Zimpapers Logo

Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga

SOMEONE asked me what I really do. Well, I do Public Relations (PR) which in a way is an extension of journalism and writing. Having to explain the difference would need another article.

A journalist colleague of mine has implored me to remind those in PR that they should stop behaving as if the sun shines from “where the sun does not shine!”

Stone-walled, abused, and tossed from hither and tither, journalists everywhere have just about had it. Aren’t we surprised that they don’t call anymore?

We are not painting every PR person with the same brush. Some are good and some are bad, so bad one wonders whether those that employed them knew what they were getting.

As a PR consultant, I often find this as an opportunity to offer media relations training for those who evidently need it. In fact, it goes beyond that. An understanding of the media, how it works and how it can be used as a strategic ally is an essential business skill.

It only takes a crisis to understand the advantages of a good working relationship with the media. Journalists mourn the fact that PR practitioners, particularly those hired in the corporate sector, look down on them. As a result, their pleas for information and contacts, at worst, fall on deaf ears, or are at best not prioritised.

While we understand that PR people work under a tremendous amount of pressure, they should also appreciate the pressure that reporters and editors are under to meet deadlines. I always advise PRs to operate on an “open door” basis when it comes to the media.

There is nothing as frustrating to a journalist as dealing with a PR who thinks his/her job is to protect the stumps. As indicated in the past, employing a pro-active PR strategy and tactics are enough to keep the hounds from your door.

There is this thing called common sense, let us use it. Ask journos who are hounded by PR people who expect their news to make it to tomorrow’s pages, come rain or shine. Understood, they may be under pressure from bosses who have little or no understanding of how a press room operates.

“We’re under pressure to meet deadlines, file stories, verify data and check sources. Did I just say deadlines? Many of us don’t answer phone calls because there’s simply no time. If you miss, the 3PM cut-off, then tough!” says a journalist friend of mine.

I should know better, because I have suffered the ignominy of being hauled over the coals by a boss eager to have a press release about the company published the very next day! A board meeting to decide his fate was coincidentally being held then. Sadly, he was shown the door and I would be last to blame the media for that.

“The bottom line is that we all have jobs to do. We need to co-exist and we all do need one another to share data and exchange ideas. Company data, new sources and story ideas are the journalist’s lifeblood,” writes Jim Pavia in LinkedIn.

PR people have to understand the news delivering process. The fact that editors and reporters need time to read your email, digest it and decide if it’s relevant to their readers.

One solution, in fact the most important is to think like a journalist or even operate like one. Substitute those functions that a journalist does with yours. In other words, set up your own corporate newsroom where a team of in-house reporters produce content that is not necessarily of a puffy nature.

If the idea of a corporate newsroom seems daunting, then the fall-back will be the PR agency or consultancy. Companies pay PR agencies to fill gaps in their own teams. The role of a PR practitioner in this scenario is to build strong relationships with journalists, so they don’t keep banging their heads on your door.

It’s the agency’s job to find the angle or nugget of information in your product release or company announcement that will be of interest to those journalists. They also use these contacts and abilities to deliver coverage that is of genuine value to their clients.

“Here’s the truth about national media outlets: If your announcement is relevant they will cover it and if it’s not they won’t. The PR agency’s role is to make it relevant,” Wilde Words advises.

As a parting shot, there is nothing a journalist wants more from PR people than a human face. This includes a sense of appreciation that we are all dealing with people with blood running in their veins.

Journalists treasure honesty, no matter how ridiculous that may sound. Believe me when I say they can smell “wet cow dung” from a mile away.

“Nobody can smell BS quite like a reporter. If you don’t have the answer to their questions or access to the information they want, a simple “no” is more appreciated than a lengthy stall tactic,” says Dan Jensen from Sterling PR.