You've heard this before – journalists generally work on tight deadlines. If a reporter is interested in doing your story, they want all the background information they could possibly get right now. If you're actively pitching to build your business with free publicity, give them what they want, when they want it. Snail mail is Read more about Be Media-Smart with an Online Press Kit[…]
The Shirley Sherrod story has a lot of angles to it. People at all levels over-reacted without having the full facts and there's plenty of blame to go around. It struck me that the concept of "context" is too easily overlooked in our 24-7 media-saturated culture. Some background – Sherrod gave a speech and one Read more about Media Literacy – Consider the Context[…]
A Tip of the Hat to Susan Young of Get In Front Communications for this video on YouTube about how to power-up your press releases and media pitches. It's full of excellent advice.
Most of the time sending a gift to a reporter is a bad idea. Journalists don’t take gifts. All news organizations have ethics policies about accepting gifts. Some won’t even let their reporters drink a free soda or cup of coffee, if it is offered by a source or a potential source (which means just Read more about Gifts and Reporters[…]