Let’s talk about journalists.
It’s probably not a subject most public relations practitioners enjoy talking about, and that likely holds true with your utility’s PR team.
I’ve worked on both sides of the equation, with nearly 40 years of experience as a journalist and a decade in between where I primarily worked in PR but still dabbled as a reporter. And I can tell you that there’s a lot of head shaking on both sides regarding the other team.
Journalists wonder why so many PR folks seem clueless, grumble about the many useless story ideas they’re pitched and complain that PR folks don’t deliver what’s promised the few times they are interested in a story.
Meantime, PR people question what frequently inscrutable reporters and editors want – and why the bar seems to constantly change.
To make things a bit clearer, let’s consider the psyche and background of a typical journalist. Note that I am excluding TV news anchors and weather folks who are largely there because they are either pretty or handsome and are likable. I’m also excluding various self-proclaimed journalists who are primarily bloggers or social media denizens.
I’ve interned at a TV station, interned at a newspaper and worked at three dailies and two weekly papers. In that time, I’ve crossed paths with plenty of my brethren on TV and radio.
I can say with a high degree of confidence that journalists are an unusual bunch, often bordering on societal misfits. Most weren’t in the popular crowd in college or high school. I established my geek credentials as a three-year-old by trying to read the local paper’s sports section.
Journalists are mostly smart and naturally curious about how things work; that makes sense given the job. I annoy my girlfriend by getting out my phone and Googling the answer to some inane subject we’re discussing then saying, “That’s the reporter in me.” Maybe that’s corny, but reporters naturally tend to ask many more questions.
Journalists often are skeptical and sarcastic, too. Most people want to believe what they’re being told, which is why so many people get scammed (I confess with shame to being scammed a couple of years ago). Reporters and editors are always reading between the lines of any communication and aren’t likely to take someone at their word.
The demographics of journalists have changed in recent years. These days, there are many recent college graduates, most of whom are idealistic and think they can change the world. Then there are the lifers in their 50s or beyond and hope they can maintain a career long enough that they don’t have to be stocking the shelves of a CVS when they’re 61.
The gap between these two age groups develops when journalists leave the profession after realizing that they can make more money in public relations or return to school for a different degree and make bank elsewhere.
The two different groups need to be approached differently. The younger reporters are more likely to be inexperienced and mistake-prone but will hold a lot of energy and idealism. Their older counterparts will be well-seasoned and possibly jaded; they also may be hacks hanging around because they can’t do anything else. Hold the hands of the former, and defer more to the latter.
Now let’s talk about the role of journalists.
A common misperception is that every journalist longs to be on “60 Minutes” catching someone in a lie.
Yes, every reporter probably thinks of those kinds of scenarios at times, but most reporters and editors merely want to tell an interesting story accurately and fairly. So don’t assume the worst will happen when you deal with a journalist.
Also be aware that newsrooms are ghost towns these days; my paper had 15 people in the news department 20 years ago, was down to six when I arrived in 2016 and has just me and a reporter today.
That means that those remaining are hammered with press releases, pitches, media packets, emails (I get more than 200 some days) and so on.
So, don’t waste anyone’s time. Be selective in how and who you pitch and maybe save your full-court presses for what’s truly important.
And unless you’re dealing with a trade publication, fewer reporters than ever are dedicated to a single beat. That reporter covering your utility one day may be covering a school board the next and the police the day after that. Assume the reporters know little about your utility.
Reporters and PR people are likely never going to be best friends, but they are reliant to at least a degree on each other, so it’s best to do what you can to make the relationships work.