Understand and Practice the Subtle and Delicate Art of Media Relations

17 min readNov 30, 2020

To me, media relations are (almost) more an art form than a job, even though it is one of the many tasks a Communication Director, a Communication Manager, or a fortiori a Press Officer has to master. Media relations is the art of keeping good and productive relationships with journalists, making sure they have plenty of good reasons to write about your company and your products.

For many companies and people working in communication roles, this is usually expedited by sending a rather insipid press release, via an utterly generic email to a contact list of press people that somebody, somehow, at some point, managed to put together.

Sure, it does look good from the KPI standpoint: “Boss, we just sent our press release about version 2.8 of product Smurtz to 1,375 journalists!”. You end up hoping you can at least get a poorly executed copy-paste of your press release on a news website in Balnibarbi. This outcome should be expected when you put together a not overly exciting subject, a contact list that is obsolete and questionable, a complete lack of personalization of the message, and no follow-up phone calls (this g*d**** list doesn’t include phone numbers anyway). It’s a chronicle of a communication catastrophe foretold.

It sure looks like it is not off to a good start. There is no way you can expect great results as far as articles are concerned. Media relations will quickly become your worst nightmare; your company’s prominence will soon dwindle and don’t expect your annual assessment scheduled for mid-January to go well.

Hang in there; we will show you how, in only six steps, you can take back control and develop real and efficient media relations!

To start with, if you are a complete neophyte in terms of media relations, this glossary can help you understand journalists when they talk about their job: bulldog, byline, evergreen, graph, embargo, fixer, etc.

At the beginning was The Contacts List — Step One.

We are referring to the list of press contacts. But how do you get it? Well, that’s part of the problem: you can’t buy it, regardless of what some companies specialized in being the go-between between businesses and the media would like you to believe (this might get me some nasty comments, we shall see). A media contacts list is something you build, day after day, meeting after meeting, identification after identification, contact after contact. It’s like tending to a garden. It’s supposed to be done slowly and with passion.

Simply put, it’s part of the Communication department’s job to read specialized press (print or Internet) relevant to your industry and identify the names of the journalists who write about subjects of interest in your company’s field or who review products which are similar to your own. An article usually credits the writer, so that’s an easy way to find the journalist’s name. Next, you have to find their email address; Google or LinkedIn can help you with this. You can also call the paper or magazine and ask for that email address or the journalist’s phone number. It works in many cases.

Sometimes, all you need is a bit of logic and common sense: for example, if you found that the email address of Sophie January, Human Resources Director for the famous “Machis & Mechas” magazine, is s.january@machines-mechanics.com, you can probably bet that the email address for Paul February, who just wrote a fantastic article about connected glass ball bearings in that same magazine, is going to be… yes, you guessed it right! (for those who are still confused, it would be p.february@machines.mechanics.com).

From the Excel spreadsheet to the introduction — Step Two.

OK, so you’ve read 100 magazines, 20 newspapers, been on 250 business news websites (if these numbers seem too high for you, it’s probably because you don’t operate internationally, so for national media relations, just divide these numbers by 10), as well as 50 blogs or LinkedIn pages (yes, we are considering them “journalists” for the purpose of this article even though much could be said about that). You compiled 100–150 names (it’s the usual ratio), about as many email addresses, and, with a bit of luck, some phone numbers (the Holy Graal of Press Officers). Congratulations, you have your Excel spreadsheet. Now, all you have to do is get in touch with these journalists and introduce yourself, build some meaningful relationships, make an educated guess about what they want to write about, discover what their editorial calendar looks like, understand their needs and expectations so that the next time you have some (newsworthy) announcement, they agree to write about it, or even better they feel they have to write about it.

There is no need for you to visit the CFO’s office on the third floor (codename “Eagle4”) and ask for a budget that will cover expenses for a press trip or travel to all these countries to meet these journalists. Technology is a wonderful tool, and email, phone calls, or video conferences are more than enough for a first contact. Now you have to be good because, as we said before, it’s an art form. You should start a relationship like an artist creates a new painting on a blank canvas: you begin with a quick general sketch, the general outline of the masterpiece, then you sketch the main character, work on the background, get more detailed, try a color, leave no blank spot, etc., all this with talent!

