Gimme Some Real News!!!

Hey everyone, I have an announcement!

Gather around because I need your full, undivided attention. What I am about to tell you is big news! This is exciting so please listen to what I am about to say…

Are you ready?

Of course you are. Who wouldn’t be on the edge of their seat waiting anxiously with that kind of build up?

But after the drum roll, unfortunately we usually come away disappointed. That was it? That was all you had for me?

Generally, we as information seekers fall for that kind of approach all the time. We are teased by our TV and radio, and by the front pages of our news Web sites and newspapers. They sometimes suck us in, and if it is worthy enough of being sucked in, we don’t mind. But if it isn’t we quickly become immune to it. Just like the story about the “boy who cried wolf.”

But while the news media works to get our attention in various ways, they very often receive similar treatment by the people disseminating news…those of us who work in the communications and public relations world.

Media members are inundated with email news releases, phone messages, packages and press kits on a constant basis. They are poked, prodded and pitched by companies who claim to have “really important” news.

I know it’s true and I keep that in mind every time a client suggests we send out a press release just for the sake of sending out a press release. It’s important to understand what news is and what it’s not. And it’s important to put ourselves in the shoes of the reporter to whom we are reaching out.

The media wants news that is timely and relevant. Yes, they also prefer ‘exciting,’ but not all news is exciting. So, if we can find what might be exciting or unique about a particular story, it becomes much more palatable.

Reporters want news that impacts their readers/viewers, not news that only matters to you, the messenger. They want short, sweet and to the point, not long, drawn-out and complicated.

Beating down reporters with a constant stream of nothing will only alienate yourself and your firm. A press release with no intrinsic news value or unique content is just that: a press release with no value.

To communicate effectively, it is important to know that what we communicate is just as important as how we communicate it. Real news and real stories are fun to share and nothing is better than engaging a reporter who sees the same news value as you do.

The next time you have big news and can’t wait to share it, think for a minute how big, how important and how newsworthy it really is to someone outside of your company. Maybe it’s best to celebrate internally and leave everyone on the outside wondering what the fuss is all about.

Enough fuss that it just may be worthy of a news story.

written by Jim Miller, Director of PR