All of us in PR know that we’re never totally off the clock. That means lots of late nights and weekend work. And while that’s no fun, from a media relations perspective, it’s absolutely imperative that we do this – AND maintain a positive demeanor when we do so.
The whole point of a public relations professional’s job is to nurture relationships with media members, ultimately becoming a go-to source of information for reporters and editors, and thus being able to plug our clients into relevant stories. By routinely delivering what reporters need.
Last weekend, I received a frantic email from a reporter I work with regularly. She told me she had a bad feeling that a source for her story would not come through and asked me if I had anyone she could speak to last minute. Keep in mind, I was going away for the weekend, so working was really the LAST thing I wanted to do. But I knew my relationship with this reporter was important, so I sprung into action while in the order line of a Chipotle. Within a half hour, the reporter had spoken to someone at my client’s organization and had all the necessary materials she needed for the story.
The next day, I got the following email from that reporter: “May I say a big thanks for all your help. It was last minute, so I appreciate you getting this together, as usual.”
That’s really what media relations is all about. Delivering in crunch time. Strong media relations will ultimately make your job easier. And hey, you never know who the next Diane Sawyer or Oprah could be!
-Lindsay Daly