To be more explicit for those of you who got confused by the poetic-lyrical concept above, what I mean is that you have to start building relationships with these journalists! Introduce yourself, your company, talk about one of their previous articles, give them more information, spark their interest, cause some slight controversy, but do all this in a subtle, sincere, smart, and, most importantly, quick way! Journalists are called upon way too often, as we will see in the following interview with Jean-Sebastien Scandella, a former journalist himself.

Let’s meet at ShowMeca4U — Step Three.

ShowMeca4U is a professional trade show for machine tools and precision mechanics. It’s your main annual exhibition, the one where, for years, you have been able to meet your clients and find new prospects or future partners.

If by any chance, you are wondering if this trade show is profitable, this article will explain how to calculate the ROI of an exhibition

(this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is an example of good product placement)

It’s also a trade show that Paul February, the star journalist at “Machis & Mechas”, will attend. But he won’t be alone; all the other journalists in that field will be there as well! Of course, you would have told them, beforehand, that you would be exhibiting, you would have arranged a super short appointment “just to get to know each other”, face to face, around a nice cup of coffee, nothing more, just five minutes together… And, if by any chance, he seems interested in a demo, then, by all means, present it but don’t force his hand. The objective right now is not the article, but the intimacy of the contact. Use these five minutes to establish a connection, start to build the relationship, get a better understanding of the way he does his job, what makes him want (or not) to write about a company, a specific subject, the type of press release he expects, if he wants photos, if he prefers the press release in English or French, what the editorial calendar of his magazine is, which trade shows he usually attends, when his magazine’s deadlines are, etc.

So, you met via email/chat/video and then face to face: that means you are, finally, really in contact with X journalists! The phone numbers and email addresses have been verified (maybe you even managed to get their second email address, which is usually far less congested than their work email). Congratulations, you are now really into media relations, and you can tell that this list of press contacts is getting more valuable even if it contains only 30 or 40 names. There is no sense in cramming 200 small and frail trees in your yard. You are better off with 20 or 30 tall and beautiful trees, which will give you a bountiful harvest of fruits each year.

Press releases that don’t end up in the trash — Step Four.

This is where things can get complicated, as you are unfortunately not the only one who has a say in press releases. You will have to compromise with a slightly megalomaniac Board of Directors (but don’t you have to be slightly megalomaniac to start or lead a company?), a Marketing Department that is always way too fond of new shiny objects (which are not new concepts for 75% of them), Product Managers, Project Managers, the CTO who just loves talking tech, the Business Development people who just want to conquer the world, etc.

In a nutshell, all hope is gone. ;(

OK, we’re overly dramatic: it’s not hopeless, but you’ve got your work cut out for you. You will have to convince all those who dream about articles in magazines with nationwide coverage, that, for example, the nomination of Jean-Claude March for the position of Hard Candy Manager (a much sought-after job) at the Clermont-sur-Oise’s plant doesn’t deserve a press release and certainly not media relations. Oh, you think I’m exaggerating? That this type of press release doesn’t get to the teleprinters of newsrooms? You are right. They don’t get there via teleprinters anymore, but via email, by the dozens every single day, and pile up in the mailboxes of journalists, managing to pollute the relationships that you painstakingly crafted.

A press release has to provide real news about an exciting subject. It’s the teaser for the article the journalist wants to write. It’s the trailer of a blockbuster that he’s going to direct himself.

So you will have to select, sort, add value to the content, choose not to send certain pieces of news that are of not enough interest while you wait for THE information that is worth Paul February’s time so much so that he will agree to come and see the demo of a really innovative prototype (and not version 2.8 of the Smurtz product), understand the future powerhouse born from that fusion between your company and the Belgian company Duchmol (and not the building of the hard candy warehouse), understand and write about, give life to your news by putting them through the wringer of his talent: journalistic writing.

It’s for this specific talent that people pay to buy newspapers or online subscriptions! It’s to read what Paul has to say; he knows how to highlight the vital information gathered from all the press releases he receives. Suddenly, everything becomes easier to understand, clearer. Because it’s put into perspective by the journalist, because his remarks about your company or your new product are objective, smart, and relevant and thus bring sense to the article, the reader suddenly understands everything better. Even better than if you had talked to him face to face.

OK, let’s assume hypothetically that you managed to sort and send only press releases worthy of the journalist’s interest. Let’s move on to step five.

PS: for less important news, you can send Twitter or LinkedIn posts; they are sufficient and will make your Board of Directors and the Marketing and Business Development departments happy!

Distribution of press releases and follow-up — Step Five.

