Public Relations Tips: April 2006

Should I comment?

A print or broadcast reporter calls asking you to comment on a sensitive story. You’re not sure if you want to get involved, but you know its rarely appropriate to say “No comment.”

Damage control: Find out exactly what the reporter knows so you can make an intelligent decision about whether to comment. Ask the reporter the following questions:

• What is the story about?
• What angle are you taking? (A nice way of saying, “Do you have a preconceived notion about this story?”)
• What’s your deadline?
• Who will be interviewing me?
• Am I critical to the story?
• How much do you know about this topic? (If they don’t know a lot, this is your chance to “educate.”)
• Who else have you spoken to and what did they tell you?
• Did you speak to any of my competitors?
• How long will the interview take?
• Can you tell me what topics you will cover in the interview?
• May I bring an associate along with me to participate?

If you conclude that the story is not about you or your company, and you don’t want to get involved, don’t just say “no comment.” Tell the reporter you don’t care to comment, and explain why. Try to refer the reporter to more appropriate sources.

For other tips on how to handle the media in times of crisis, check out special report Damage Control:
How to Keep the Media from Making a Mess of Your Story

Posted by DK at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Weather stories are big news, particularly when a celebrity or well-known public figure is adversely affected. When the weather is bad or unusual, be aware of opportunities to be interviewed or to pass along helpful tips to the media.

People love to read about and watch weather-related programming so they can plan their day. At most news outlets, weather stories are obligatory.

Yet reporters need far more than just the forecast provided by the National Weather Service. They need color. They need people stories. They need anecdotes, interesting factoids and humorous items. When I worked as a reporter, I loved writing weather stories, but it was often difficult to track down the human angle after a snowstorm had just dumped 15 inches of snow, or a two-week stretch of rain flooded local roads.

For a large number of ideas on how you can tie your story to the weather, check out How to Tie Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue to the Weather

Posted by DK at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A quick look at the statistics that describe those who read in-flight magazines should convince you that these publications, often with high circulations, can be vital to your publicity campaigns:

· Many are Frequent Flyers, among the most educated and affluent consumers
· 60 percent are men; 40 percent women
· 74 percent are in the 25-54 age bracket
· 86 percent are college-educated
· 56 percent hold management positions
· 57 percent have incomes of more than $75,000 a year

There’s more. Almost three-quarters of the Frequent Flyers read an in-flight magazine during every flight. And the average pass-along rate for in-flight magazines is 5.5. This often overlooked medium can be a goldmine to your publicity campaign if you can match your needs with what their editors want.

Because the airlines serve very different geographic markets, those "wants" will differ from publication to publication if you’re pitching stories about travel and tourism. The good news, however, is that many of the in-flight publications concentrate on a wide variety of general-interest topics such as technology, business, entertainment, beauty and fashion.

Get contacts for tons of major airlines, plus more information on why and how to get publicity in in-flight magazines in Fly High with Publicity in the In-Flight Magazines

Posted by DK at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)