4 surefire ways to anger a reporter
If you want to guarantee that a reporter will never call you back and put you on his or her email “block” list, do these things.
This story was originally published on PR Daily in December 2014. Imagine for a moment that each mistake that you made would live forever on YouTube, as seen in this not-safe-for-work video, or each time you produced something, it would be open for public comment and sharing (usually with a headshot of you next to it). Then imagine that you chose to do this, not for pay (because there isn’t much), but because you really love a good story.
For all of the criticism of the press (and media should be criticized), there is no reward when they perfectly deliver a story. That is just the expectation. With that in mind, a small dose of empathy for the press can go a long way.
I know the following behaviors are guaranteed to irritate any editor, reporter or producer because I have been guilty of them myself. You don’t have to go down that road. Don’t do these:
Flake.
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