Because you are smart, you already understand that you should NEVER send press releases through mass mailing. Each journalist has to receive that press release with a personalized message.

In Paul’s case, you are going to refer to the PoC you showed him when you met at ShowMeca4U, which has now become a real product, about to be launched next week. In John’s case, you will show that your product is compatible with or a direct competitor of the “Splaff” product that he talked about last month. Finally, in Peter’s case, you will point out that your latest software, “RollyouBall 3D” runs four times faster on the brand new Xantion 4 processor… which, as editorial luck has it, is featured in “Meca&Procs” latest review of processors (there is no such thing as editorial luck, you just asked about their editorial calendar when Peter visited your booth during the trade show).

A phone call, Young Press Padawan, if necessary, you will give in the next few days. Or Paul will call you directly if something is not clear enough or if he needs an image with slightly specific requirements (300 DPI CMYK for print — 100 DPI RGB for Internet). When should you call the journalist after you sent the press release? There is no set rule; it’s a gut feeling. And you have to be gentle and smart about it; you don’t call a journalist and ask him if he’s in the process of writing an article about you. You call him to inquire if he needs to speak to the CTO or the CEO, if he needs a more detailed technical specifications sheet or a virtual demo, or if you can send him a sample.

After the article is published, there is still some work to do — Step Six.

You thought you were all done? Nope!

For one thing, you will need to go and read the article and read it fast. Even faster if it’s an online article because if there is a typo or a small error, it’s almost effortless to have it corrected. This is not true for a print article. For print, take a deep breath, maybe pray a bit, and read on. If your press release was good and your follow-up phone call smart, the article should be clear and accurate. You then send an email to the journalist to genuinely thank him, and you write a post with LinkedIn and Twitter links to that article if it’s online. If it’s printed (yes, it still exists, and it’s usually pretty good), you can do a screenshot to publish on your social media, but please never post a complete scan of the article as long as the magazine or paper is available on the newsstands.

— — — -

Interview of Jean Sébastien Scandella, former journalist for “L’Usine Nouvelle” and editor-in-chief for “Cimax”, now Editorial Manager for Cetim:

How many press releases were you getting every day or week when you were working for l’Usine Nouvelle?

Back then, I was getting about thirty each day. It was ranging from press releases from companies I was following closely to some expert takes on so-called “breaking news” submitted by agencies. In the early 2000’s I was getting about the same amount via snail mail. More often than not, it was the same press release.

To look like the good guy, I will say that I read the title every time before choosing if it was heading to the trash or not… Now, if I’m candid, I will say that I probably threw away emails without even reading them, just because they were coming from an agency that was sending me irrelevant emails all the time.

How much time were you dedicating to these press releases?

I had one rule back in the day: I would open all emails that could be of interest in a new window and give myself until the end of the day to look at them, with the requirement that I would process them before I left the office. That means roughly one minute per press release (the time you usually need to figure out if the subject is of interest or not), maybe a bit more. If you need more than five minutes to read a press release, it’s too long or includes too much information.

Of course, I was not working exclusively with what I was receiving — especially when dealing with research, R&D, etc. I would often get relevant information from a direct source, on the websites of research centers, or through companies at the cutting edge of technology.

What constitutes an unambiguous press release?

A press release that makes it immediately clear what it’s about: a new product, financial news, news about the company’s life, etc.

A clear and informative title! Please let the journalist pick the creative title for his article… (journalists are proud people who like to think they are the first ones to have thought of their super clever pun)

Content that sums up all the critical parts of the story (the release of a product, the erection of a great building, the placement of a brilliant product at a client), with some quantitative data that can give an idea of the news’ importance. No need to overdo it. The journalist will not like it if he reads the article he could have written. Unless someone asked him to scan-write, but that’s another story.

Finally, the contact details of the relevant person who can give more information if needed. This will often be the Communication Director because he knows the company, the journalists’ needs, and can thus direct you to the right person.

A piece of advice: unless you write for American papers or magazines, testimonials from Mr. Whatshisname or Mr. Whowasthatagain about how the product is fantastic or how happy they are that they trusted Whatchamacallit are unnecessary. Furthermore, they sometimes don’t make any sense.

What would make you want to write an article about a company, a product, an event, an innovation?

How interesting the subject is. When a product or a technology is excellent or brings something to the game, or when a fantastic new start-up is born, we want to be among the first to announce it to the world. Of course, some essential subjects can’t be avoided: if you work with the automobile industry and don’t write at least a short article about the release of the first electric Ford car, you are not doing your job.

