How to upset a journalist

Our world revolves around relationships and communication. Although neither is an exact science, getting them wrong can cause major problems. Learning from failure is a valuable life skill, as knowing what not to do leads to getting it right in the future.

As PRs, a huge part of our job is based on building relationships with journalists, keeping them on our side and helping them to see why our stories add value to their publication.

Here are a few tips we’ve learned not to do to achieve that valuable relationship:

Missing the research

Journalists are busy people, and a great way to cause them frustration is to send them a piece that isn’t relevant to their publication. Whether it’s an unrelated topic or written in a format not applicable to the style of the publication. It’s a great way to let a journalist know you don’t actually read their publication or understand their audience!

Assuming they want to hear from you

Phoning up a journalist and launching straight into a pitch they may not have time to listen to is not going to win you any favours. This sends a clear assumption to the journalist that they want to hear from you and you are happy to interrupt any important tasks they are trying to get on with.

Lack of preparation

An unprepared pitch is not a pitch, it’s just a great way to waste everyone’s time. Not being able to answer simple questions like why the piece is relevant to the publication and what the journalist’s recent articles have been is going to show very quickly that you don’t know your onions!

Copy and paste

There’s nothing more annoying than those emails that have clearly been sent to a huge list of recipients but expect you to go out of your way to reply. Journalists get these all the time, and sending one is a great way to get a one-way ticket to the deleted folder.

Wittering

A journalist wants to know facts, not drivel. Wittering will only kill the conversation – and the piece!

Dramatic language

Journalists hear stories described as ‘amazing’ and ‘unprecedented’ every day and most of the time, they’re not. Using the phrase ‘delighted to’ is also a big no. This over the top language is only going to leave a journalist feeling like you’re being inauthentic.

Sticking to the script

No one wants to answer the phone to someone reading from a script. Launching into a robotic spiel is never going to help to build a relationship with a journalist. Engaging in human conversation is a much better option.

Dead end links

A fantastic way to upset a journalist is to send a link that either goes to the wrong place or doesn’t have the correct images on. Imagine the frustration of going to publish a story and then finding out you have to spend time chasing information and images that should have been there in the first place!

Asking for a preview

If a journalist decides your story is good enough to run with, a great way to ruin it at the final hurdle is to ask to see the piece before it’s published. The last thing a journalist wants is a load of tweaks and edits because their writing doesn’t line up perfectly with your brand’s messaging. They aren’t writing the piece to sell your brand, they’re writing it for their readers. And they are the best at knowing what their readers want.

There is a lot you can do to upset a journalist and ultimately it will be your brand that suffers as a result. It’s no secret that PR is all about communication, so making sure you have a team of people who know exactly how to communicate with your target press is the best way to set your brand up for success.

Have a look at some of our work to see what successful PR looks like.