Clementine Communications had the pleasure of talking to Tania O’Donnell, freelance journalist for national newspapers including Guardian and Metro, about good and bad PR practices (writes Holly Page).
The team took two hours from the day’s busy schedule to hear Tania’s in-depth overview on what journalists expect from a PR agency and their preferences. She also encouraged us to think like a journalist to find the medium ground where both parties can maximise potential resources, and both sets of needs can be met. If PR agencies are able to implement this mindset, undoubtedly the journalist will always come back to you, she said.
Being a freelance journalist, Tania was able to differentiate between working as a full-time staff member or as a freelancer. An interesting point made was that freelance journalists tend to have to work ‘a little harder’ in the sense they must remember more without access to the databases benefitting big companies. Tania strives to maintain a private database of every person she meets because, admittedly having a ‘bad memory’, she feels it is important to connect with people in order to be remembered by them.
‘One of the biggest compliments you can ever get is to be remembered.’
Building bridges between PRs and journalists is key to success, says Tania, who expressed how a lot of PR agencies she has fallen into contact with over the past years don’t follow up after a meeting with an e-mail. However, to be remembered by the journalist this is a vital aspect in building that relationship. Not only do journalists like a follow up e-mail, but making it personal is important too. PRs should avoid sending out generic missives, ‘because 90% of the time these will be deleted without a guilty feeling,’ leaving no sense of significance in the journalist’s psyches.
The ‘journalist’s favourite’ – press trips.
Finally, Tania touched on press trips, a favourite for journalists. She pointed out ways in which we as a PR agency could orchestrate the trip so as to leave the journalist happy and fulfilled. Some of her tips were to not over-diarise the itinerary, leaving an hour here and there for downtime – the last thing a journalist wants is to feel exhausted at the end of a trip, frankly. When writing the itinerary, PRs should state exactly who the journalist will be meeting. This will have effect on the enthusiasm of the journalist to attend the trip – so we must try and create experiences for them money cannot buy!
Thank you to Tania O’Donnell for taking time from her busy schedule and meeting the team to give a better insight into ways that we can build and maintain more fulfilling relationships with the media.
