CaliberPulse

Recent changes to the Associated Press Stylebook have surprised the industry it governs. Much to the dismay of many traditional journalistic writers and grammar purists, last month the Associated Press declared that “over” is now an acceptable substitute for “more than” when indicating greater numerical value. Apparently the AP had more change in store. Effective […]

In two very different newsrooms in two very different cities, digital media is stepping in to help "old media" compete in the new world of news content and delivery.

Successfully pitching a story to the media and achieving the coverage you hoped for is tough. Even the seasoned public relations pro know there’s no guarantee their pitch will make it to print or television. Reporters are bombarded with story ideas and, along with their editors; they must sift through the story suggestions (not to mention cover the stories that are banging at their doors) and find the ones newsworthy enough to follow.

Newspaper layoffs; One reporter on three beats; The journalism landscape has changed and the practice of public relations has to change with it. These days getting a lead story comes down to relationships. Or, does it? Perhaps it comes down to seeing the right lead at the right time, to putting yourself and your client in the way of opportunity. PR pros must be more “plugged in” than ever before. HARO will help. HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, has changed the way public relations professionals pitch journalists. Over 5,000 journalists nationwide use HARO to locate experts for on-air interviews, article quotes, and more via an email blast distributed to over 56,000 resources three times a day. The best part: HARO is free.

“Communication is a complex activity under the best of circumstances and turns exponentially intricate when a crisis occurs. The mass shooting this past January 8 is a crisis that rocked not only Tucson, but is still being felt across our state and nation, and even around the world.” -Daphne Gilman and Jan Howard, Presidents of IABC Tucson and the Southern Arizona chapter of PRSA. It is not often that those involved in communicating about a crisis talk publicly about the process of handling the events. But recently, Caliber team members had the privilege of attending a seminar at the University of Arizona: Crisis Communication in Action: Tucson in the International News. This program, sponsored by PRSA Southern Arizona Chapter and IABC Tucson, provided insight into the communications crisis that arose from the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and other victims on January 8. It was a unique opportunity to hear news leadership and institutional public information officers speak openly about this shared experience, and we would like to share the top takeaway messages with you.

“Email is the original social media” according to social media scientist, Dan Zarella. Zarella, on behalf of Hubspot, presented findings from an analysis of 9.5 billion Mail Chimp emails, survey responses, and focus group information in a webinar that we participated in last week. We’d like to share the top six takeaways with you. Try using some of this advice on your next email campaign and give us feedback on the results.

There are hundreds of thousands of outlets in the U.S. that serve as resources of entertainment and news for millions of consumers. To achieve placements in these outlets, PR professionals and publicity seekers must provide a service to the publications; providing impactful, pertinent information that their readers can use. Interpretation: pitches must be targeted to publications and writers that are interested in providing your story to their readers. Building a targeted media list entails finding topic-specific publications, becoming familiar with their content, combing through previously printed/posted articles to find the editors and writers on a particular beat, and digging for their contact information. While this process is educational, it is time-consuming and may be prohibitive if there is a wide swath of publications and consumers you plan to reach.

Has the daily job of sifting through Google alerts or the local media for company or product mentions turned into a time and resource drain? If you’ve been tasked with gathering media mentions and evaluating results from a variety of national and international sources, a paid media monitoring service is the best tool for the task. Sifting through the options to find the right service can be intimidating at the onset. Several reputable companies offer media monitoring tools that can save time and effort and help deliver comprehensive reports to stakeholders and the executive team. We’ve recently had the opportunity to evaluate several of the products on the market and will share our findings here.

Imagine a reporter is interviewing you on a topic of your expertise, whether print, broadcast or online. You’re having a robust, yet friendly discussion that wanders from the original topic into area that is more sensitive. The reporter is engaging and disarming. You’re comfortable with the reporter and begin a sentence: “Off the record …” You feel deceived and a bit hurt when your “off the record” words are in ink and blasted all over the Internet the next day.