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A "anyhow" spin approach is not the right spin for media

(PS: A journalist shared a tip on the 5Ws and 1H to pitch and referred to WHEN. The worst time to call a journalist is when it is on the offstone day or week and at end of work day.  "That's like calling a restaurant at peak hour on a weekend and asking for a table," said this journalist. Knowing WHEN the best time to pitch would make your "anyhow" pitch sound good.)

Trying to pitch a dead story to a journalist is one thing. Trying the patience of a journalist with a meaningless pitch of a story so as to enter "media relations - 5 mins spent" on the timesheet is not media relations.

And it could end up with your agency being the laughing Facebook status update of the day, even if it was done in coded shorthand.

A journalist was overheard by another complaining about a PR executive pitching a non-story and who sounded like he/she was unprepared to make the pitch. This resulted in jokes on a popular social network to about the agency should be rebranded as "Anyhow Spin" PR Agency.

And as investigative local journalists are, coded shorthand status update were added in comments to identifying the agency.

Yes, bad social media public relations for the mentioned PR agency.

The most unfortunate culture among PR agencies here is that the most important job of pitching to the journalists is often given to the lowest rung in the PR agency level - the entry level executive. Sometimes interns are tasked to take on this enormous responsibility.

If you are of manager level or above, if you are taking the "anyhow" spin approach, you should start relooking at this embarrassing approach.

If you are a young PR executive, the trick of pitching a dead story or can make sound prepared is to think like the journalist you are about to call.

Preparing the 5Ws and 1H could save you from receiving the other end of Facebook fame.

You might probably start by asking yourself WHY would the journalist pick up the story in his/ her publication.

Spending 10 minutes to come up three reasons to the question WHY could easily save yourself and your agency for "the anyhow spin" description.

If you are from the media, what one tip would you give to young PR executives pitching to you?

If you are from the dark side, how would you prepare young ones?






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