A Meaningful Checklist

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Levo League

I have heard many times how important it is to keep a good relationship with reporters as a PR pro. The reporters are the ones that get the information to the public. According to Entrepreneur, public relations is “using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives”. Public relations pros have to earn their spotlight in the media instead of buying it just like advertising does it.

An article on PR Daily, goes over “5 things that PR pros do that journalists love”, and discusses important tips on how to keep a good relationship with a journalist. There are 5 points that Fallon shares in her article:

• Flexibility with topics
• Curious about journalists work
• Remembering beats and coverage
• Honesty when it comes to clients
• Building real relationships

I believe that all of these tips refer back to building a strong relationship with the reporters. I understand that by doing this, there is better opportunity to get your content as a PR pro out in the media spotlight, but also in a good media spotlight. According to this article, if PR pros follow these simple tips, reporters notice and appreciate it.

The article recommends to get to know the reporter and build a friendship type of relationship, however, I have also learned that we can’t really know reporters as “friends” because it can lead to problems. Favors will be asked on both sides and at times it won’t be a good thing because of the client a PR pro may be representing.

It is a complicated situation but there needs to be a balance of both. For PR pros, there needs to be a healthy relationship with both sides. It is important to keep a good relationship with the client to seek their needs and how to best fulfill them, as well as with the reporters and not just having them think of themselves as any tool, but as a good source.

Citations:

“5 Things PR Pros Do That Journalists Love”. PR Daily. Ragan, 2015. Web. http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/18388.aspx

“Public Relations”. Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, 2014. Web. http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/public-relations

“Checklist Image”. Levo League. Levo League, 2015. Web. http://www.levo.com/articles/careerexpert/simple-sweet-interview-checklist