Pitching Wire Services
By Jason FallsJon Greer at 21st Century Media Relations filed a recap and highlight pointing out post on his Bulldog Reporter PR University audio conference with four wire service editors. Some great points and advice can be gleaned from the wisdom, both in the post and the audio conference.
What struck me was the recognition that there was almost no discussion of social media. While Jon points out, correctly, that we have to keep in mind they are determining the coverage of news and information in our world and must cater to their perviews, I’m curious as to why people charged with that responsibility don’t feel the need to include social media in their approaches.
That said, I particularly enjoyed this reminder on email pitching added to his post:
Truly timeless advice about email pitching:
- Get to the point, skip pleasantries and introductions
- Be relevant and brief and offer access
- Use plain English and give examples of what you are talking about
Popularity: 18% [?]
September 11th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Couldn’t agree more with your statements
September 12th, 2007 at 5:08 am
Re-dodgy viral pitches we are all being the victims of… They should definitely follow these 3 rules! It’s not brain surgery, is it?
September 27th, 2007 at 10:40 am
It’s not that they don’t “include social media in their approaches,” it’s that social media is not their source of stories or their customers. They generate stories either as wire services themselves or repackaging stories from newspapers, and their job is to get those stories out to whoever is buying them. I suppose at some point they might send out blog posts or online -only stories, but my hunch is that there isn’t much of a market for those yet.