How Sausage Is Made
You know the old saying about sausage, that it tastes good but you don’t really want to see how it’s made. Well today, Clark Hoyt, the Public Editor of the New York Times (that would be their ombudsman, but the Times had to have their own fancy title), gives a delicious behind the scenes look [...]
Radio Journalists Share Their Wisdom
I moderated another Bulldog Reporter PR University Audio Conference today on working with radio journalists. My thanks go out to panelists Lynn Medcalf, Executive Vice President, Co-Founder, News Generation, Kitty Eisele, Supervising Editor, National Public Radio, Judy Hydock, Executive Producer, DayBreak USA, Charles Munroe-Kane, Executive Producer, Public Radio International and Brian Cook, Producer, American Urban [...]
The News Cycle is Dead
The news cycle is dead. Long live “The Opinion Cycle.” So says Lee Ann Schreiber, ombudsman for ESPN. In a terrific piece on ESPN.com, Schreiber dissects various sports “controversies” and concludes that a) very little actual reporting was done but b) tons of opinions were spewed. She wrote: “If you look at the proportion of [...]
Great New Article on Wall Street Journal
There’s been a lot of crappy speculation on the fate of the Wall Street Journal once Rupert Murdoch takes over. Here’s one article, though, that does an excellent job: A new jewel for Rupert Murdoch’s crown: Will he fix what isn’t broken at The Wall Street Journal? It’s in the latest edition of PRSA Tactics. [...]
NSA Goes on Deep Background
It’s always a good idea to try to give journalists background information to help them write better informed stories in a broader context. Too often, they come to stories under-prepared, which they think is a sign of strength (“I can cover anything”) and too often results in shallow, inaccurate stories. The problem most of us [...]
This Is Who You Are Dealing With
The San Francisco Giants held a press conference yesterday to announce that they won’t bring Barry Bonds back next season. At least 3 local TV stations carried the beginning of the press conference live at the top of their 5pm newscasts. At least 2 of them KNTV (NBC, Channel 11) and KPIX (CBS, Channel 5), [...]
Fundamentals of SEO for PR
Here’s an excellent free resource for PR people everywhere: a 3-part series on optimizing your press releases for the web (SEO = Search Engine Optimization). I recommend you read the 3 parts in their entirety. But here are a few nuggets of wisdom: Identify the crucial descriptive keywords for your release. Use these terms to [...]
Timeless Advice: Working with Wire Services
Today I hosted a Bulldog Reporter PR University audio conference with four top editors of major wire services (see post below for details). We had a lively discussion about how the wires work and what they are looking for. I’ll share some highlights below. But what I want to say first and foremost is that [...]