Caleb Booker

In the old media system all you had to do to get a little press is write a press release and send it out over the wire. If it was the kind of story that a reporter needed, they’d put their name on it, edit for length, and up it went mostly as-is. Others would see it and follow suit. Better than a full-page three-color.

Things change a bit once you’re not dealing with the “just print something” environment of a major newspaper. Everything is person-to-person. As a new media reporter I get approached by a lot by people wanting press. If I pick up their story, it often gets picked up by others and we all discuss it. We give the matter real thought. There’s analysis and investigation. The public, ultimately, gets a better story and is far more inclined to look into whatever the product in question is.

It’s a pretty good deal, but first you have to get me to want to write about you. Old media will print anything, but new media would rather print nothing than print garbage. Here are some tips if you want us to talk about you:

          1. Don’t just send me a press release without comment - This happens all the time. It’s how I know whoever sent it sucks. A press release in my inbox is somebody else’s garbage. If you’re lucky, I’ll delete it. If I’m in a bad mood I’ll read it and write about how much you stink.

          2. Tell me who you are - You would be shocked how many people violate this basic, obvious rule. I will not report on the anonymous without deep disrespect. (see Paris Hilton And Metarati.tv) Why? Sooner or later there will come a point where we all find out that you were lying, or you failed, or you changed your mind, and it will only be my name on the piece. No. (I did make one exception to this rule once, when I knew it was all made up anyhow, because it was just an entertainment piece. Seriously, don’t count on it ever happening again.)

          3. Be available for follow-up - I really don’t want to tell people the same story they can read everywhere else. That’s what everywhere else is for. I want to give them something special, and to do that, we probably need to talk. If I can’t do that, I might not bother. After all, everybody else pretty much has it covered.

          4. Make news - So you founded a company. I don’t care. So you founded a company that does the kind of thing that I report on. I still don’t care. So you founded a company that does the kind of thing that I report on and… what? What is the actual story? You’re giving something away to my target audience? You’re holding the kind of event I report on? You’ve released a product that competes against a monopoly? You just got a billion bucks in VC investment? You openly worship evil and the destruction of mankind? There needs to be an angle. No angle, no story.

          5. Don’t say the word “first” - Ever. You’re not the first. You know how you can tell that you’re not the first? You’re soliciting press rather than just holding demos and counting on word of mouth. You are never, ever the first. Stop it.

Posted on July 10th, 2007 under hype, press, writing. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.