Every PR professional knows businesses often have insights to share with the public, products to announce and events to promote. And spreading those messages often includes getting stories in newspapers and on TV. But getting a journalist’s attention requires special skills and insight. Aside from the obvious — sharing interesting, compelling content — the best way to get the news media to take notice is to work with former journalists.
Today’s PR professionals understand the importance of adaptability. You have to be prepared to move from one thing to the next without any hesitation. It just so happens former journalists embrace the fast-paced nature of agency life better than most.
That’s why Candor’s staff of marketing communications professionals includes ex-reporters, content writers and editors (or, as we sometimes joke, “recovering journalists”). We’ve produced TV packages, cranked out daily newspapers and kept up with the latest online trends.
Our backgrounds benefit our clients in four significant ways.
Breaking News Won’t Break Us
Months of planning went down the tubes because of an unexpected event? A crisis hit you out of the blue? No problem for a newsie. Whatever a journalist has planned for the day can go out the window in an instant if news breaks or a hot tip comes in. Shifting gears at a moment’s notice comes naturally after that.
We Know What The Media Wants
What’s important to a company might not matter to a reporter or editor. Reporters think of providing value to the audience first. We know how to speak their language, appeal to their interest and even work out the right time of day to send the email or text which can lead to a prime-time package or front-page story. Being on a first-name basis with local reporters has helped Candor land several earned media hits for clients.
We Are Information Sponges
Journalists are generalists. They want to know everything about everything. Even after they’ve left the newsroom, they consume information insatiably. Keeping one eye on the wider world at all times helps the Candor team understand everything from trends in social media to figuring out how issues of the day affect our clients’ strategies. Being information sponges help produce the plans we provide, the way we target audiences and the tone of the content we create.
We Understand Businesses Have Budgets
Anyone who has been in a newsroom in the last couple decades has seen people make hard choices about where to invest resources. We know our clients have to make those decisions year by year, quarter by quarter and even project by project. Budgets aren’t an afterthought at Candor; they’re a key part of understanding the scope and scale of what we can do for our clients.
Journalists don’t have all the answers. But they’ll dig until find them. Candor’s team makes sure we understand brands’ needs and goals, and we do whatever it takes to get there – without breaking deadline.
Adam Brooks
Adam has worked on several aspects of media and professional communications in print, in broadcast and online. Before serving as managing editor of Oklahoma’s largest business publication, he spent a decade writing and editing news and features. Adam is a walking Associated Press Stylebook and Candor’s editor supreme.