The feeling that you have a somewhat exclusive story (but we’re getting outside the scope of the regular press release that is intended for everybody).

A press release that gets to me just when I was looking for this kind of information (because I was researching a special feature in the magazine). Even if we keep the press releases for an upcoming article, it’s always nice to get them when the timing is right (we like it better because we think it’s news, even though it might not be the case).

Find a good related subject, which means information on the theme of the article that I am currently writing, but a little on the side, connected, and that can bring a different point of view.

What was getting on your nerves when dealing with Press Officers of Communication Directors?

People who would be overly familiar after 10 seconds of meeting me, Press Officers who would call me “to know if I got the press release and was going to write an article about it”, and Communication Directors who would explain how they were advertising in my magazine regularly.

Also, in the press releases: spelling mistakes, XXXX not replaced, texts that have not been proofread, links that don’t work, etc.

What would make you accept a press trip or visit a company’s booth at a trade show?

In the beginning, baby journalists are willing to accept anything because they want to discover the world. But the cool trips are usually monopolized by the boss. As you get older, you get easily upset when, after coming back from a press trip, you realize you could have written your article without leaving your desk. You need the promise that you will see something exciting: a concept, a demo, a new plant, or that you will be able to interview the R&D honcho.

For trade shows, it was more of a toss. When I was supposed to write three pages about a day trip, I would prepare my day by selecting new concepts in advance. If I was just attending for fun, I would be motivated by the prospect of meeting a bigwig (especially when the Internet took off and with it the possibility of 100% online subjects such as “three questions to”). Also, trade shows represent an excellent opportunity to keep good relationships with your network, so I was sometimes going with the sole purpose of talking to people I knew were going to attend.

Can you give three pieces of advice for Press Officers, Communication Managers, and Communication Directors who have to deal with media relations and get in touch with journalists?

1- Don’t try to sell your subject by pretending you are overly techno-savvy because the journalist probably knows a lot more than you do on the subject.

2- Don’t be overly familiar before you are actual friends.

3- Avoid ambushing the journalist, don’t be that guy who goes, “Now that I got your attention let me give you a tour of a 300 sq. meters booth”. You first ask a journalist what is of interest to him, you put him in front of the right products and the right people, and only then can you ask him if you could interest him in something else.

OK, one more tip.

Please stop always calling at the same time because you set up an alert on Outlook every 17th of the month; people will figure it out eventually.

— — —

Two more questions you can (and must) ask yourself about press releases:

- Do you have to buy some advertising to get some articles?

In professional magazines, especially in Great-Britain and the USA, it’s evident that it could help you get more articles.

It is not entirely impossible to get articles without having to buy advertising space. Still, it is obvious that purchasing some can help a little or even a lot depending on the magazines’ ethics. Many professional magazines and websites have moved to advertorial mode (and don’t boast about it on the website/magazine’s page!) that you have to pay big bucks for (2.5 to 5 K$). I think these websites and magazines should be ostracized because soon enough, their audience will see through it, notice the lack of useful editorial content and lose interest in reading them. With good reason!

In a former life, I was even asked for money (several thousand euros!) so that a journalist would write a short article about a white paper that we published: I am not talking about a press release here, but a well-researched document, serious and thorough, of real interest to the audience of that specialized news website!

- Bloggers and influencers, true-false journalists, or false-true journalists?

Who cares! Some of them publish high-level content and should be considered journalists, even without press accreditation. On the other hand, you have to sort the wheat from the chaff because there are so many of them now, and in the blogging world, the worst rub shoulders with the best, and managing this can quickly become time-consuming. So yes, you should send them your news and press releases, but be careful: they are usually pretty reactive, publish fast, and are relatively insensitive to the notion of embargo ;).

The final word… finally!

“Journalism is about connection and distance” Hubert Beuve-Méry

Too many times, people think media relations equate battery farming of journalists who churn articles out; it’s like you’re competing in the biggest database contest, and, at the end of the day, you only really know one journalist… and you don’t get any good media fallout.

Media relations are similar to gardening. You have to cultivate relationships with journalists like Masahiko Kimura tends to his bonsai. It takes a long time. It’s a subtle and delicate art form.

There you have it, my humble story about how I see media relations. What about you? How do you manage your media relations?
What kind of relationships do you have with journalists?
I look forward to reading your comments!