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Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications
Updated: June 6, 2024
How to interact with journalists: Know the difference between 'earned' and 'paid' media
By Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications
If you work in public relations, interacting with journalists is a big part of your job. PR practitioners regularly communicate with reporters, editors, producers and other media contacts to pitch stories in order to get their clients featured in the press.
We call it “earned media” since securing news coverage is indeed earned. It takes a lot of time and effort, and you cannot demand it from a media outlet without a newsworthy hook.
Unlike “paid media,” which refers to advertising, earned media is how PR practitioners add value for their clients — from publicizing a new product launch to promoting the state of Maine’s tourism potential.
The PR industry and journalism go hand-in-hand: We need journalists to give us earned media, but they also need us to provide details about companies, events, and more. The information flow is a two-way street.
However, even if you don’t work in PR, you may stumble across a journalist who is interested in what you have to offer. Perhaps you are a small business owner who is getting interviewed by a local TV station. Or maybe you want to get on the radio and talk about what’s going on locally. You never know when a newspaper editor will come calling either.
There is a standard playbook for interacting with journalists, and it is important to remember the best practices:
- If you receive a query from a journalist, you should respond quickly. While it is obviously important to think through your response, reporters tend to be on deadline and time is of the essence — eight hours later is too late. Let’s say that a reporter asks you to comment on a local town event: Your first question should be, “What is your deadline?”
- Once the deadline is established, you must provide a timely response that casts you in a favorable light. If it is a short press statement, draft it, edit it, and review it again. Remember: You are being published, so you don’t want to make any mistakes!
- There are two phrases to consider: “On the record” and “on background.” The first may be publicized, whereas the second is kept private, or off-the-record. Know which one makes you comfortable, and specify it in writing, so the journalist knows what is fair game for publication and what isn’t. If you are asked to provide information on background and it is a natural fit, you can be more forthcoming — the goal is to help. Some people will advise you to never go “off the record” because that makes it more difficult for the journalist in some ways to determine what information they can use and what information they cannot use.
- Don’t assume that every query will lead to a news story, TV segment, or radio interview. Sometimes, journalists are just trying to learn more about a specific topic, and they need experts to weigh in with relevant information. You can ask for more context out of curiosity, but you shouldn’t hound journalists with requests about news coverage.
- Make it a habit to read and watch a wide variety of publications and news shows. You need to be familiar with the media outlet you are pitching so you can show you understand their audience, the sections or segments they feature, and the angles they normally use.
- This is important: Do not hound the journalist. If you send an email, you don’t need to send three follow-up emails. You don’t need to leave two voicemails after not hearing back for 15 minutes. Trust that the media member is competent and be patient. After all, journalists are busy people.
- When you hear from a media member, you can do some digging of your own. Let’s say that the journalist asks for a comment on a story about a specific industry: You can look up their past coverage by checking the news website or social media platforms. That will give you a better sense of the story’s potential reach and angle, and whether or not you wish to provide a comment.
- Media research is extremely important, whether you work in PR or not. Only by understanding the journalist’s past coverage will you be able to identify their potential interests or even biases. If that media member is particularly critical of businesses like yours or your general industry, it may be best to ignore the request or politely decline, since it may harm your reputation more than anything else.
Journalists are human beings too. They have their own unique motivations and passions, so it is important to put yourself in that person’s shoes.
If they are looking for information of value, think about what would actually be helpful to them. If they are asking for a quote to include in an upcoming story, consider which message would be most resonant. That will turn journalists into more reliable contacts, especially when you need them to come through for you.
The best PR practitioners can walk in a journalist’s shoes, adjusting their pitching practices accordingly. They are known for always telling the truth and for respecting journalists’ deadlines. Be the one who journalists know, like, and trust, and they will come back to you time and time again. It’s important to be friendly, but not to expect a journalist to give you preference over another PR person, because they have journalistic ethics they must abide by.
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