In PR Hot Seat, Sandra Stewart and Sarah Grolnic-McClurg of Thinkshift Communications deliver expert advice on your PR dilemmas. No names, so no worries. Go ahead, ask us anything. We're here for your questions and quandaries: [email protected]
Dear PR Hot Seat,
I’m working in a niche field and there are maybe two or three people who get quoted in every article. Why do journalists not want to talk with someone new?
Sandra: It’s not so much that journalists don’t want to talk with someone new as that they want to save time by going to reliable sources: people who not only are knowledgeable and accurate, but also give them good meaty quotes, have a sharp perspective, and are opinionated. That’s what they’re looking for, and they may not want to risk scheduling interviews and not getting it.
If you want to become one of those reliable sources, it’s a process. You need to interact with that journalist, maybe give them some comments that don’t get published, and demonstrate that you have insights and can provide a perspective that’s different from what those two or three regulars are already providing.
Sarah: The other thing that gets you on the reliable sources list is being easy to reach and responsive. You need to be willing to play ball that way. Oftentimes if you’ve been sitting at the top of the organization where people are sort of revolving around you like you’re the sun, it can be hard for you to be that accessible. One way to deal with that is to set up “hotline” communications with your PR team. A PR pro will field queries and know the journalist’s deadlines and topic, so that’s a way to make sure you don’t miss urgent requests.
Also, the whole thing with media relations is sort of like playing the lottery. One of my favorite sayings is, “You can’t win unless you play,” which I think is a motto of somebody’s lottery in some state. And media relations is a longshot game. So how do you increase your odds? It can be as easy as having a good source pitch in play, so that reporters think of you when they need someone with your expertise. You have to put yourself out there. It’s not like they’re going to come hunt you down to quote you. There has to be a proactive, sustained effort with the right material to get on their radar.
Sandra: And often you get that first opportunity because you’ve pegged the source pitch correctly to a news event that you have some specific perspective on. You get quoted on that and follow up with “I can also talk about these things” and maybe you get on their regular list. And then ultimately other journalists want to talk to you because you start appearing as an expert. It’s really a snowballing effect.
Sarah: Yes, snowballing definitely. And I like pegging the first source pitch to the news event because when the email comes through the topic is likely to be the reporter’s mind and maybe they say, “Oh, I don’t know Bob Jones, but hey, I really need something on this right now.” And then they give you a try. You need to be ready to hit that ball out of the park.
Sandra: For God’s sake, say something interesting—substantive, surprising, analytical.
Sarah: Yeah, you don’t want to just swipe at the ball. You want to go at it full swing, barrel all the way on it. Total meat. Very good substance, good rapport. Be friendly. Be quick. Be helpful. The other thing I want to say about this is sometimes when you are seeing certain people quoted all the time it might seem mysterious but it’s not if you look at their total presence. Maybe they’re doing a Forbes column or have another regular contributor commitment, or they’re actively posting thought leadership on LinkedIn, or their organization is cited by other people in the field. Sometimes in our minds Bob Jones is just in the ether, but if you look at it you’ll see the path he took.
