Two and a half years ago, I made the decision to switch off my microphone and swap a career as a broadcast journalist in commercial radio to try my hand at being a PR account executive.
At the time a lot of people commented on me making such a ‘big change’ and I have to admit that, at the time, I was fairly apprehensive myself. However, in retrospect the changes weren’t that massive and both professions share many of the same attributes.
Journalism is all about telling a story to a particular audience; selecting those stories that are relevant to the target reader / listener / viewer and making sure they are told in an appropriate voice. Turn this concept to PR and you are actually doing exactly the same thing; selecting stories and a tone of voice appropriate for your target media.
Having worked in the media, I also have first hand experience of journalist’s pet peeves when it comes to PRs:
• No background knowledge of the media outlet
• A lack of awareness of the target audience
• No appreciation of deadlines
• A general lack of urgency in following up requests
Knowing these little annoyances has come in very handy and avoiding them helps to build up your contacts and, of course, achieve impressive coverage.
I think back to the random and irrelevant PR calls that I used to receive at the news desk and I find it helps to remember what used to annoy me about them, and use this experience to tailor my own pitches to journalists.
One thing that really amazed me was the lack of understanding as to what makes a good story for radio. General rule for regional radio – trade specific product launches, corporate advice pieces and stories that have no link to the area aren’t going to keep the average listener tuned in!
I always felt a little sorry for the guy who used to call me once a week with a different food related week to plug. Curly Kale Week, National Potato Week and British Asparagus Week all put in an appearance, but much to this guys particular annoyance, not on the radio! One great piece of advice I got from a fellow journalist when on work experience – “There’s always a different week for something. We can’t cover them all and to be honest, no-one actually cares.”
Many journalists still refer to making the move to PR as ‘switching to the dark side’ and I find that some still don’t really want to give the time of day to humble PR folk, regardless of whether we can assist them with a story or not.
They should remember that we aren’t really that different and in reality we can actually help each other out. They should also consider the fact that the shoe may be on the other foot in the future should they ever be tempted to cross over!
