There is an entire genre of blog posts written by journalists listing their frustrations with PR professionals. Above all else, these journalists express exasperation with the number of impersonal, canned pitches they receive; pitches that show no awareness of a reporter’s beat, interests or previous coverage. These pitches get canned. Why should a reporter pay attention to someone who pays her no mind?
Journalists’ frustration is similar to that of HR professionals who get besieged by poorly written, generic cover letters that make such elementary mistakes as not replacing the name of the company to which the same letter was previously submitted. In both cases the recipient immediately knows that they’re on the tail end of a numbers game, one of innumerable recipients of the same exact pitch.
Certainly, firing off a volley of canned pitches displays poor etiquette. It’s the equivalent of a poor handshake, of calling someone the wrong name, or of not looking them in the eye while you converse. It’s impersonal behavior. But it also raises questions of motivation and intent. Someone who submits a generic cover letter to a job opening probably doesn’t know much about that job. Why, then, do they want it? How do they know that they are a fit for the job, that they could succeed in the role and enjoy the work? Chances are that they have no compelling reason to want the job other than the obvious and universal desire for a paycheck.
Someone who is careless and rote in their pitching to reporters displays the indifference to outcomes. It shows a lack of interest in anything but the basic currency of PR: the media hit. But everyone wants attention, that’s a given, and as in job seeking, desire does not equal deserving. Approach reporters the way you would approach a job you really wanted. Take care to know precisely why the reporter you reach out to is the right reporter for the story you have. Show that you have thought about them and why your story fits their beat.
PR is most effective when we realize that the goal is not simply to generate attention, but to generate attention from the right people. Of course, the emphasis on quality over quantity will take more time and energy, which are two things everyone wishes there were more of in the world. We’ll touch on the innumerable aspects of this approach over time, but the first step is undoubtedly to know your reporter, as you would your employer.
