forth the isue in the right perspective - what we feel, how are we
perceived, what are expectations from us, to what extent expedctations
are right, our need, their (media persons) role, responsibilities and
mindset (no generalising), etyc. etc. my compliments to him.
notwithstanding all that has said, i still maintain proof of the
pudding lies in the eating. a PR professional has to be up and going
in his quest for building relationships based on helpfulness to the
media persons and certainly not for getting inconvenient stories
stopped and only flowery ones published. yes, coverage about the
organization one works for/in should be positive and should help build
favourable image among the readers/viewers.
there are bound to be occasions when stories, absolutely based on
facts, are carried in the media which create a dent about the
organization in the readers' mind. irony is that in some cases the top
man will not just listen and remark 'what for have i (as if it is his
personal organization) kept you and what the hell are you doing or
have done as PR Head.' some bosses just don't listen - not their
fault but since they occupy a very exalted chair from where they can
command thousands of persons. even so, the PR Head has to keep his
chin up, keep a smile but get going with what has to be done
immediately and what has to be done for future. he must not get
demoralised because that will demoralisation in his entire PR
department and resultant bad performance in future too.
so, my dear PR professionals, keep your chin up, work intelligently
and professionally and keep developing good media relations. they are
surely important. how we do that is our business? good luck.
i suggest every respondponent should give his Mobile No also for quick
contact and PR among PR persons themselves.
c.k. sardana
former GM/Corporate PR/BHEL/New Delhi.Bhopal
09893556483
On 4/30/13, Vikram Kharvi <pr.vikram@gmail.com> wrote:
> *First Published in Imagemanagement.in - http://imagemanagement.in/?p=3939*
>
> A very good morning to you all. Tuesday again and I am back with my Tuesday
> Column. Would appreciate your feedback and your views on the following
> article either here or on my blog
> http://vikypedia.in/2013/04/30/media-relations-a-boon-or-a-bane/
>
> It is often said and expected as a critical requirement from a PR
> professional that he/she should have strong media relations. This actually
> means that a PR professional should know journalists on a personal level so
> that they can plant/stop stories in the media on behalf of their client or
> company. I believe that it is this expectation from us has become the core
> cause of all the negative reputation we have earned over the period of
> time. It is only because of such demands from our clients; we have been
> tagged as fixers, spin masters and middlemen. Because of the so called
> media relations, clients get their job done through us but at the hind side
> they just see us as liaising officers. On the other hand, I don't want to
> get into to specifying what reputation we enjoy amongst most journalists as
> well.
>
> The above may sound a bit too exaggerated but just think about it: weren't
> you asked in your interview – How good is your relationship with the media?
> How many journalists do you know personally? In fact, in one of my
> interviews I was told to give list of the journalists who I know
> personally. I can understand if the agency bosses or marketing heads want
> to check your media understanding and knowledge. But if that was so, then
> the questions would have been: which is the top regional publication in
> Jharkhand? Or who is the Editor of the top language publication in the
> Uttarakhand? I don't want to generalize as I also know of a few agency
> heads who do ask these questions as well in the interview, but these are
> one of those very rare breed of people who truly understand how PR works.
> But in most cases you will come across people who have only known how PR
> has been working till date in this country.
>
> I am not saying that having a good rapport with a particular journalist is
> wrong, but it should be purely professional where the journalist recognizes
> you as a professional and you, in return, don't ask for any personal
> favours on behalf of your client.
>
> We all love to talk about strategy, creating and generating ideas that will
> make media chase you, but frankly this rarely happens. We may create a good
> story idea, but we will first go and pitch to those journalists whom we
> know personally. There are also many junior kids, who don't have any media
> relationships but still they will be handed over a long media list and made
> to followup on the pitch/press note sent. What they end up doing is nothing
> but a tele-caller's job of calling the journalists and trying to sell a
> story or an idea. You can actually match the tone of a Credit Card tele
> caller and the poor PR professional calling the journalists. Most of the
> time, almost all PR agency professionals up to the level of Account
> Managers go through this daily. Some end up getting ridiculed by the media
> guys and some do manage to break the ice and start their journey of
> building relationships.
>
> The expectation to get the job done based on relationships is so deep
> rooted that client will never hesitate to force you to get the story done
> via xyz journalist who had been your ex-colleague and so forth. It is so
> much within us that even after spending so many years in the business, and
> after giving tons of gyan on professionalism, we end up pressurizing our
> poor agency partners or our juniors to get the stories done on the basis of
> relationships.
>
> The reasons to this can be many, some of which I can think of are listed
> below, you can also feel free to add more based on your personal
> experiences
>
> 1) There is one journalist, covering a particular beat and 100 PR
> professionals running behind his life to get his attention. So whatever
> works helps; right from a good story idea, your friendship with him, your
> charm, to your begging, pleading or plain persuasion skills.
>
> 2) Traditionally, we have been working in the same manner. In the very
> initial stage we were simply liaising officers, greasing palms of
> journalists on behalf of large corporates. Hence the tradition still
> continues but now with some sophistication and in pockets. (I am not
> generalizing and claiming that all of us dive so deep down)
>
> Until this attitude continues, we will always be termed as Spin Masters or
> terms similar to this. We need to leave this stigma behind and behave as
> professionals. We should stop entertaining such requests from our clients
> and bosses and help them understand the true value of our profession. We
> have to grow our understanding of the client's business to a level where we
> become their senses and make them aware of the dangers facing their
> business by effectively scanning the business environment, learning the
> industry trends, and forecasting what action of the client may harm or
> benefit the business.
>
> On the other hand, we need to work along with the media as their business
> partners. Convince them to work on the story on basis of the merit of the
> story suggested, basis the knowledge and forecasting capabilities that you
> demonstrate to the journalist. We need to think like them to be able to
> professionally work with them.
>
> I understand it is easier said than done; there will be a section of media
> who would expect you to deal with them in the same manner, but some day we
> need to change so that we get the respect we deserve. PR professionals are
> not idiots but are smart professionals who are much more capable than any
> other intellectual professionals working in advertising, business
> consultancy or research. They are very qualified and now even MBAs from top
> institutions look at the profession as their future career. I have met many
> PR professionals who are much smarter than any Editor of a large
> publication but, sadly, all our equated in the same manner. We (that
> includes even me) need to change and this should start today for a better
> and respected tomorrow.
>
> I wish I had the courage to tell my interviewer that you needn't worry
> about my rapport with journalists because I will get your company featured
> based on the merit of the story idea I will generate. Wish I can gather the
> courage to refuse to push for stories without any merit and stand with my
> agency partners to work and come up with the best possible solution for my
> client. Because when I will change, I will see the change happening around
> me.
> Would love to hear from here on what you feel and what should be done build
> our own reputation as professionals. Next week, we will dwell more into how
> we can work towards getting associated with media as knowledge partners.
> Drop me a line on your feed on my blog www.vikypedia.in or on Twitter
> @vikramkharvi
>
> --
>
> *Vikram Kharvi*
>
> *PR & Digital Strategist*
>
> www.vikramkharvi.com | www.facebook.com/kharvi |
>
> www.linkedin.com/vikramkharvi | Twitter: @vikramkharvi
>
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--
Prof. C.K. Sardana
Editor/UPKRAM/Bhopal
General Manager (Retd.)/BHEL/New Delhi.
09893556483 - M
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