All sorts of people become journalists. Often, but by no means always, they conform to various stereotypes; the scruff, the student, the hack… But if they are to last more than five minutes in their jobs, every single one – without exception – signs up to two over-riding principles. No.1: they are driven by about what their readers want to read about. No.2: they are nobody’s poodle.
Today, the other 99% of the UK PR industry is clapping its hands with joy at the idiocy of some joke PR agency that thought it would be a good idea to ‘incentivise’ journalists to write about their clients. The deal goes something like this: “Give our client some press coverage Mr Journalist, and you might win an iPad!”
Consider for a moment, why this might prove to be a teensy-weensy bit counterproductive. Said PR agency is not fighting to get the very last seat on the lifeboat of a sinking ship with this stunt, it is presumably trying (or at least it should be) to shape public opinion toward its client’s wares by shaping the opinion and the news/editorial priorities of trade IT journalists.
Here’s the PR/journalist ‘cash for column inches’ transaction played out in another format:
PR: “Hi, here’s an iPad.”
Journo: “Wow, thanks.”
PR: “Write a story then, there’s a good chap.”
Journo: “Er, no.”
On some occasions, with some journalists, you might get a different outcome. Just remember that press coverage you have to pay for, probably isn’t worth buying in the first place. It certainly isn’t worth reading.
Tags: Cohesive, journalists, PR
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It may seem crazy but, as a member of an editorial team that produces magazines that cover various regions around the world, I’ve run into situations where I’ve been looking for editorial content just to be asked “Is there a charge for that?” and I’ve had to reassure them that there isn’t. I think we’re lucky in the UK that “paid-for editorial” isn’t as bad as it could be, then again have you read a Sunday paper magazine recently? Far too much sponsored material and advertorials to be taken very seriously. And as pressure is applied on ever-smaller editorial teams, it may become difficult to find places that can afford to keep editorial independance as their primary tenet.