Valley PR Blog

News needs to be actual news

By Dan Wool on August 19th, 2008 In Advice

As I mentioned last week, we’re getting a lot of irrelevant pitches to the blog. Perhaps most frustrating is that many of the press releases we receive aren’t even news to begin with.

That’s been a little hard to understand. News has been around since another caveman saw Grog bonk Sheena over the head with a club and drag her off. Back then, the headline was “Grog Marry”. Today, of course, it would be “Grog Accused of Spousal Abuse”.

Now, enter the Internet, where news can live forever and every news writer is within easy reach. And news to you is news to everyone, right?

Wrong.

One of the most important functions you possess as a PR pro is your ability to counsel clients. This means, that better than everyone, you understand the dynamics of news reporting and know where it helps achieve your client’s business goals (on which you are also looked to as an expert).

News needs to be actual news. Pervez Musharraf resigning is news. A child drowning is news. A company reporting earnings is news. “A premier provider of widget services to the fill-in-the-blank industry today announced a strategic alliance with a leading provider of widget manufacturing tools” — is not news — it needs help.

So here are several things to remember:

Don’t create news for the sake of news. If it’s not news to begin with, you should not send it out. Start saying “no” to non-news. It’s counter-productive to your clients’ image. Just because you send a release or can post it on your web site does not make it news. The goal of PR is to support and help businesses achieve their goals. If client “news” doesn’t help the business, it needs a different outlet, or probably, none at all. News needs to be relevant to others.

You must be an unmerciful filter. Ask yourself: Is this really news? (The answer, by the way, is often “no”). If it’s not news, help the client understand why (have several reasons handy). If it does in fact fit your client’s business and PR strategy, figure out a way to make it newsy.

Tailor news to the expected coverage. The PR function is at least one-third observation. Read the news; watch the news; surf media outlet websites. Where does your news fit? Does it fit on TV or a trade publication? Is it business or lifestyle? How will they treat it? Will it be a full-blown story or a simple brief? What kinds of ink/airtime have similar announcements received? What makes sense for the client’s goals? This all happens from keeping an eye out and doing your homework. Think before you act.

News releases are the tactic of last resort. News releases “tombstone” news. They organize information about something that already happened, just like any news story. As our good friend Linda VandeVrede says, Press Releases are not a PR Strategy. Are they useful? Yes. Should they be your one and only tactic? No. They’re not even the best tactic in most cases – they’re the expected tactic. Don’t do what’s expected – do what’s right.

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