Fine Print

The guys at Bad Pitch Blog waxed lyrical yesterday on whether old journalism (read: traditional media) is dead. I touched on that in a roundabout way in this post a couple of weeks ago. [Disclaimer, I have worked as a journalist in the U.K. and Canada, so it’s a subject close to my heart.]

The author of the post, Richard Laermer, lists a slew of venerable publications that have laid off staff or cut costs by closing office space. My colleagues and I were discussing the art of pitching recently and the fact that the beat reporter is a dying breed, so it pays to keep up-to-date contact lists.

I disagree with Laermer on this point: “You need to look for every other place but the print media to pitch, because ink-stained pages are only picked up if you step on them after they are dropped in public places.” There’s still value in seeing a client’s name in print; it’s what they expect, and we’re not doing our jobs if we don’t strive for that.

I agree with Laermer on this point: “PR practitioners have to go for newfangled online sources. If you’re (still?!?) spending all day pitching old media, you are soon going to be stuck with very little to do.” Blogs, online outlets, microblogging platforms, social networks, forums — these are all just as important in a PR pro’s arsenal of getting coverage, boosting a brand and maintaining a client’s good reputation. The work actually takes up most of my day, so it’s a very valid strategy, and it works. The ROI is not immediate, but once people get it, the effects can be clearly seen.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada