being visible in business. There are a load of tools that can be used, and there isn’t a PR specialist anywhere who can honestly say they are experts in providing and delivering on all of those tools. I happen to be a specialist in media outreach, more commonly known as press relations. Even this is a wide brief because the modern media is so different now than it was when I started my business back in 2008. Then, it was all newspapers, magazines, radio, and tv. Now, it’s so much more than that — it’s bloggers, podcasters, influencers, hyper-local publications, and advertorial.

What Do Journalists Hate?

Here are a few basic tips that should help you to start to navigate the world of the media. First, let’s deal with a few things journalists hate:

Products & Services: In many, many cases, journalists are not interested in your latest gadget or gizmo, your new service, or your sparkling new website. If you want to push what you sell, buy advertising space.

Mission Statements: Wishy-washy statements around ethics and purpose where you don’t actually say what you do. How many people have you met in business, or how many websites have you looked at, where you struggle to understand what that business does? In the UK, we tend to be very polite about this, and we brush over it or pretend we’ve understood. Journalists will label you, whether you like it or not, so if you are not clear then they will decide based on the vague information you have provided. Be clear.

Delusion: You thinking your backstory or product is the best thing ever, and frankly, it’s not. You may call your product or service “disruptive” or “a game-changer,” but it rarely is, and you have to be honest about that. Amazon was a game-changer. Your “exclusive” e-course is not. Often, business owners will say “there’s nothing like it out there,” and they have no idea if that’s right. If your story is a local story, then focus on a local story — that’s okay. A big one for this is “I’ve won an award” and expecting, even in the little ol’ UK, that this is a national news story. It’s not. Awards are very common, and unless it’s run by a national media title, it’s a possible local story, perhaps sector press supported by social posts and a blog or two.

Your Diary: Telling a journalist you are too busy to talk to them or asking if they can call back next Wednesday at 2pm when you are free is the death knell of any media relationship. You may be busy, but I guarantee they are busier writing multiple stories every day and meeting deadlines, sometimes several per day. You do this, and they will simply move on to the person who will help and will help now.

Poor Research: One really basic thing is that you send the right stories or pitches to the right outlet. If I’m writing about the best “green” handbags in the USA, I’m not interested in your blue handbags. Do some research around who is writing about the type of thing/expertise/experience and reach out to them. It might not work for today, but journalists tend to keep writing about subjects they love.

Things That Journalists Love

Having shared some of the things that journalists don’t like, here are some things that they do:

Right Stories at the Right Time: Having some knowledge of the news agenda is very helpful because you can pitch in anticipation of stories coming up. Some simple examples might be Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. In the UK, I’ve had good results around the annual Budget. What stories/comments/experiences can you offer, in advance, which play into a news cycle? We call this “newsjacking.”

Meeting Deadlines: One of the key things to ask a journalist is, “What’s the deadline?” and then you meet it. If you cannot meet it (let’s say you are on holiday or with a client), then find someone who can. You meet deadlines, and those journalists will see you as a “gateway” to case studies, and they will come back.

Pictures and Video: These are supporting assets that are increasingly important. Many publications, at least in the UK, don’t have teams of professional photographers anymore. If you can provide a lovely color image, often as a jpeg, which makes sense with the story, that can be the one thing to get you over the line! Often, these will need to be landscape (but do ask as this is now starting to change). Even better if you can add a video clip of you speaking, particularly on a relevant topic, that could be used. I cannot overstate the power of video, and it’s going to get even more powerful.

Relevant Story: A story has to be relevant to the publication. This is very, very important and something that many PR companies get wrong. They will send out a press release using a database, and that release can go to 500 journalists via that database, but it’s relevant to ten at most. That’s called spamming. Do you like receiving spam? Better to send your story to five relevant publications or journalists or radio shows or podcast creators than doing this. As a journalist, the next time something comes with your name attached to it, I’ll delete it because I don’t have time for spam. Do you?

People: This is the key thing to take away from this article. Journalists are interested in people first. You, your people, your clients, your personal experiences etc etc. People are at the centre of all business and personality will trump all other stories. All the evidence shows that this “cult of personality” will continue as the world becomes an even smaller place and as the internet makes us feel that we can reach anyone anywhere easily.

If you want more information about me, visit my website.