Reporters and editors these days aren’t all what they used to be. You’ve probably noticed that news is becoming more generic by the day despite the proliferation of publishers, news websites and other content providers purporting to break the news.
Indeed, despite the burgeoning number of social media and online news outlets, the same news regularly appears across websites. There’s more volume, but less original material, often triggered by a press release or publicity announcement or celebrity tour. You know when your favourite actor is on the front cover of a news magazine or all over online – he’s got a movie to promote. And many publishers lap up the material.
Many reporters have become lazy. Rather then source original material, some are used to receiving electronic media releases in their inboxes and copying information verbatim and representing that information as news, rather than investigating the facts themselves.
On top of this is the proclivity by many journalists and editors to ‘match’ the competition. Too often this means that reporters and editors publish the same information that is on a competitor’s websites without actually asking whether it’s newsworthy. So there is a real sameness to much of what is represented as news.
This a great opportunity for those of us who work in public relations who have previously worked in the media ourselves. We know what will catch the eyes of editors and reporters. I can create news by seizing on little-known facts and asking questions that other reporters don’t think to ask.
By sculpting a news story in a media release with newsworthy information, I can then take the next step and set the news agenda. It’s all a matter of writing a media release like a news story with a catchy headline and newsworthy information.
So the expertise comes through two ways. Firstly, writing like a reporter. Secondly, gathering, interpreting and publishing newsworthy information.
So if you are shopping around for a PR professional, it’s worth doing the due diligence and asking if their background is in the media. If it is, you might be getting more bang for your buck than you’d expect.
No degree in PR or communications can replace the training received in a newsroom which a PR consultant trained in a news room can give you.