As a recent graduate and relative newbie to workforce, I consider any opportunity to learn more about this industry worth my time. Last week I attended my first PRSA-NY event as part of their “Meet the Media” series.
I was looking forward to hearing what a panel of technology journalists had to say about their experiences with PR people, especially their biggest complaints. I figured I might as well learn what they hate now, instead of ten years into my career.
As I listened, it became clear how lucky I was to have professors in college who had spent years in this industry. Because I had to take current events quizzes, I developed a habit of staying on top of the news, even while living in a collegiate bubble. One recurring piece of advice from the panelists was to read as many newspapers as possible. There is no comparison between the blurb from a media database that describes a journalist’s beat and actually reading the articles they write. If the number one, unanimous pet peeve reporters have is when public relations people pitch them stories that aren’t relevant, then the simple solution is to start paying attention to their work. This may mean following more people on Twitter, or adding more publications to RSS feed, or adding morning shows to my DVR queue, but I think the extra time spent devouring news will be extremely beneficial.
A good majority of their recommendations can be applied to what we do at Rose Communications. It provided great fodder for discussions over lunch in the office (are journalists still attending trade shows? do they want to receive pitches via social media? is the embargo dead?) and proved that face-to-face meetings are still invaluable.
I look forward to the next Meet the Media event – Morning Shows. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to meet Anderson Cooper.
Fingers crossed.